Shaping Europe's Future: Collaborative Workshop and Insights from the C2Lab in Strasbourg
The European Cluster Collaboration Platform, in partnership with the French Association of Pôles de Compétitivité (AFPC), hosted the latest edition of the Cluster Collaboration Labs (C2Lab) in Strasbourg, France, on 25-26 September 2024. The event brought together over 70 participants from Europe’s cluster landscape, including high-level French public authorities and cluster representatives from Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Lithuania, the Republic of Moldova, Portugal, Romania, and Spain.
Guided by 10 expert facilitators the C2Lab aimed to support the development of project roadmaps amongst the participating organisations. The event provided a platform for participants to forge new partnerships, initiate cross-European collaboration, and share project ideas in key areas such as metaclustering, interregional innovation investments, mobility, health, construction, and the next steps for the CAFEIN initiative.
Some participants began their day with the annual AFPC meeting, whilst others had the unique opportunity to tour the European Parliament, visiting the iconic Hemicycle and gaining insights into the institution’s history, its role in shaping EU policies, and its influence on Europe’s future.
After the tour, the event formally kicked off with welcome remarks from Christian Deleuze, President of the AFPC, Hervé Floch, President of AFPC’s European Committee, and Christophe Guichard from the European Commission (DG GROW), who emphasized the significant contribution of clusters to the EU's industrial strategies, particularly within the EU Industrial Forum, and urged participants to support the deployment of Transition Pathways.
Antonio Novo, President of the European Cluster Alliance, outlined the key challenges and themes of the C2Lab, before Professor Athanasios Konstandopoulos’ shared reflections on how cluster-led projects could contribute to the goals outlined in Mario Draghi’s recent report, "The Future of European Competitiveness." He stressed the importance of aligning project ideas with current EU priorities to ensure successful outcomes.
Romain Bouttier, from EISMEA, provided an in-depth overview of potential funding opportunities for clusters. He introduced the European Innovation Council (EIC), an Horizon Europe initiative that support innovators through three schemes: EIC Pathfinder, EIC Transition, as well as EIC Accelerator which offers grants and equity to support breakthrough technologies and market scaling. He also presented the European Innovation Ecosystem programme, the Interregional innovation Investment Instrument (I3 instrument), and funding opportunities under the SME Pillar of the Single Market Programme. Additionally, he underscored the vital role of European clusters in driving industrial modernisation and resilience, pointing to initiatives such as Euroclusters and the tools available through the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP).
Following the presentations, participants split into eight groups to brainstorm on project ideas in their chosen challenges. Each group was guided by a facilitator experienced in project development, fostering discussions that identified synergies and defined common goals for collaboration. The groups worked through the evening and into the following morning, before presenting their results to the plenary. Following this, participants will continue refining these early-stage ideas and build on the foundations of their new collaborations.
As an evidence of the success of the C2Lab formula, the event concluded with the announcement that a project conceived during the previous C2Lab in Ljubljana was selected for funding under the call HORIZON-EIE-2024-CONNECT-01. The project "INNOVATE-EU - Strengthening European Startups through Interconnected and Inclusive Innovation Ecosystems" even achieved the maximum evaluation score of 15 points!
Adrienne Gentil from Pôle Valorial, Strasbourg being her second C2Lab, shared her enthusiasm for the events: "C2Labs events are a real source of inspiration, enabling the sharing of ideas and networking across different sectors. They enhance new connections and competitiveness for our members and ecosystems." Similarly, Laura Leydinger from BioValley France remarked: "It was an experience rich in encounters and exchanges, leaving us with a wealth of new ideas and opportunities to explore and maximise."
The C2Lab continues to play a pivotal role in shaping Europe's collaborative future, driving innovation and fostering connections across industries and borders.
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