Search

Clusters play an important role in driving competitiveness, innovation and jobs creation in the EU. Romania currently has successful clusters in various economic sectors and services, including 7 clusters in agro-food. Agriculture has been and remains the support of the human existence, which is an important pillar of the Romanian rural economy. The agro-food sector had oscillating evolutions in the post-accession period, mainly generated by the need to get in line with the EU requirements. Stimulating smart technology assimilation across all economic sectors including agro-food value chains, promoting enterprise growth and clusters 4.0 is critical to many EU Member States. Partnerships between countries, regions, cities and clusters are essential in the next industrial modernization process, based on innovation. Clusters 4.0 calls for development of a generation of advanced cluster policies to respond to these new industrial challenges by facilitating cross-sectoral value chains, fostering internationalization, stimulating inter-regional investment and accelerating entrepreneurship and skills in digital production, environmental production, circular economy, service innovation and creative economy. In order to be ready for the future, clusters must be geared towards creating a smart value chains, international cooperation and cross-sectoral partnerships. This research paper proposes a model as a tool for agro-clusters to become "smart", also this proposal providing information on the most important steps in the creation and development of smart agro-clusters. The used research methodology was based on analysis and synthesis of the information on the economic and social aspects of the development of the agro-food sector and of clusters in Romania. In conclusion, the authors of this paper wanted to emphasize the necessity of the development of smart agro-clusters for the future smart specialization of the regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) is a collaborative instrument for developing business/technological/research partnerships for entities around the world especially SME's (Small and Medium sized Enterprises). One of the key factors for business development is innovation. Innovation management can be assessed using specific methods and instruments. One of these methods is the approach developed by the ImP3ove Academy. The ImP3ove methodology is based on an on-line questionnaire which is filled out by the entity. The questionnaire contains a set of questions from different innovation management dimensions. These dimensions are: Innovation Strategy, Organization and culture, Innovation life cycle processes, Enabling factors and Innovation results. After filling the questionnaire, according to the entity's needs regarding to innovation management, a customized benchmark can be applied. Based on ImP3ove database the benchmark can be generated for industry sectors, countries and company size or age classes. Using the filled questionnaire and the benchmarking selection the on-line software based on the ImP3ove methodology can generate a report. This report contains the relevant elements of the innovation management assessment structured on the innovation management dimensions. The paper also presents the results and analysis of the innovation management assessment for various Romanian entities. The results of the innovation management assessment can contribute to the business development, increasing market visibility and increasing client confidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clusters through their structure (the "four-leaf clover" model: members of the Business and Research-Development-Innovation areas, Authorities and Catalysts) play an important role in the innovation eco-system as accelerators for innovation and competitive value chains development of value in the smart specialization priorities. The services provided to the cluster members, especially aimed at creating synergies between science and research through the collaboration between the business environment and the RDI based mainly on demand and supply, are a real support for SMEs in order to increase their competitiveness through the implementation of advanced technologies, digitization, industry 4.0, new business models, open innovation 2.0 principles and circular economy. All of this creates the premises for the creation / development of competitive industrial value chains, based on innovation. Collaboration between and within clusters, especially the interdisciplinary and intersectoral one, is one of the keys to success on the global market. The paper also analyses the role of clusters at European level in the innovation ecosystem. Good practices are highlighted in the strategic areas of cross-sectoral and cross-regional collaboration. The potential of clusters as drivers of regional innovation is highlighted and the role of clusters in developing specific policy tools (such as innovation policy, cluster policy, industrial policy, value chains) is analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social innovation in clusters is a novelty for Romania and the paper presents a scientific method to evaluate and monitor of the social innovation performances in clusters. Clusters are drivers of entrepreneurship, innovation, economic growth and jobs. The paper intends to focus on the objectives related on the innovative capacity of clusters and of linkages that involve social relationships or networks that produce benefits for the cluster members, on the competitiveness of clusters and their potential of creating new jobs, on tools and measures to increase social innovation and on social awareness within cluster for closing the gap between the needs of cluster members and the educational/R&D output to reduce the gap between clusters from EU and Ro. From a methodological point of view, the research paper encompasses 4 components: 1) Cluster development in Romania and promotion of social innovation, 2) Elaboration of a scientific method to improve the cluster impact on innovation, economic growth and social integration, 3) Expected results using specific tools for the new method developed (social innovation audit; benchmarks; foresights; IP audit; specific questionnaires) and a large scale dissemination including: a Guide on social innovation in clusters in the near future; the creation of the Ro-EU cluster networks and a national platform for collaboration on social innovation in Romania, 4) Conclusions on cluster willingness to embrace this concept of social innovation primarily because there is a new sense of urgency in the need to find solutions to many of the clusters problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]