Download Diapositiva 1

THE BASQUE CLUSTER POLICY AND
AERONAUTICS
Dr. James R. Wilson
(Basque Institute of Competitiveness and University of Deusto, Spain)
EMAIL: [email protected]
THE BASQUE COUNTRY
• Population of approx
2 million
• Contributes 6% of
Spanish GDP
• High weight of
manufacturing (30%
of GDP)
• Strong GDP growth in
last 20 years
• GDP per capita higher
than EU average:
€30.599 in 2007
ASOCIACIONES CLUSTERS EN EL CAPV
www.acede.es (Cluster de Electrodomésticos)
www.acicae.es (Cluster de la industria de automoción)
www.aclima.net (Cluster de Medioambiente)
www.adimde.es (Cluster de las Industrias del Mar)
www.afm.es (Cluster de Fabricantes de Máquina Herramienta)
www.clusternergia.com (Cluster de Energía)
www.clusterpapel.com (Cluster del Papel)
www.eikencluster.com (Cluster Audiovisual)
www.gaia.es (Cluster de Telecomunicaciones)
www.hegan.com (Cluster de Aeronáutica)
www.uniportbilbao.es (Cluster del Puerto de Bilbao)
www.clustertil.es (Cluster de transportes y logística)
HEGAN
• Development of a nascent Basque aerospace sector from 1960s
– 1960s: SENER (engineering) became involved in space projects
– 1980s: Development of ITP (engines) and GAMESA (aeronautics structures)
– 1990s: Major collaborative projects with ROLLS ROYCE and EMBRAER
• Birth of HEGAN
– Early 1990s: Study under Basque Government Competitiveness Programme
– From 1993: Informal collaboration between GAMESA AERONAUTICA, ITP,
SENER, INASMET (technology centres) and the UPV Engineering School
– 1997: HEGAN formally founded with 3 leading companies and 12 suppliers
• HEGAN Today
– 35 Members (32 firms and 3 Research/Technology Centres)
– Strong diversification in products and clients: Customer base includes
Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, EADS, Embraer, Eurocopter, GE and Rolls-Royce
Source: HEGAN (2008), Report 1997-2007
ROLE OF HEGAN
• Aeronautics is a research-driven, investment intensive industry
– Basque firms do not have the capacity to control the market
– Co-operation between local firms and as risk-sharing partners with leading
international firms is vital
• HEGAN has worked to respond to strategic challenges through
facilitating cooperation
– Aeronautics Technologies Specialisation Course (Bilbao Engineering School
and the Aeronautics Engineers School in Madrid)
– Quality committee and development of own quality standard: HEGAN 9000
– Environmental Agreement with the Basque Government
• Corresponded with a time of success for the sector:
– Today turnover of almost €1000m and employment of around 7000
– More than 3-fold increase since 1997
BIRTH OF BASQUE CLUSTER POLICY
• At the beginning of the 1990s, the Basque Country was losing its
traditional competitive advantages
– The Basque Government contracted Monitor to analyse future
competitiveness
– This study defined a number of ‘clusters’
• The Basque Government established a competitiveness
programme supporting workgroups in 9 priority clusters
– These defined improvement priority areas and action proposals in each case
• This dynamic process of interaction among various agents enabled
the detection of gaps in the Basque economy
Process leading ultimately to the creation of new institutions under
the framework of a defined cluster policy
POLICY SUPPORT FOR CLUSTER ASSOCIATIONS
• Initial collaboration agreements
signed with 11 cluster
associations (1995-1999)
• Cluster policy mission: the
improvement of
competitiveness responding to
strategic challenges through
cooperation
• Associations are required to
undertake a strategic plan every
3-4 years and annual action plans
• Government representatives
attend association meetings, but
in non-voting capacity
Cooperation
groups
To put in order
and evaluate
synergies
To identify synergies
To capture and diffuse strategic
information
BASQUE GOVERNMENT RELATIONSHIP
Horizontal technicians
General Assembly
Management Board
Specific Committees
Vertical technicians
Cl.1
Cl.2
Cl.3
Cl.4
Cl.11
Internationalisation
Quality
Finance: Public and private funds (50-60% Basque Government, up to
€240.000 per cluster association)
EVALUATING BASQUE CLUSTER POLICY
Some International Good Practice Basque Country Case
1.Identification: Clusters cannot be
created from nothing.
1. MONITOR study and significant dialogue
to adjust to regional priorities.
2.Design: Clusters should stimulate
cooperation (with private sector
leadership), with an aim of improving
competitiveness.
2. Mission centred on co-operation, but
mix of strategic and non-strategic
projects. Leadership transferred quickly
from to private sector.
3.Implementation: Policy should improve
community measures to create
relationships, projects, etc., and should
enable the integration of different
policies.
3. Clusters associations organize meetings
and forums to create community spirit
and relationships. Basque Government
cluster relationship facilitates some
policy integration.
4.Evaluation: Policies should be
evaluated, despite difficulties.
4. The system supposes a degree of auto
evaluation of intermediate activities,
but difficulties in evaluating impact.