1. What is
your role in the EACN project?
The main
role of ACB is to work for long-term cooperation and business development
strategy of the network. One of the main objectives of the Project is to make
the EACN network a stable alliance where clusters can collaborate and cooperate
through teamwork and problem-solving, as well as identifying opportunities and
communication between the various regions of Europe.
We will
secure transparency of the Partnership’s long-term goals, strategy, and
cooperation processes in order to provide efficient negotiations with other
clusters interested in participating in the EACN Partnership and other
Partnerships, as well as thematic networks interested in cooperating with the
EACN Partnership.
2. One of
your tasks is to prepare an SMEs feedback report. What is the aim of this
document and how will you get this information?
ACB has
already prepared a survey in order to collect information feedback. The survey
will collect information about the barriers to innovation, skills, cooperation
and investment, added value of the Partnership in industrial change processes.
Each
Project Partner will distribute the survey among the cluster companies that
took part in the project and ACB will summarize the answers from the
questionnaire and prepare an integrated report about the results. This
information is very important for the evaluation of the Project and to improve the
efficiency of the collaboration.
3. The
experience acquired during the project could also be of great value for policy
players. In this sense, how do you plan to cooperate with regional authorities?
The
cooperation with regional authorities is very important for us. The Project
Partners will prepare a Policy Brief on the lessons learned from the
cooperation activities and submit them to policy makers.
The brief
will include recommendations with regard to improving interregional
collaboration (both B2B and CSC activities), cover issues related to barriers
to innovation, skills, cooperation and investment and the results of the survey
among the companies. Each Partner will discuss with its regional authorities
the Policy Brief during an online meeting in order to reach an agreement about
possible cooperation areas between the Partnership and the involved regional
authorities. After collecting all comments and recommendations we will send the
final document to the involved authorities and distribute it to our members and
partners.
4. Although
the EACN project ends in January next year, the consortium partners are
committed to keep on supporting companies in their industrial modernisation
process in the future. Can you explain how you are preparing for this long-term
cooperation?
EACN has
been initiated in 2017 on a basis of mutual cooperation with the aim to launch
exchanges and joint actions.
During the
last 9 months, our partnership has largely changed and major, sometimes
unexpected, achievements have been realized, such as e.g.:
- The
partnership grew from 9 initial clusters to 21 European and international
clusters today
- A joint
vision for the European Automotive Industry has been developed and published
- EACN and
its members are regular discussion partners for the European Commission,
presenting EACN point of views in events and webinars, and main European
automotive associations and initiatives are looking for discussion and
cooperation.
- EACN was
invited to participate in a High Level Round Table organized by the European
Commissioners Thierry Breton (Internal market) and Nicolas Schmitt (Jobs and
Social Rights), and supports the Jobs4Skills initiative as Automotive part of
the European Pact for Skills.
- EACN
clusters and their members are participating in events organised by other
clusters
- Discussions
concerning potential cooperation with a Mexican automotive cluster network (10
clusters) are ongoing.
With this
in mind, it is now time to think about the future of EACN after the end of the
ongoing COSME funded Project. ACB in close cooperation with all partners from
the broad consortium is preparing Partnership Agenda 2020+. The Partnership will decide upon a stable
coordination structure that will allow to continue the work after the project,
especially for what concerns feeding of the project pipeline with new projects,
monitoring of the indicators, identifying potential resources of financing and cooperation
with regional authorities in the S3 policies. The Partnership will define clear
cooperation processes including: communication modes and tools, problem solving
and decision making procedures.
5. Regarding
the EACN Partnership, this network is opened for other automotive clusters to
join. Why would you recommend them to become a member?
The EACN
network with 21 European and international clusters is a great opportunity to
create new contacts and exchange best practices from Europe and beyond. Every
cluster member can use the trust between the clusters when looking for new
partners abroad.
At the same
time the collaboration in a metacluster can enable contacts with solution
providers and deliver expert support in the process of the industrial modernisation.
