EU Cluster Excellence Programm deadline 29 October
The EU aims to promote cluster excellence with the Cluster Excellence Programme, and calls for organisations to participate in the programme. The focus will lie on strengthening cluster management excellence as to further professionalize business services to European SMEs.
The Cluster Excellence Programme, that is supported under COSME, is primarily aiming to promote cluster excellence across the EU for the benefit of European SMEs that are involved in clusters. The first stop is to strengthen business services to SMEs by cluster organisations.
Who can apply?
The call is for organisations and networks that are engaged in/planning on a strategic industry-driven collaboration in a manufacturing or service sector, that are facing common challenges. The organizations should be open to:
- Improve their management practices, market/competitive advantages or value-chain analytical capacaties
- Provide the best service possible to SMEs, especially in the field of creativity integration in businesses, facilitating internationalization, exploiting and diffusing Key Enabling Technologies (KETs), assisting in IPRs protection and addressing resource-efficiency issues.
Conditions
Applicant organisations must be established:
- in EU Member States; or
- in countries participating in the COSME programme under Article 6 of the COSME Regulation. (further info is available here)
Moreover, eligible applicants are cluster organisations and business networks which can demonstrate that provide or channel cluster and network support services to local businesses, in compliance with the definition given in the section 5.8 of the Community Framework for State Aid for Research and Development and Innovation.
Consortia implementing the activities have to be made up of a minimum of three cluster organisations or business networks and come from at least three COSME participating countries. For more details, please consult the text of the call available below.
Download & practical information
The submission deadline is October 29th 2014 at 17:00 (Brussels time). The online submission system will be available soon. Please keep an eye on this website for the latest news, more details and additional documents.
Download the full call below:
Call for proposals – Cluster Excellence Programme (pdf)
