| BeLCAR will establish and run a European platform improving product, process and organisational innovation in and across regional automotive clusters. Starting from the analysis of six European automotive clusters the BeLCAR co-operation platform will be designed and established. The partners will develop and implement joint innovation strategies and exchange knowledge and best practice between the regions. Other European automotive clusters will be associated to BeLCAR through the organisation of visiting schemes. New innovation projects will be stimulated facing recent developments in the automotive sector regarding power train and full service solutions.The consortium consists of 6 regional partners (Stuttgart Region (D), East of England (UK), Upper Austria (A), Lombardy (I), Barcelona (E) and West-Transdanubia (HU)) and a consulting company (Logotech (GR)). Companies and stakeholders are involved through regional advisory boards and round tables. Cluster theory experts and academics will be subcontracted by the partners for specific activities contributing to 7 workpackages.The European Commission benefits from policy recommendations, prepared by BeLCAR activities as well as from cluster management tools and regional policy measures, ready to be transferred to other European regions and sectors through guidelines and the best practice manual delivered by BeLCAR.Regional authorities will gain insight in strategies and methods allowing to improve regional innovation policy through improved cluster formation and performance.Cluster managers will profit from practices and tools already validated in other automotive clusters and improved through BeLCAR activities.Companies of the automotive clusters participating in BeLCAR will be able to improve their innovation capacity through definition of co-operation projects across the clusters. Special focus will be given beyond product innovation to projects in process and organisational innovation. |