Cross cluster collaboration (National ERDF program)

As smart specialisation was presented as an ex-ante condition for the ERDF-program, regional prioritisations were made by the 8 NUTS2-regions. However, there was no national coordinating S3. To spur innovation in Swedish areas of strength, there was a need for increased interregional collaboration, as well as for developed links between the regional and national level. In many cases, regional S3 priorities were driven by regional cluster organisations. However, many of these organisations were small, had limited resources for collaboration and lacked an overview of priorities in other regions. To further develop Swedish areas of strength and stimulate the collaborative processes relating to them, more interregional collaborations were needed.
In the fall of 2016, the national ERDF program introduced a call for proposal for regional cluster organizations to apply for funding for interregional collaboration in Sweden. The ambition was to coordinate regional priorities in constellations of a minimum of three clusters (or RDI-platforms) from at least two Swedish regions, working within a sectorial or thematic area.
In 2017, a decision was taken to allocate €3 million to six projects in different sectors; health care, aerospace, life science, textiles/architecture, foodstuff and offshore.
Each project involves at least three regional clusters or RDI-platforms, representing different types of stakeholders e.g. cluster organizations, research institutes, universities, etc.