ICE Cluster Policies and Sectoral Policies

The creation and development of sectorial clusters was promoted by the regional government ten years ago in Castilla y León. Clusters are nowadays mature entities which play an important role to boost innovation in the sectors they are working on, especially among SMEs. There are ten clusters registered in the Regional Cluster Register.Vitartis, the Food Industry Cluster of Castilla y León is one of them, working in the agri-food sector. Clusters bring together related business jointly with universities, research centres, public institutes. This spurs three important activities: increased productivity (through specialized inputs, access to information, synergies, and access to public goods), more rapid innovation (through cooperative research and competitive striving), and new business formation (filling in niches and expanding the boundaries of the cluster map). Clusters also promote collaboration among the productive sector and the regional innovation infrastructure: - Science Parks, Technology Centres facilitating the transformation of the areas of research of these infrastructures towards the business demands in the innovation area. Also, Clusters are part of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Network made up by different agents of the region with competences and capacities in R&D&innovation (public bodies, universities, research centres). The aim of this network is to dynamize R&D&innovation initiatives finding areas and opportunities of collaboration among its members.