Towards World-Class Clusters - Promoting Cluster Excellence

Call Identifier:62-G-ENT-CIP-13-N04C031

Questions & Answers

Version 4 of 12/06/2013

Q1 / As stated in the call text, eligible members shall be regional or national public authorities or agencies financing and/or managing clusters programmes in their territory. However, one of our competitiveness poles (Pôles de compétitivité) is interested by biding a proposal. After reviewing the text of their proposal, it would fit with the objectives of the call, but we wonder if the cluster, which received support from the Regional Council and the Regional Innovation agency and gathered their participation, can be part of the consortium?
A1 / A cluster organisation cannot be part of a consortium in this call for proposals. As explicitly stated in the Call text, eligible partners are only “regional or national public authorities or agencies financing and/or managing clusters programmes in their territory”, that is, authorities which are supporting cluster initiatives led by cluster organisations. The evaluation committee will be responsible for making the final assessment based on the justifications provided by the applicants.
Q2 / The eligible costs for activities in part C include expenses related to obtaining the gold label of excellence. Does this include the expenses of the cluster organisation for the assessment and validation procedures, which amount to approximately 12.000 EUR, or are these expenses only related to the assistance delivered by the applicant/regional or national public authority?
A2 / This action is mainly related for assisting cluster organisations in their process towards the gold label, which is a rather long process. However, if a cluster organisation is well performing according to the first benchmarking results and the process for obtaining the gold label is short and within the project life, then the costs for getting the gold label can be covered by the project.
Q3 / I would like to ask you if X as a partner in the project Y financed in the Call Promoting excellence of cluster management in the CIP participating countries (4/G/ENT/CIP/11/C/N04C021) is eligible to participate in the Call 62-G-ENT-CIP-13-N04C031 Towards World-Class Clusters - Promoting Cluster Excellence which was published on the 17th April 2013.
A3 / Partners, who have benefited from the previous Call can, in principle, participate in this Call for proposals. However, as stated in the Call for proposals (see section 2), “consortia involving a majority of CIP participating countries having low experience in cluster management excellence will be considered as a priority for funding, provided that they successfully fulfil the Call criteria. See in Annex 5 an updated list of EU Member States according to their activity in the area of cluster excellence”. The evaluation committee will be responsible for making the final assessment based on the information provided by the applicants.
Q4 / We noticed that the information package “guide for applicants” document is linked to the “call for proposals” one.
A4 / The error has been corrected.
Q5 / Could you please inform me where to find information on the projects funded under this call for proposal (62-G-ENT-CIP-13-N04C031) in previous years?
A5 / There is a short description of the 4 previous projects on cluster excellence, including contact details, on the web site of the European Cluster Excellence Initiative: More information about the selected proposals following the 2011 call can be found on:
As the terms of the 2011 Call aren’t exactly the same with those of the present Call, participants in new Call are strongly encouraged to read and consider only the Call text which is relevant to this new call.
Q6 / I was wondering if you saw that the Call for proposal and the Guide for applicants are the same documents. Would you be so kind to upload the right document? Besides, would it be possible to receive also the Application Form?
A6 / See answer A4. The new version of the Application Forms will be uploaded soon;
Q7 / In the framework of the cluster excellence call, I’d like to raise a few questions:
-The description of the call in the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme 2013 WP focused on the SME internationalisation: SME internationalisation is still part of the objectives of the Task B.1 and B.3 but seems rather secondary in comparison with what announced the EIP 2013 WP, should the proposal not focus on SME internationalisation?
-The EIP 2013 WP announced that a call for tender would be launched afterwards and separately to organise matchmaking events: will this call be launched in 2013? If so, should proposals foresee the organisation of such matchmaking events as part of the B.1 and B.3 tasks?
-What is the difference between cluster instructors and benchmarking trainers? It seems to be the same persons who conduct these activities and are certified by ESCA, but in different Tasks: is there two titles because of two different activities? What different roles have the cluster instructors and the cluster managers as trainees in the activity 3?
-The annex 5 provides the full list of ratios but not the list of countries which are in the lowest category with respect to cluster management experience: is there an informal list for this category, under which percentage?
A7 / On point 1: this call for proposals is focused exclusively on promoting cluster excellence. The description in the 2013 EIP included another action focused on SME internationalisation to be implemented through a call for tenders (see next point 2).
On point 2: the call for tenders for organising match making events has been already launched (number 246/PP/ENT/CIP/13/C/N04C032) and closed (deadline 30/04/2013).
On point 3: “benchmarking trainers” are those who will be certified by the European Secretariat for Cluster Analysis for applying the benchmarking methodology for assessing the performance of cluster organisations. “Cluster instructors” are those who will be certified by the European Foundation for Cluster Excellence to provide training services to cluster managers using the training material developed by the European Cluster Excellence Initiative. On point 4: the list provided in Annex 5 is created on the basis of cluster organisations that have received the bronze and gold label so far, which reflects the level of experience of the country on cluster excellence issues.
Q8 / I am interested in the call for proposals "Towards World-Class Clusters - Promoting Cluster Excellence" andI would like to knowhow toaccess the list of selected projects under the 2011 call as well as the selected projects undercurrent callonce they will be published. I would also appreciate if you could send mesome furtherinformation on the current projects on cluster excellence.
A8 / See answer A5.
Q9 / We are currently considering a submission under the World Class Clusters call. I understand that in order to get a higher impact from this action, preference will be given to those CIP participating countries which are in the lowest category with respect to cluster management experience (measured by the ratio of cluster organisations having acquired the bronze label per total number of cluster organisations that exist in a country). FromconsultingAnnex 5,Isee that X has not been awardedthebronze label for its clusters.We have an advanced cluster in our region andIwouldbe most grateful to receive confirmation if a YX clusterwouldbe considered as being inthelowest category withregard to cluster managementexperiencehaving not receivedthebronze label and whether an enterprise agencywouldbeeligibleto lead in a consortium underthiscall.
A9 / Countries which are figured in the table with low level of experience on cluster excellence have the priority as explicitly mentioned in the Call for proposals. More precisely, the Call mentions that “In order to get a higher impact from this action, preference will be given to those CIP participating countries which are in the lowest category with respect to cluster management experience (measured by the ratio of cluster organisations having acquired the bronze label per total number of cluster organisations that exist in a country). Thus, consortia involving a majority of CIP participating countries having low experience in cluster management excellence will be considered as a priority for funding, provided that they successfully fulfil the call criteria. See in Annex 5 an updated list of EU Member States according to their activity in the area of cluster excellence.” However, please note that a cluster organisation is not eligible to participate in a consortium (see A1).
Q10 / Could the X (provincial / local authority) be an eligible member in order to submit a proposal under the CIP 62-G-ENT-CIP-13-N04C031 « Cluster excellence »?
A10 / As stated in the call for proposals “eligible members shall be regional or national public authorities or agencies financing and/or managing clusters programmes in their territory.” Such organisations should be able to sign the forms available in Annex 6. The evaluation committee will be responsible for making the final assessment based on the justifications provided by the applicants.
Q11 / I have been through the documentation and I require some clarifications to the below queries:
Part A
-The proposal requests that for each consortium, every member should select 6 cluster organisations to start the benchmarking process for the bronze label.
Question 1: What if country X doesn’t have as much as 6 cluster organisations – given our size and lack of clustering activity? Is this an immediate show stopper or can we make a case for us to name only 1 or 2 cluster organisations?
Part B
-Similar to the above, Part B requires that 3 cluster instructor trainees (undergoing cluster instructor training programme through this project) select 2 cluster organisations to support. This would add up to 6 cluster organisations.
Question 2: Again would the lack of 6 cluster organisations constitute a direct disqualification for us?
-Part B also provides the opportunity for cluster managers to receive training on cluster management.
Question 3: It is not clear to me on whether the trainer will be the newly certified instructors (through this project); or whether the trainers will be cluster instructors who have received their certification separately to this project?
-Certified Cluster Benchmarking trainees vs. Cluster Instructor.
Question 4: It is not clear to me on how these 2 roles will work together / whether one is temporary and the other is more permanent etc.?
Eligible Direct Costs:
-The difference between the first two bullet points listed in this section is not clear to me.
Question 5: Does the first refer to the salary of the project manager + other employees working within the beneficiary to execute the project; whilst the second refers to the salary of those supporting the beneficiary employed within another Governmental entity to execute this project? I.e.: there can be employees from 2 different Government entities working on the project?
A11 / On question 1, if less than 6 cluster organisations exist in the country the partner should consider a reasonably high number of cluster organisations, and the proposal should include a clear justification of the situation.Same reply for question 2. On question 3, such trainings will be “conducted by cluster instructors who have already been certified by ECEI/EFCE based on an updated list of all existing certified cluster EFCE instructors” as stated in the Call text. The trainees participating in this project cannot be part of this list as they will not yet be certified for providing such trainings. On question 4, it is encouraged (but not mandatory) to have the same person assigned by a project partner to follow the two types of trainings so that he/she is able to have a full overview of the needs of the cluster organisations involved. The first is on using the benchmarking tool and he/she will be certified for that by the European Secretariat for Cluster Analysis and the second for becoming a cluster instructor and he/she will be certified by the European Foundation for Cluster Excellence. On question 5, it is understood that it refers to the section 4.2.1 of the Call for proposals. In this case, bullet 1 explains the general conditions for eligibility of staff costs. Bullet 2 explains the additional conditions in case of national administrations. The reason behind is that there should be no financing of an activity that is already funded by the budget of the Member State (no profit principle).
Q12 / I would like to ask you the following question regarding the eligibility of the consortium partners: There is a specific Ministry who wishes to submit a proposal under this call. The ministry is coordinating Clusters which do not have legal representation, meaning that the clusters are not registered legal entities. Does this generate any obstacles for the partner?
A12 / The action is addressed to regional or national authorities that are responsible for managing cluster programmes, including Ministries. Clusters are often facilitated by a cluster organisationhaving a legal entity and managed by a cluster manager. This structure facilitates the application of the whole methodology followed by this Call, and it is therefore strongly recommended. If cluster organisations do not yet exist they can be set up at a later stage if the project is selected.
Q13 / Our organisation X is a research organisation of private law, non-profit, public body.
X is the cluster facilitator for 2clusters in the region. Both clusters consist of a number of innovative SMEs (members) and a number of associated research centres. Is X eligible for funding under the specific call? Moreover, in the information it is stated that the action will support cluster organisations, which have already acquired the bronze label of excellence, to move to the next level of excellence and acquire the gold level. X has not acquired the bronze label of excellence. Is X eligible for funding or not?
A13 / With respect to the first question, organisation X is eligible for this Call (and should complete and submit the forms provided in Annex 6), provided that X is not itself a cluster organisation but a public body managing cluster initiatives. Indeed, as explicitly stated in the Call text, eligible partners are only “regional or national public authorities or agencies financing and/or managing clusters programmes in their territory”. The evaluation committee will be responsible for making the final assessment based on the justifications provided by the applicants. On the second question, indeed Part C includes actions to support cluster organisations which acquired under Part A the bronze label to get the gold label later on. Partners of the consortium are not required to have the bronze label because they are not cluster organisations.
Q14 / I'd like to inform you thatI have admission for PhD program at University of Xin field of Y. I have a research proposal. Can I apply for your supporting program to cover my expenses?
A14 / This Call for proposals doesn’t allow the funding of research proposals.
Q15 / X is a company based in Y. We are interested in participating in the tender mentioned above hence want to get more information about the same.Considering the geographical constraint of personally reviewing the document, I request you to provide us the following details before we buy the document: …
A15 / This is a Call for proposals and not a Call for tenders.

Q16We would appreciate if you could clarify some questions:

  1. As X we are a public body but we don’t finance / manage directly cluster programmes in our territory, so we wonder if:
  2. We could take part in a proposal as partners;
  3. We could take part in a proposal as partners, attaching to the proposal an agreement or a letter of support in which a Regional or National body that finance / manage directly cluster programmes states that they support the action and they are going to cooperate in the development of the project;
  4. Independently of the above question, could the programme support an action in which a Regional body participate as a partner and the participant clusters do not belong to this Region but come from the same country? (taking into account that there will be another two partners from other CIP countries)

Could the programme support an action in which several clusters of the same country participate with the same sectoral aims (e.g. ports, transport, logistics)? In this case, should the partner be a national public body?

A16On point 1, the Call for proposals states that “eligible members shall be regional or national public authorities or agencies financing and/or managing clusters programmes in their territory”. From the description provided above (in points “a” and “b”) , it seems that organisation X doesn’t fulfil this eligibility criterion; a simple letter supporting the project is not sufficient. The evaluation committee will judge and take the final decision on the basis of the information provided by the applicant. With respect to the second question, it would be possible that the involved cluster organisations come from another region and in such cases it is not necessary to involve a national public body. The reason of involving cluster organisations is that the trainees can practice what they have learned during their training (so-called “field work”), independently if these cluster organisations come from the same region or not.

Q17In chapter 5, ELIGIBILITY, page 16 of the call for proposals, 5.1 Eligible applicants, it is said as follow: “eligible members of the consortium shall be regional or national public authorities or agencies financing and / or managingcluster programmes in their territory.” We are a local Economic Development Agency, part of the Economic and Employment Department of X City Council. This Agency is working to both encourage and drive forward the economic development of our city and its economic fabric, through three specific areas: competitiveness among small and medium sized companies; encouraging entrepreneurship; and improving the commercial infrastructure of the city and attracting foreign investment. The Agency supports, among other activities, the following: Business incubators network; to provide entrepreneurs with financing tools to start up their business ideas. My question is: could OUR Agency be consider as a possible eligible applicant due to the nature of the services provided to SME and entrepreneurs?