The Cluster Policy in the Basque Country
At the beginning of the 1990s the Basque Country was in a process of economic decline. Until then most industry was competing on price, a competitive advantage that was now being lost. The necessity of developing new, specialised and sustainable advantages was recognised by the Government, in particular in the light of the impending consolidation of a common European market. New policy responses were sought and in particular the Basque government pioneered, together with Catalonia (Spain) and Scotland (UK), the establishment of a Porterian cluster policy that is still in operation today.
The specified aim of the Basque cluster policy is the improvement of the competitiveness of firms and the region through cooperation in strategic projects related to three main areas: technology, quality management and internationalisation. This was operationalised by the Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism (DITT) with the establishment of Cluster Associations (CAs). The CAs are institutions for collaboration whose main objective is to improve each cluster's competitiveness by facilitating and fostering cooperation/collaboration among their members; these include firms, R&D centres, universities, government and so on.
Cluster associations
- Uniport Bilbao
Port of Bilbao - HEGAN
Basque Aerospace Cluster - MLC-ITS Euskadi
Mobility and Logistics Cluster - EIKEN
Basque Audiovisual - Foro Marítimo Vasco
Basque Maritime Forum - CLUSTERPAPEL
Paper Cluster - AFM
Machine Tool Manufacturer's Association of Spain - ACLIMA
Environmental Industries - Cluster Energía
Energy Cluster - ACEDE
Domestic Appliance Cluster - GAIA
Electronic and Information Technologies - ACICAE
Basque Automotive Industry
