Competitive clusters: the 7th call for projects issued

This seventh call for projects inaugurates the second phase of the government competitive cluster policy that will span the 2009 to 2011 period for which the state has freed up 1.5 billion euros. A large portion of this sum is earmarked for R&D projects, "engines driving the clusters."

This new call applies to all sectors of business, industry (including agrifood) and services. Projects should be approved by the competitive cluster to which they pertain before being submitted.

Selection criteria in particular include:

* impact in terms of value, economic activity and job creation;
* technologically innovative content;
* the development of new products or services that can be put on the market in the medium term;
* project coherence with cluster strategy as well as that of the companies involved.

The list of projects selected will be made public in late February 2009.

Note that this call for projects is not open to structural projects such as innovation platforms, to which a specific call for projects will be devoted in the coming weeks.

For further information and to register to participate, see the competitive cluster website.