Esquisse du positionnement Européen des pôles de compétitivité belges

All countries have now, to different degrees, implemented cluster policies. As clusters are spatial agglomerations of co-located industries and services, the regional dimension is a main component in the fine tuning of policies implemented. Given that the cluster policy is considered as one of the main strategic priorities for successfully promoting innovation, a tentative mapping as well as a benchmarking of European clusters is realized in this paper. This will give the opportunity of positioning Belgian regions regarding to their potential clusters. The Flemish region is characterized by a large number of potential world-class and European clusters. The number of potential world-class and European clusters is more limited in the Walloon region. Given the smallness of the region, Brussels can only expect sustains one or two potential world-class or European clusters. In the international competition to become first-level places in specific industrial fields, Belgian regions will have advantage to cooperate to promote jointly some clusters. © De Boeck Université.SCOPUS: ar.j