Thematic area: Economic Growth and Jobs. Sector: Private sector and Sustainable Industries
Governance: Exchange Management Cluster
Partners: 
Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade / 
Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry.
Year: 2012
Project Overview:
The Local Production Arrangements (APLs) in Brazil have gained the attention of many institutions in the fields of planning, research and development -- both nationally and internationally -- as well as state and local governments. However, there is still no precise definition of the role to be played by each of the parties involved in the process of supporting the development of these production clusters. According to a study by the Ministry of National Integration and the Development and Regional Planning Centre of the Federal University of Minas Gerais ( UFMG/Cedeplar), one way of positively impacting the advancement of production clusters is by encouraging the development of a local culture able to promote a sense of regionalism and enhance an associative culture, one that will promote and preserve local historical and cultural aspects. The development of an APL depends on the implementation of actions that are consistent with local specificities and are backed politically and socially, both internally and externally. Thus, it is advisable to create a managing group whose organisation respects the local characteristics and which is socially legitimised, composed of public and private stakeholders, both internal and external to the cluster, and coordinated by internal private agents. By means of a seminar and a study mission to the five Brazilian APLs, this project aims to promote greater awareness of the role of governance in local development and generate knowledge about the European and Brazilian experiences in this field. Overall objective: To promote Brazil - European Union Cluster x Cluster Cooperation, with a focus on sharing information, tools and experiences for the promotion of excellence in clusters among institutions related to cluster development. It also aims to strengthen and promote business cooperation in technological research between clusters in the European Union and in Brazil. Specific objectives and expected results: - Establish technical cooperation links between institutions responsible for the management of EU regional policy and their Brazilian counterparts; - Develop a study on successful experiences in APL / cluster governance in Brazil and in the European Union, with a view to developing technical cooperation projects; - Establish a cooperation dialogue between Brazilian and European institutions as regards the mechanisms and tools used in the governance of clusters; - Disseminate the results of the study among the bodies and agencies of the federal government, the state centres and local actors, as well as representatives of the European Union.
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