Thematic area: Economic Growth and Jobs. Sector: Regional Policy
Workshop: Cluster-to-Cluster Cooperation
Partners: 
Ministry of National Integration / 
Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy.
Year: 2012
Project Overview:
In the 1990s, the economic opening challenged the competitiveness of Brazilian companies as access to imports and the entry of foreign companies demanded higher quality, lower prices and technological upgrading. Despite the difficulties faced by the industry in the face of foreign competition, several localised productive agglomerations emerged at the time, in a fashion somewhat similar to that seen in industrialised countries. In recent years, the policy of Local Productive Arrangements (APLs) showed improvements related to the construction of institutional structures and the search for elementary gains in competitiveness. Now, the APLs may become increasingly important to the diffuse industrialization in the country, providing authentic ways to sustain employment in various regions, increasing the competitiveness of productive spaces, along with the deployment of skills and abilities. In this context, a more structured and consolidated mapping of APLs / clusters in Brazil and the European Union was conducted in the first half of 2012, as part of the 4th Call for Participation in EU-Brazil Sector Dialogues Support Facility, thus enhancing the potential for cluster-to-cluster cooperation. To seek breakthroughs competitiveness gains in the APLs an exchange of experiences will be promoted, assisting the joint construction of new knowledge. Under this 5th Call, a workshop will be conducted with the participation of agencies and bodies of the federal government, state centrer, local stakeholders and EU representatives to present the findings of this study. This initiative represents an effective instrument for building knowledge and learning so as to enhance cluster-to-cluster cooperation. Overall objective: Promote cluster-to-cluster cooperation between Brazil and the European Union, with a focus on sharing information, tools and experiences that promote excellence in clusters, as well as strengthen and foster business cooperation in technological research between clusters in the European Union and Brazil. Specific objectives and expected results: - Establish technical cooperation ties between institutions responsible for the management of EU regional policy and their Brazilian counterparts; - Create a cooperation agenda between clusters in Brazil and Europe, increasing the potential for the development of bilateral projects; - Disseminate the results of the study conducted under this action among agencies and bodies of the Brazilian government, the state centers and local stakeholders.
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