The Clusters Meet Regions series is part of the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP), an initiative onbehalf of the European Commission. This two-day long flagship event brought together key regional actors, clusters, policymakers and industry representatives to explore how clusters contribute to regional industrial transformation and discuss how they can better support the green and digital transitions in the aerospace, e-mobility and nautical sectors, three strategic industry areas at the heart of Umbria’s Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3).

Over two days, the  event in Foligno featured highly insightful keynote speeches and thought-provoking panel discussions, highlighting clusters as “engines of progress that help regions compete, innovate and lead” (Stefania Proietti, President of Regione Umbria) and emerging drivers in the twin transitions.

Speakers held that Clusters, anchored in strong cross-sectoral collaboration, heavily contribute to fostering innovation and development and operationalising the emerging strategic priorities set at EU level. In this regard, panellists highlighted the crucial involvement of Clusters in multiple key strategic fields (renewable technologies, circular economy, advanced materials),as well as theircontribution to skill development, SME support and strong alignment with the region’s S3.

Moreover, interested participants were welcome to take part in pitching sessions destined to promote their companies, projects and initiatives before other attendees, thereby fostering inter-sectoral collaboration. They were also invited to attend study visits of the following three national companies, specialised in the afore-mentioned key strategic sectors of the region:   
O.M.A. SpA (Foligno), leading supplier of aircraft components intended for the civil and military market of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircrafts; Rampini SpA (Passignano sul Trasimeno), producer of electric and fuel-cell buses, vehicles and equipment for the defence industry and civilian use, covering a wide range of purposes and Roccomarmi Srl (Terni), true reference point for their marble, processed in-house.

Closing the event,Alberto Valenzano (Team Leader Industrial Forum, Alliances and Clusters DG GROW, European Commission)echoed a powerful message: “Stronger together is the perfect motto for clusters. By building meta-clusters, we can turn local strengths into national leadership.”Finally, the EURADA Director Francesco Molica stressed the crucial role of Regional Development Agenciesin shaping an industrial policy that reflects Europe’s diverse landscape, noting that “Europe’s diversity is its strength, but it must be fully recognised. Regional Development Agencies today play a greater role than ever in shaping industrial policy that reflects this complexity.”