Clusters as boosters
of regional development
in Skåne

Strengthening the European economy through collaboration – this is the goal of the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP), a European Union initiative. The ECCP helps cluster organisations in Europe and beyond to network, communicate, and collaborate – because together we are better equipped to face the challenges of the green and digital transitions. As part of the consortium led by IMP³ROVE, Prognos participates in the further development of the European Cluster Collaboration Platform in Europe.

Prognos’ is responsible for Work Package 3, “Data & Policy” as well as producing input papers for regional workshops. In June 2023, we published a paper on the Swedish coastal region of Skåne.

Smart specialisation as a booster for innovation in Skåne

The “Clusters as boosters for innovation in industrial ecosystems – the case of Skåne” paper presents Skåne’s cluster ecosystem and gives food for thought on the future development of the region:

• The economic structure of Skåne and South Sweden is characterised by a large service provider that has seen continuous grown in recent years.
• The education and health sectors play a significant role in employment and demonstrate a high degree of specialisation.
• The growth of the economy can be linked back to the high degree of digitalisation and a strong technological sector.
• In the Regional Innovation Gazette 2021, South Sweden was classified a “leading innovator."
• In the regional competitiveness index South Sweden demonstrates an above-average performance in the “Technological performance” category.
• The South Sweden region has the highest number of ECCP-registered cluster organisations in Sweden (11 cluster organisations). Nine of these are based in Skåne. These cluster organisations are operational in 7 from 14 of the EU’s industrial ecosystems.
• Cluster organisations can play a significant role in the design and implementation of smart specialisation strategies (S3). In Skåne, the cluster organisations contribute to the development of the S3, the focal areas of which are based on the region’s existing business clusters.
• The innovation strategy for the sustainable growth of Skåne identified six areas of focus:  tech, life science and health, food, advanced materials and manufacturing, smart sustainable cities, and the Science Village innovation system.

The project team presented the insights of the input paper in June 2023, in Malmö.

Links and downloads

Download the input paper (cluster collaboration.eu PDF)

More information on the ECCP (cluster collaboration.eu)

Project team: Dr Jan-Philipp Kramer, Marie-Kristin Komendzinski, Lennart Galdiga, Felix Ginzinger, Fabian Schmidt, Maximilian Welford

Last update: 12.06.2023