Clustering knowledge, Innovation and Design in the SEE WOOD sector

With its surplus of forests resources the wood sector in the SEE area presents significant potentials still to be exploited. In most of SE Europe countries, wood sector is rather fragmented, lacking an organic policy approach that would create the basic conditions for its development. The area involved in the project is characterized by a clear dual spatial pattern, where some of the regions involved managed to develop their sectoral potentials reaching, in some cases, levels of excellence, while other regions/countries involved still struggle to tune up the right support approach and, in some cases, to set up basic support frameworks. Wood sector is showing very low R&D investments and scarce innovation levels in most of the involved countries. SMEs lack access to technology and knowledge and record a poor internationalization. Sector data show significant opportunities for recovery by reducing gaps in terms of productivity and capital formation. In this scenario,IDWOOD aims to promote and foster innovation and competitiveness of SMEs in the wood sector in the SEE area by sharing and transferring technical and organizational know-how to enable local support organizations (wood clusters, wood tech centres and RDAs) to address structural deficits of SMEs and enhance innovation potentials. In particular, project objectives are: building up and consolidating transnational network of wood-furniture clusters, wood technology centres, RDAs and knowledge poles (Universities, Industrial design centres); fostering innovation skills in the wood sector supporting structures; creating new functions and competencies on design, intellectual property and environmental issues; bridging gaps between the productive sector and knowledge poles; rising SME capacity to implement innovation processes. To achieve the objectives, envisaged project activities in 9 Countries are: - need analysis and development strategies considering the wood chain, the needs of the support organizations and the institutional and policy framework; - innovation capacity building trough specific courses for wood support organizations on cluster management and other topics (design, innovation, sector legislation); set up partnerships between support organizations and knowledge poles ensuring transfer of knowledge to SMEs; implementation of competitiveness development projects for the common interest of local SMEs; dissemination events on innovation/design; testing the new acquired capacities involving SMEs; - strengthening the network transnational cooperation capacity (transnational knowledge clustering) by solving at transnational level specific emerged SMEs problems; by producing at transnational level a set of thematic dossiers on specific themes (design, innovation, environment, legislation, project results); by forming a strategic programming laboratory aimed at analyzing the forthcoming EU cohesion policy and developing a Network Action Plan as the basis for further common actions. IDWOOD workplan foresees to deliver and achieve the following outputs and results: Outputs: 12 Regional analysis and need assessment of wood sector; 17 development plans for wood technology centres/wood clusters; 12 guidelines for sector development; 3 courses for cluster managers; 4 courses on innovation, design, environment; 9 agreements between support organisations-knowledge poles; 9 competitiveness development projects; 27 technical dissemination and promotional events; 180 cases of SMEs problem solving; 18 open days; 5 thematic dossiers; 2 transnational conferences; 1 network action plan; Results: improved capacities of support organisations; transnational cooperation between support organisations, knowledge poles and productive sector; increased information flow towards SMEs; innovation, design and knowledge transferred to SMEs; sustainability of the transnational network/support system and SMEs cooperation after project end; increased knowledge of market opportunities.