Temporary inter-organisational collaboration as a driver of regional innovation: an evaluation

摘要

This paper discusses the results of an ex post evaluation of the Southeast Brabant cluster scheme in the Netherlands. This scheme, which ran from 1994 through 2005, supported new product development of small and medium-sized enterprises and used temporary collaboration between organisations as a means to stimulate product innovation among SMEs and to strengthen the 'industrial tissue' in a region. It is shown that the cluster scheme was very successful with regard to the technological outcomes. However, the economic outcomes were less pronounced. The results of this study are important in several ways. First, it shows that temporary networks are a valuable instrument for regional innovation policy. Second, it stresses that spatial proximity is still a relevant factor in the innovation process. Third, most companies in this cluster scheme have found ways to overcome the drawbacks of temporality.