ABSTRACT
North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW) is a region struggling with the decline of major industries. This is particularly true in the Ruhrgebiet where new approaches to regional regeneration have been consistently explored in past decades, including the cluster approach. The existing policy environment in NRW provided a strong context for the development of the cluster approach. The overall picture of measures implementing the cluster or competence strategy includes the following elements: technology-led initiatives based on a strict cooperative approach covering the entire Land; local projects and initiatives; and the development of the competence economy. This chapter looks in more detail at one particular cluster initiative in NRW: ChemSite. ChemSite consists of three sub-projects: a location initiative, aiming at exogenous development; an alliance for innovation to support endogenous development; and ChemVision, a roundtable to discuss and initiate the development of the entire area as a location for chemical production.
