ABSTRACT
Globalisation and new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) radically changed production processes and contributed to a drop in manufacturing's share of GDP in old industrial centres. In smart specialisation, cities and regions are invited to go through an entrepreneurial discovery process and invest in technologies that modernise and diversify their industries and clusters towards new production activities for global niche markets. Smart specialisation is driving new European Union (EU) regional policy towards research and innovation strategies for smart specialisation. Cluster management and strategy elaboration was a common point of reference for cluster growth in all the cluster surveys. Cluster life cycle drives strategy, which adapts to phases of emergence, growth, maturity and decline. In the networked model, sound cluster management is supposed to offer platforms for discussion and joint action across members. Intelligence, market watch and foresight on technologies, innovations, and market opportunities are key areas of cluster growth.
