BCC Awarded European Label of Excellence

During the 15th TCI annual global conference which was held in San Sebastian from the 15th to the 19th of October, the European Secretariat for Cluster Analysis (ESCA) awarded the Beirut Creative Cluster (BCC)  the European Bronze Label for Cluster Management Excellence.

The benchmarking methodology used structured interviews carried out in a workshop format by a director of ESCA. The focus is a review and comparison of the cluster management with respect to various portfolios of cluster organizations worldwide. The special workshop session was offered during the 15th TCI Annual Global Conference.

The methodology of benchmarking of cluster management organizations was developed by: VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH (VDI/VDE-IT) by a special request from the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. Since 2007 they have benchmarked more than 250 cluster management organizations.

By focusing on 36 indicators the interview captures data on different dimensions of the cluster and the cluster organization, including the structure of the cluster, the cluster management and the governance structures of the cluster, financing of the cluster organization, services provided by the cluster organization, communication within the cluster and achievements and recognition of the cluster and the cluster organizationThe analysis is presented in a comprehensive benchmarking report (ca. 60 pages). The report includes graphical comparison of the cluster with clusters from the same technological area and the most excellent ones in Europe. The report also includes recommendations for improvement.

The methodology of benchmarking of cluster management organizations is in line with the activities of the European Cluster Excellence Initiative (ECEI), a project co-funded by the European Commission Directorate General Enterprise and Industry within the PRO INNO Europe® initiative. Selected partners of ECEI gave valuable inputs to specific benchmarking indicators.

Congratulations to BCC board and members for this recognition and congratulations to Berytech for believing in and supporting the cluster initiative.