Por Redaccion 
Andalucía is home to at least 21 clusters and business associations that innovate in strategic sectors driving the economic development of the community such as agri-food activity, aerospace and defense, transportation and logistics, energy, naval and maritime sectors. This was highlighted by the Minister of University, Research, and Innovation, José Carlos Gómez Villamandos, during the inauguration of the II Regional Cluster Innovation Meeting organized by the Regional Government, where he also announced that his department will call for grants worth ten million euros in the first half of July to strengthen the activity of innovation clusters.
During his speech, Gómez Villamandos explained that out of these 21 business groups, nine have been accredited as innovation clusters in the Andalusian knowledge agents registry. These entities bring together, in a geographical or productive sector, a group of public and private companies, research centers, and training institutions. Their activities are organized around a scientific or technological branch or a market, with a critical mass that ensures the competitiveness and international visibility of the business sector they represent. The community already recognizes Andalucía Aerospace (aerospace and defense), Railway Innovation Hub (rail transportation), the Cluster of Digital, Sustainable, and Innovative Industries (onTech Innovation) (Information and Communication Technologies), Smart City Cluster (smart city development), Landaluz (agri-food), the Maritime-Naval Cluster of Cádiz (naval and maritime sector), Inóleo (olive oil and auxiliary industry), the Plastic Cluster of Andalucía (plastics), and Innovacal (agro-industry).
In addition to these nine innovation clusters, the community also has at least 12 business associations that, although not registered in the Andalusian knowledge agents registry, have cluster structures and the business and economic strength to drive innovation. These include the Andalusian Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Cluster (AFAR), the Association of Research, Extraction, Transformation, Mining-Metallurgical, Auxiliary, and Service Companies (AMINER), the Advanced Transport Services Group (ASAT), the Andalusian Renewable Energy Association (CLANER), the Andalusian Hydrogen Cluster, the Sustainable Construction Cluster of Andalusia (CSA), the Maritime-Marine Cluster of Andalusia (CMMA), the Association of Water Supply and Sanitation (ASA Andalucía), the Technological Cluster Association (NEXUR), the Logistics Cluster (Andalucía Logistic), the Audiovisual and Digital Content Cluster of Andalusia (LAND), and the Cybersecurity Cluster of Andalusia (CARANTE).
The Minister of University emphasized that «clusters are a key element in fostering innovation in the SME sector, which poses a great challenge for the community,» adding that «if innovation is done well and consolidated, it will promote the creation of quality jobs and the retention of individuals in the region.»
For clusters and business associations, this II Regional Cluster Meeting is, as highlighted by Gómez Villamandos, an opportunity to share examples of best practices implemented by clusters and business associations, establish connections among them, and initiate collaborations to carry out joint projects. «This meeting is an ideal opportunity to strengthen the inter and intra-cluster relationships, allowing you to increase visibility and enhance the relationship between companies, technology centers, and research groups to establish joint initiatives,» he affirmed. The event will also serve to introduce the mechanisms of public support for cluster activities and the calls for public grants from the Regional Government for the implementation of innovation projects developed by companies and coordinated through clusters.
The University Minister is confident that «Andalucía will continue to add innovative clusters and associations», thanks to the positive impact of deploying a policy and roadmap for innovation clusters. The Ministry of University has developed this strategy in this legislative term to provide these entities with a suitable framework for action that allows them to strengthen their capacity to generate innovation in the regional economy. In his opinion, «everything deployed within this strategy of the Andalusian Government is promoting the emergence of new business groups around specific strategic sectors.»
Activation of ten million grants for clusters in July
Furthermore, Gómez Villamandos highlighted that his department is finalizing the call for two programs dedicated to innovation clusters with a budget of ten million euros, and the plan is to launch them in the first half of July with the aim of keeping them open until mid-September. Both grant programs are part of the ‘InnovAndalucía’ initiative, funded with 59 million from the FEDER Andalucía 2021-2027 Program to promote business and technological innovation in strategic sectors for Andalucía.
The ten million budget will cover both growth and consolidation actions, with a budget of two million euros, as well as industrial research or experimental development projects, with eight million allocated, ultimately aiming to promote the competitiveness of SMEs and the regional economy.
These specific incentives for these strategic business groups align precisely with the Andalusian cluster policy deployed, which also includes considering these innovation entities as agents of the Andalusian knowledge system.
Apart from this ten million budget, InnovAndalucía also encompasses two other grant calls aimed at the business sector to develop technological projects in collaboration with knowledge generation agents. The first, worth 11.4 million, will focus on industrial research or experimental development initiatives in Andalucía, while the second is dedicated to the development of business innovation projects in the sustainable aviation sector, with an injection of 15 million.