FEDER - Equine sector competitiveness cluster - Support for the promotion of innovation in the equine sector 2015
Kohesio
POLE DE COMPETITIVITE FILIERE EQUINE
With nearly 150 members, the Hippolia Cluster is the network of innovative players in the French equine industry. Labeled as a competitiveness cluster in 2005, the Hippolia Cluster aims for the French equine industry to become a world leader in innovation with a beating heart in Lower Normandy. In less than 10 years, the Cluster has been able to create a real dynamic around innovation and support the transformation of this sector. More than 120 innovation projects have been certified and have already created 150 jobs and maintained around a hundred, but also 10 startups, including 9 in Lower Normandy. As part of phase 3, the competitiveness clusters' mission is to evolve from project factories to product factories. To achieve this, the Hippolia Cluster is orienting its strategy around four major axes: - Accelerate innovative projects - Deliver adapted shared services - Promote innovation - Be a stakeholder in the attractiveness of the territory These actions are intended in particular to strengthen R&D activities around equine health, one of the priority areas identified within the framework of RIS3 in Lower Normandy within the field “Innovation and technologies in biomedical sciences .The actions which are the subject of this request for aid aim to stimulate innovation activity through promotional actions and to contribute to the transfer of knowledge, networking and dissemination of information and collaboration between businesses and organizations. In terms of promoting innovation, the Cluster has already implemented certain actions whose continuity must be maintained: the first showcase of equestrian innovations Hippolia Showroom, a newsletter strategy, the animation of social networks, etc. as well as interventions in several training courses to raise students' awareness of innovation in the equine sector. The Cluster also capitalizes on successful actions such as the establishment of an innovation competition during the World Equestrian Games on an innovative stand which saw one of the largest attendances in the exhibiting village (7,000 visitors). Also in 2015, the Center wishes to maintain the continuity of actions satisfying members (97% satisfaction) while implementing new actions mainly with the objective of strengthening the recognition of the French equine industry as a provider of innovations. The actions are detailed below.
Smarter Europe / Research and innovation / Research and innovation processes in SMEs (including voucher schemes, process, design, service and social innovation)