February 2006
Summary
Réalités industrielles
February 2006
Complete issue
Editorial
By François Valérian
Rédacteur en chef des Annales des Mines
Avant-propos
By François Loos
Ministre délégué à l'Industrie
A global approach
Putting Europe back on the road to growth and employment: The stakes in the Lisbon strategy
By Günter Verheugen
Vice-Président de la Commission européenne
None
Poles of competitiveness, accelerators of innovation
By Daniel Darmon
Conseiller spécial du Délégué interministériel à l'Aménagement et à la Compétitivité des Territoires
The basis for the poles of competitiveness policy launched by DATAR in late 2002 is to break with the “emergency” approach to development by playing up the advantages of regions and to provide a new impetus so as to reinforce growth. In a year (from October 2004 to October 2005), decisions were made about the administrative and financial arrangements — this rapidity being evidence of the French government’s determination to reach the phase of implementation in a short time. Despite the increasing number of arrangements and procedures applied by various ministries, agencies and authorities, it is necessary for this policy to have an interministerial leadership.
From La Défense to 67 poles of competitiveness: Forty years of choosing locations
By François Valérian
Rédacteur en chef des Annales des Mines
Policies for selecting locations for projects have varied considerably when viewed over a forty-year period. They have adjusted to shocks in the economy and adapted to the state’s changing interventions. The recent selection of 67 poles of competitiveness seems to reconnect with a rationale for not only correcting disequilibria but also making a new wager in favor of international economic development.
Poles of competitiveness: Attracting foreign investments
By Fabrice Hatem
Professeur associé à l'école de management de Normandie
With similar origins, the policies of “attractors” (1990) and of “poles of competitiveness” (2005) are also close owing to the forms of action pursued: they signal a full break with the centralizing philosophy of state planning that prevailed during the 1960s and 1970s. Although these two policies intend to be complementary and mutually supportive, their objectives are not necessarily the same. Implementing both at the same time risks leading to conflicts of jurisdiction and to structural redundancies that we should be trying to anticipate.
Defense’s contribution to industrial innovation, the examples of several poles of competitiveness
By Jean-Pierre Aubert
Délégué interministériel aux restructurations de défense
Poles of competitiveness will help maintain an industrial and technological base for Defense and a secure supply line to the armed forces. The Defense Ministry intends to play an active role in certain poles by relying on its schools as well as its “expertise” and test centers, and on firms. We can already see positive effects on the areas where these poles have been set up. However several problems are still to be solved: the risks that structures of governance operate poorly, the small budget at the interministerial level for conducting studies, an insufficient “europeanization” of projects, a low level of involvement of small and mid-sized firms, and specific needs in human resources.
A marketing ploy or a new impetus for French industry? A point of view about the First Forum of Poles of Competitiveness
By Jean-Paul Schaer
Président de X-Mines-Consult
During the first Forum of Poles of Competitiveness, the center at Sophia Antipolis was presented as an example for stimulating parties to share experiences and cooperate. This experience shows how much time is necessary to develop an “ecosystem of growth”. The pole’s “hard core” has to be set up; and its identity, strengthened. The pole has to ensure its own operation. Success depends on deep cultural changes, which are hard to foresee and not very visible in the short run.
Three regional responses to a national process
By Stéphanie Fen-Chong
Université Paris Dauphine et Ecole des mines de Paris
An analysis of the formation of a dozen poles of competitiveness shows that the three regions concerned (Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Île-de-France and Midi-Pyrénées) do not have the same conception of these poles. The conception varies as a function of the region’s history and context. Regions do more than simply execute a national policy; they make choices and work out means for intervening in projects by granting funds, logistic support and human resources. This growing power of regions in relation to these poles might be evidence of a reinforcement of their position in research and innovation.
Joint efforts
System@tic Paris-Region: A world-ranking software pole
By Claire Tutenuit
Consultante en stratégie et organisation
Associating private and public research, System@tic, a pole of competitiveness located in five departments (Essonne, Yvelines, Hauts-de-Seine, Val-d’Oise and Paris) now accounts for 30.000 jobs. It should give a competitive advantage to the industries using its services, whether French or European, and strengthen the international position of Île-de-France Region in software for complex systems… on condition that the difficulties of setting up efficient financial arrangements be rapidly overcome.
Poles of competitiveness in the Midi-Pyrénées Region
By Jean Daubigny
Préfet de région Midi-Pyrénées
Launched by the government in late 2004, the procedure for granting the label of “pole of competitiveness” could only be welcomed in scientific and industrial circles in the Midi-Pyrénées Region as well as by local authorities and state services there. Two poles received this label: Aeronautics-Space-Integrated Systems and Cancer-Bio-Health.
Risks and Territorial Vulnerability: Cooperative efforts for controlling safety through science and technology
By Joël Chenet
Président du Pôle "Risques et vulnérabilités des territoires", Directeur Observation et sciences, Alcatel Alenia Space
et Alain Dangeard
Président directeur général de MEED SA, Rapporteur du groupe de travail urbain du pôle "Risques"
The pole of competitiveness Risks and Territorial Vulnerability is located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur and Languedoc-Roussillon regions, which have recognized natural, industrial and technological risks. This pole’s themes revolve around four major axes involving federative projects with a European and global potential: natural risks, industrial risks, urban risks (including integrated systems) and “transverse technology”.
Minalogic, the new challenge of Grenoble’s ecosystem
By Jean Therme
Directeur, CEA
Having received the label of a “world-ranking pole of competitiveness” in July 2005, Minalogic fits into a dynamics under way in the Grenoble area, which had previously led to creating two important “poles of innovation”, Minatec and Nanobio. Minalogic has a major advantage: the presence, alongside the microelectronic industry (15.000 jobs), of a strong software community (10.000 jobs), which has been implanted for a long time in the urban area. Bringing these two groups together lies at the center of Minalogic, a project that endeavors to endow traditional industry with competitive advantages so as to stand its ground, thanks to innovation, in world competition and fight against the relocation of industry abroad.
Images and Networks
By Hervé Rannou
ITEMS International
Thanks to its expertise in telecommunication technology, electronics, computer sciences and the audiovisual field, Brittany is a leader in images and networks. Turned toward the future, it intends to play a dynamic part in internationalization, especially owing to its active involvement in creating a European research space. In order to claim a position at the world level, the pole Images and Networks must both integrate technology and be creative therein. As the example of China shows, the one cannot go without the other.
Cosmetic Valley, France: A pole of cosmetics and the sciences of beauty and well-being
By Jean-Luc Ansel
Directeur de la Cosmetic Valley
Set up in 1994 in Eure-et-Loir Department, Cosmetic Valley groups nearly a hundred firms representing all occupations in the branch of perfumes and cosmetics. Given globalization, this Valley’s fame in France and abroad is a key factor in strategies for developing the department and region. Cosmetic Valley has become a pole of competitiveness. This change bears several risks, because of the increased number of parties involved.
Poles of competitiveness and the state’s services in the regions: The MIPI example
By Jean-François Champigny
Chef du service Développement industriel à la DRIRE Lorraine Chargé de mission Economie - Entreprises au SGAR Lorraine
The pole of competitiveness Innovative Materials and Intelligent Products (MIPI) in Lorraine did not exist prior to the labelization procedure launched in December 2004.The government’s strong determination and appropriation of a significant budget were positive signals for this project; but no one really saw its consistence. In less than a year, public authorities have been able to create the conditions for the emergence of a pole that brings several partners together around international R&D projects.
Natural Fibers (Grand East)
By Flavie Najean
Comité d'aménagement, de promotion et d'expansion des Vosges (Capev)
The label, in July 2005, of the pole of competitiveness “Natural Fibers (Grand East)” confirmed the emergence of a cellulose fiber industry in a geographical area that counts more than 1200 firms employing more than 50.000 people. The aim is to help a new fiber industry emerge out of the current paper, cardboard, wood and textile industries by developing new products with high added value.
The nuclear pole in Burgundy, a pole of competitiveness for world energy markets
By Marc Benner
Délégué régional EDF en Bourgogne, Vice-Président du Pôle nucléaire Bourgogne, Président de Bourgogne-Développement
The Burgundy nuclear pole, labeled as a “pole of competitiveness” following an application put together in a few weeks, has the objective of forming a complete branch for manufacturing key components for atomic power plants and of turning Burgundy into a world leader capable of responding to growing energy needs. This market is reviving following hard times between 1999 and 2003. Nowadays in Asia and tomorrow in Europe, this pole intends to be a world leader in producing electricity at a lower cost without greenhouse gas emissions.
Conclusion
The comeback of the regions
By Claude Trink
Ingénieur général des Mines, Président de Sofirem, Directeur du développement territorial, Charbonnages de France
The poles of competitiveness were immediately seen as a tool for local economic development because they brought together the driving forces present in local areas. Bringing actors into a network has long been considered to be the key to success in strategies for economic development at the regional and local levels, as implemented by state agencies. The governance of these poles should see to it that a climate of trust can be maintained in the long run so that participants can draw up joint projects.