EU4Digital selects Eastern partner clusters for ESCA benchmarking and quality labelling
Sep 27, 2024
EU4Digital Facility is pleased to announce that five innovation cluster management organisations from Eastern partner countries have been chosen to receive support to participate in the European Secretariat for Cluster Analysis (ESCA) benchmarking and quality labelling process. The chosen organisations were selected from among those who completed a self-assessment questionnaire as part of new EU4Digital activities, launched in April 2024, to support innovation clusters in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region
The selected organisations were chosen based on criteria set by EU4Digital and ESCA:
- Mapped in the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP);
- Conducted at least five different activities addressing at least two different strategic priority areas that support the “enhancement of collaboration, networking and learning” and “provides or channels specialised and customised business support to stimulate innovative activities, especially to SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises]”;
- Has at least 15 clearly committed cluster participants, with a majority originating from the private sector;
- Has a dedicated cluster management of at least 0.5 full-time equivalent.
Additional criteria:
- Has a documented strategy;
- Has an annual action / implementation plan;
- Conducts regular studies to identify cluster members’ needs and tailor service packages accordingly;
- Conducts regular studies to assess cluster members’ digital maturity or demand for digital innovations;
- Year of establishment is before 2022, which allowed the cluster management organisation to have produced impactful outcomes.
The additional criteria distinguish the cluster management organisations that are systematic and demand-oriented in their efforts to support cluster members in a digital economy.
The five selected organisations will be informed during an EU4Digital clusters benchmarking workshop on 10 September and will be officially announced during the ICT Innovation Forum on 9 October 2024.
Further information
The new Clusters activity and the ICT Innovation Forum are part of the ICT Innovation and Start-up Ecosystems stream in EU4Digital Facility Phase II. To find out more about EU4Digital ICT Innovation and Start-up Ecosystem activities, visit our ‘Explainers’ web content and view our short video ‘This is ICT Innovation’, available in our online Library.
Latest
Mar 14, 2025
World Bank outlines conditions for Azerbaijan's transition to high-income country status
News
The World Bank (WB) predicts that Azerbaijan will need approximately 22 years to transition to the group of high-income countries, assuming the country maintains an average annual growth rate of 4.9% in gross national income (GNI) per capita.
Mar 12, 2025
EU remains Azerbaijan's main trade partner - Ambassador
News
The European Union (EU) is the strongest market for Azerbaijan, said the Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, Ambassador Peter Michalko, APA-Economics reports
Mar 12, 2025
Italian Ambassador: Diplomatic relations between Italy and Azerbaijan are very strong
News
Diplomatic relations between Italy and Azerbaijan are very strong, said Italy's Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Luca Di Canfrancesco, while answering journalists' questions at ADA University, APA reports.
Mar 11, 2025
Azerbaijan, Spain ink MoU on Strategic Economic Cooperation
News
Azerbaijan’s Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov met with María Amparo López Senovilla, Spain’s Secretary of State for Trade, to discuss prospects for strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries.
Mar 10, 2025
Azerbaijan and partners urge EU to grant PMI status for major green energy project
News
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary, and Romania have sent a letter to the European Union Energy Commissioner, Kadri Simson, requesting Project of Mutual Interest (PMI) status for the "Black Sea Energy" project, a major underwater electricity cable initiative.
Mar 06, 2025
Middle Corridor gains momentum with new agreements to enhance regional connectivity
News
The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) International Association held its General Assembly meeting today in Azerbaijan's Baku,
Mar 05, 2025
S&P reveals forecast for Azerbaijan’s foreign debt
News
“S&P Global Ratings” international rating agency has revealed its forecast regarding Azerbaijan’s foreign debt.
Feb 13, 2025
Spain hosts conference on EU-Azerbaijan relations
News
Spain has recently hosted a conference on European Union-Azerbaijan relations, jointly organized by the Center for the Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center) and King Juan Carlos University (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos) with the support of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Spain,
Jan 22, 2025
EBRD finances water infrastructure in Ganja, Azerbaijan
News
The EBRD has signed a €35m loan with Azerbaijan to upgrade Ganja’s water systems. Following the COP29 Azerbaijan memorandum, this is the first step in a larger programme to improve services for 300k+ residents.
Jan 11, 2025
Azerbaijan, Latvia explore prospects for tax cooperation
News
Orkhan Nazarli, Head of the State Tax Service under Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Economy, President of the Intra-European Organisation of Tax Administrations (IOTA), held a virtual meeting with Baiba Šmite-Roķe, Director General of the State Revenue Service of Latvia.
Jan 06, 2025
IFC issues manat bonds to boost Azerbaijan’s climate and social projects
News
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a key member of the World Bank Group, has issued bonds denominated in Azerbaijani manat (AZN) to expand access to loans for small, micro, and medium enterprises in Azerbaijan.
Dec 27, 2024
Renewables account for 24.5% of EU energy use in 2023
News
In 2023, 24.5% of gross final energy consumption in the EU came from renewable sources, up by 1.4 percentage points compared with 2022.
