Cluster Organizations

The European Union’s 2020 objectives, launched in 2014 and planned by the European Council, intend to support economic development based upon three priorities:

• Smart growth 
• More efficient use of natural resources
• Production of high employment rates and social/regional cohesion

The Northern Netherlands set out its intentions in supporting these priorities in a positioning paper by the SNN (Partnership Network for the Northern Netherlands), which can be read here. 

As part of this, the Northern Netherlands supports five ‘key cluster’ areas, where research institutions, businesses and government come together to facilitate economic growth inline with the EU objectives. Many of these objectives and innovation clusters are associated with ERRIN (the European Regions Research and Innovation Network). Please see below for the ‘key clusters’ in the Northern Netherlands, and links useful links to their work:

• Sustainable Energy
  • The Energy Valley has been running since 2003, and has the aim of contributing to 21% renewable energy use and 3,600 new jobs in the North, by 2020
• Sensor Technology (observing, recording and processing large amounts of data in a short period of time)
• Water Technology (including the top institute Wetsus, Leeuwarden)
  • The overall cluster is maintained by the Water Alliance, also in Leeuwarden
• Healthy Ageing (including the Healthy Ageing Network Northern Netherlands- HANNN)
  • The city of Groningen is also home to the European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing (ERIBA)
• Agribusiness (with a focus on sustainable production)
  • The Centre for Open Chemical Innovation (COCI) is based in Emmen