Partners

Prefecture of Dodecanese is the Local Government Body comprising of 15 islands in the area of South East Aegean. The population of the Prefecture according to the census of 2001 amounts to 190.000 people. The Prefecture is divided into five Districts and has as capital the City of Rhodes (the biggest island in the Prefecture).

Typical SME’s of traditional economic sectors located in Dodecanese territory face generalized problems, especially in terms of modernization, and diversification and therefore need support to better compete in international markets. Prefecture of Dodecanese by participating in INNOVATE-MED activities (collaborative network, pilot initiatives, marketing strategy), seeks to enhance innovative clusters of selected sectors, adding value to local economy. The institutional structure of the Prefecture and its active role in regional development will ensure the involvement of key business stakeholders and the capitalization process of results for territorial economic growth.

The County Council of Alicante is a second level Local Administration that gives support to the 141 City councils of the province (23 of them with more than 20.000 inhabitants), particularly providing services at a supra-municipal level. With a population of 1.825.264 inhabitants, Alicante is the fifth more populated province of Spain (4.04% of the total population).

The traditional industrial sectors of Alicante need a new impulse to become more innovative. The Competitiveness Plan for Traditional Sectors and Clusters Development (2006), Regional Network of Technological Institutes and strategic partnerships between the Chamber of Commerce, University and County (2007) have identified the need to foster innovation and promote new tools for the competitiveness of all these traditional sectors through clustering.

Alicante County Council has some local experiences with traditional clusters trying to define a new management model while the Competitiveness Plan for Traditional Sectors and Clusters sets out guidelines for marketing promotion, investments attraction and pilot actions for the internationalization of clusters.

The Heraklion Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a public law body, established in 1918. It is financed entirely by its members’ contributions and by community grants. There are more than 22.000 registered members for the Prefecture of Heraklion. The Chamber of Heraklion has a rich experience in participating and implementing EU actions, projects and programmes, as well as qualified executives with years of experience and know-how. The Heraklion Chamber of Commerce and Industry serves as a basic advisor and consultant to the government concerning commerce, industry and other relevant issues to economic development. In addition, encourages and supports the private initiative to the greatest extent possible in order to promote the necessary conditions for the promotion of entrepreneurship.

A high priority aim for the Heraklion Chamber of Commerce and Industry is the continuous improvement of the services provided for its members in order to support in general the economic welfare for the prefecture of Heraklion. Heraklion Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as a representative of the entrepreneurship community of Heraklion and a member of Enterprise Europe Network, aims to bring to the project its experience from the active participation in the development of successful innovation structures, such as the Regional Innovation Pole of Crete, together with an entrepreneurial approach about innovation and its optimal exploitation methods for the sake of the local society. Our wish is to share our knowledge and experience from the successful implementation of respective projects with regard to the development of innovative products, as well as the achievement of sustainable development in a future of limited resources and generally the development endeavours that combine Crete’s potential to generate knowledge with our extensive entrepreneurial capacity. Recently the Heraklion CCI has designated a new strategy for the support of initiatives in order to promote innovation actions, such as its own tourism department, the creation of local scientific and entrepreneurial parks, the implementation of innovative projects and so on.

The Territorial Employment Pact in the Ribera is a local public body with legal personality. The main stakeholders - public administration, trade unions and business organizations- related to employment in the county are involved.

The main objective of PATER is to plan and carry out actions addressed to the creation of employment, sociolabour insertion and sustainable development of the Ribera.

Employment and economic development in the area is the main goal of PATER and it is closely related to the INNOVATE-MED project objectives. PATER follows up:

• Consolidation of SMEs in the market
• Creation of SMEs related to services or products typically Mediterranean.

The Project foresees a major boost for SMEs in the Mediterranean area throughout an internationalization of Mediterranean raw materials. This approach fits perfectly with PATER aims. As a result, new market opportunities and innovate products launch for our economy are expected.

Fundación Comunidad Valenciana – Región Europea (FCVRE) a is non-profit organization set up by the Valencian Regional Government to dynamize the participation of all the regional sectors in EU’s policies by promoting a better knowledge of EU’s initiatives and also helping them to identify new opportunities for sustainable development.

Since its creation by the Valencian Regional Government in 2003, FCVRE has participated as a dissemination partner in more than 60 European part-financed projects. At the same time and in the field of sustainable tourism, FCVRE contributes to the implementation of the regional priorities for the tourism sector.