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Cluster Update
F2C Innovation - The French Agri-food Super Cluster Creates the World Food Network

http://www.bulletins-electroniques.com/actualites/64026.htm

Bringing together 15 agri-food clusters and centers of excellence from nine different countries is no easy job. Yet the challenge has been successfully met by F2C Innovation, the French Agri-Food super cluster that brings together three competitive clusters, Agrimip Innovation, Valorial and Vitagora. In Paris, on June 3 this year, F2C held a very enlightening and positive discussion day. All the participants made the important decision to create the World Food Network, an international network for innovation in agri-food.

With a view to honing their international visibility, Agrimip Innovation, Valorial and Vitagora created F2C Innovation so as to pool their resources and promote the excellence of their members' expertise and the region much more efficiently, at a lower cost. They also will be on the lookout for the original skills and unique that are sometimes required for the development of their projects. For the creation of the global network, the 'super-cluster' first deployed a stage to define nine common themes. It worked with consulting firms to identify global centers of excellence addressing these issues. "We contacted a total of 18 clusters and research organizations, 14 of which agreed to participate in a day of discussions. In the end, 12 of them agreed to come to our event on June 3, in Paris," explained the F2C Innovation authorities.

Emerging Themes for Transnational Collaborative Projects

British, Canadians, Danes, Spaniards, French, Italians and Swedes attended the event, became acquainted, presented their expertise and began to identify common or specific expertise and skills. "One can justifiably say that it is a first in the filed," said the Directors of the three French clusters. Nine workshops on the 9 themes earlier selected by F2C Innovation were mediated by industry operators. Common concerns were discussed and shared with a view to finding R&D topics conducive to putting together projects that would be developed together.

According to the participants, the work accomplished at the different workshops was very positive. "We were able to map the available skills, expertise, technical and scientific resources at the 15 attending clusters and centers of excellence," the organizers said excitedly. The productive discussions at the event - too short by far, but long enough to "kindle the desire to go further by initiating foundations" - also prompted the participants to outline the topics for transnational collaborative projects that could be submitted to the next call for European projects (see FP7). Allergens, food security and safety, biosourced polyester plastics as well as a new approach to clinical studies for the development of functional foods are but several among the promising topics.

A 'Food Working' with Wide Appeal

The high point of the day was the unanimous decision to create an international network of skills and expertise on agri-food innovation. Fifteen organizations from 10 different countries will be involved in the facility called the World Food Network. Eventually, 3 Japanese clusters will become partners. As of now, the 'food working' approach initiated by F2C Innovation has had a wide international appeal. "As it was able to give the necessary impetus, F2C Innovation has already emerged as the leader and driver of the network that brings together outstanding expertise," said the authorities of the French agri-food super cluster. One of the clearly stated goals is to become rapidly, "the driving force of proposals and ideas on innovation and regulations in Europe and worldwide, specifically on functional foods," they explained. The next stage for the World Food Network is a meeting of all the members, first at the October SIAL Exhibition in Paris and later in April 2011, in Turin, Italy.

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Marthe Jewell - Phone: +33 (0)3 80 78 97 92 - email: marthe.jewell@vitagora.com

Code brève
ADIT : 64026

ADIT - Jean-François Desessard - email: jfd@adit.fr

eTech France numéro 244 (12/07/2010) - ADIT / ADIT - http://www.bulletins-electroniques.com/actualites/64026.htm