Innovation in Clusters

Foreword

It is a peculiarity of these pandemic times, but the word “cluster” has certainly never been in such widespread use as it is today, from epidemiological science to the most common conversations, describing the development of a virus called Covid-19. However, in other times and places, and with regard to other fields of human activity, this fetish word has been used to saturation point, even if today, in certain situations, it gives way to a more trendy word: ecosystem. We may as well admit that the more than extensive meaning of this term is quite appropriate, given the various projects commissioned by any number of organizations or specific groups. This is particularly the case in those localized instances where science, industry and public authorities are, in certain fields of technosciences, attempting to work together, as much by smart invocation as by physical methods of communication. Their ambition, resolutely symbolized and displayed on their letterheads or websites, is to attract, fertilize and develop innovation aimed at certain fields of science, which, ultimately in the form of goods, will be commercialized with the help of devices, procedures, advice and financial resources.

This is indeed the purpose of this rich and fascinating book by Estelle Vallier, structured in two parts and six chapters. Its title clearly invites us to explore the lineaments of this type of three-way collaboration dedicated to the production of innovations, to study its various ...