Cluster

Mission

Support

Type of actor

Support player

Fields of intervention

Health / Social care / Social / Medical Device

Intervention zone

Regional

What is a cluster?

Digital health clusters help connect organizations and support projects to accelerate innovation. This network brings together all stakeholders in digital health (startups, small and medium-sized enterprises, large corporations, healthcare and social services professionals and facilities, training and research institutions, and government agencies).

🎯 Tasks

Networking and Industry Group Coordination: Connecting with partners, serving as a liaison within the ecosystem, event planning, monitoring industry trends, and organizing themed workshops and facility tours;
Visibility: Communication, lobbying;
HR and Skills Training
Development and experimentation: Market acceleration, learning expeditions, user testing, and proof-of-concept (POC) projects;
Europe/International: Generally, these initiatives are carried out in collaboration with the International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) or competitiveness clusters. These may include learning expeditions, European projects, partnerships, and collaboration with European-level organizations such as ECHAlliance, EHTEL (European Health Telematics Association), or Digital Health Connector.

💡 I have a project—how can connecting with a cluster help me?

Engaging with a cluster is a perfect complement to the individualized support available at incubators or technology parks.

It can therefore help you:

Gaining an understanding of current technologies and the business models in use;
Identifying organizations and individuals to connect with for your business regarding collaboration, funding, and project maturity;
Identifying locations to test your product with healthcare professionals or patients.

The collaborative approach of clusters also enables:

Sharing best practices;
Organizing delegations to exhibit at trade shows at discounted rates;
Increasing your visibility through newsletters and local or national events;
Participation in “collective” initiatives to pool resources for projects that multiple companies may face (e.g., assistance with CE marking for medical devices following the new European regulation) and to receive financial support, particularly from the regional council.

🤝 At what stage of my project should I get in touch?

At any stage—from the concept phase, through prototyping, testing, and solution deployment, to the commercialization of the solution.

💸 Do they fund projects?

Clusters do not fund projects.

However, clusters can assist in the search for funding by helping to draft a grant application or by facilitating networking with the BPI, the regional council, and fundraising organizations.

🧰 Accessible Resources

List of members -> identification of local stakeholders working in e-health;
Newsletter;
eHealth events calendar;
Targeted networking.

Auvergne Rhônes Alpes: i-Care LAB Amiens or Hauts-de-France: innov'a France Clusters

📖 Practical Guide

All the questions you need to ask yourself about clusters.

In general, cluster services are available to members of the organization. Depending on how the cluster is organized, there may be a fee for certain more specific services (trade shows, market intelligence, etc.).

This is not the cluster’s primary mission. Individual support is the mission of incubators, technology parks, and accelerators.
However, if a company’s project requires collaboration with other organizations—such as research centers—or co-development with healthcare or social services professionals, the project may then fall under the category of “collaborative projects,” which are entirely within the scope of clusters.
Even if the project does not require collaboration with other stakeholders, the clusters can still facilitate connections that can be extremely valuable and save several months of time.