CLIPPER partners met in Fife* from 3-5 July 2018 to discuss the development of the project. This meeting provided a great opportunity to exchange experiences with regard to developing a collaborative value chain in the maritime industry sector.
Based on their own experience and the example of the Scottish Maritime Cluster, partners expressed their willingness to further investigate the transfer potential of best practice from one Region to another. The project will shortly publish a Technical Report on this matter as well as its benchmark.
Partners also addressed challenges and opportunities related to internationalisation. They highlighted that although there is clear potential benefit, such as the creation of new business opportunities and higher revenues, internationalisation could lead to some problems too.
Among the potential issues mentioned, worldwide competition, intellectual property and lack of funds were identified as key challenges to address.
Partners concluded that action has to be taken to provide legal assistance, expertise, training and local support to enable the positive internationalisation of the local maritime industry sector.
During the partners' meeting, Fife Council also invited Mr David Platt, Head of Planning & Strategy at Marine Scotland to deliver a presentation to the partners. Mr Platt explained how Scotland's maritime spatial planning contributes to the development of the maritime energy sector.
*Fife Council is one of the 7 Clipper partners.
