Regional Public Policy on the Use of ICT to Support Innovation and Growth: How Can Micro-Businesses and SMEs Be Supported Through Collaborative Initiatives in Clusters?[Politique publique régionale de développement et d'innovation en matière de TIC : quel soutien aux PME via des actions collectives dans les clusters ?]

We focus on meta-organisations at the subnational level, with regional governance and implementation at the heart of our analysis. There are parallels between that regional governance and the role of intermediaries in the economic development of regions (Cooke and Morgan 1998, Scott 1998). More recently, the new economic landscape has called for a review of the regional clusters policy and the adoption of a multilevel governance model that regulates commercial and non-commercial relations between the different regional and external stakeholders. This region-specific approach to innovation would be based on sectoral diversification, international openness and a high level of diversity among stakeholders to reduce the risks associated with lock-in effects and self-referential behaviours (Cappellin 2010, 2017). However, organisations of organisations are not designed to be tools for improving our understanding of the relationship between new types of region-specific government policies and the construction of collective identities through business associations. To answer our research question, we adopt a qualitative method that focuses on the analysis of three structurally different PRIDES: Culture Industries and Heritage, Business Tourism and Care Services.1 Despite the differences in their activities, the distinguishing feature of these types of cluster is that they have regional groups and administrative bodies as clients, suppliers, and trustees. After outlining our theoretical framework and methodology, we introduce the regional policy of the PRIDES as well as the geographical boundaries of each cluster. We then analyse how each meta-organisation has made use of the public incentives for innovation and development through the use of ICT. We conclude with a discussion on the relevance and limits of public policy with regard to the geographical boundaries of these very diverse business groupings, all of which include a significant number of SMEs.