Research and development at the nanoscale requires a large degree of integration, from convergence of research disciplines in new fields of enquiry to new linkages between start-ups, regional actors and research facilities. Based on the analysis of two clusters in nanotechnologies (MESA+ (Twente) and other centres in The Netherlands and Minatec in Grenoble in France), the paper discusses the phenomenon of technological agglomeration: co-located scientific and technological fields associated to coordinated technology platforms to some extent actively shaped by institutional entrepreneurs. Such co-location and coordination are probably a prerequisite for the emergence of strong nanoclusters
@article{arxiv.0911.2982,
title = {Technological agglomeration and the emergence of clusters and networks in nanotechnology},
author = {Douglas K. R. Robinson and Arie Rip and Vincent Mangematin},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0911.2982},
year = {2009}
}