The local productive system (SPL) also known under the name of cluster or district can be defined as :

1 - The existence of a small and medium sized companies conurbation on a given territory

2 - Membership of small and medium sized company to a sector (solidarity founded on a job) or to a product/markets couple (solidarity founded on the service given to customers and no longer on the job).

3 - The existence of a strong inter-firms links which organized directly between firms relatively equal and / or autonomous

4 – The existence of a common culture and of a community which is a factor of confidence and an accelerator of exchange of knowledge and information, thus strongly stimulating the economic growth

5 - The display of an optimal synergy between the economic players and the numerous resources of the territory (culture, social growth, research, teaching, etc).

6 – The access to a set of trade and non trade services, which constitute one of the key advantages of SPL that is to say the network organisation

The innovation trough its different aspects (technological, marketing, trade, organizational etc) is at heart of the growth of SPL medium term. In the same time, the organisation in SPL or in a cluster increases the capacity of innovation strongly.

A SPL is not at first sight a spontaneous form. It is a network organization, which relies on a shared project (view of job and its future, view of a service given to somebody, common aims, etc), more or less information system structured and a running function (including particular activities). At last, these three basic elements which constitute the organization are shown through a collective strategy.

So the SPL is first of all a tool and a development step, a way to display a more powerful strategy and to think about the future in a more ambitious way that each of its members can separately do. In this sense, it differentiates clearly from trade union and professional associations, which have both a representation and a defense function.

It is also a certain « frame of mind ». It is a competition view (it is relative and doesn’t prevent co-operation). It is an intention of development founded on the importance of creativity and innovation. It is at last a view of experiences and resources share perceived as a real involvement.