Cross Sector support for Innovative and Competitive Artistic Ceramic SMEs
Artistic ceramics, as a traditional sector made up largely of small and micro enterprises, has been hit particularly hard by economic crisis, low-cost competition and restricted access to some non-EU markets. 
Globalisation has challenged this sector, which represents a central part of European tradition, but has also provided opportunities. In order to take advantage of these opportunities, the ceramics sector must prioritise new technologies, strengthen brands and develop services to maintain competitive advantage. Public policy must support this.
The Innovation Union flagship initiative is designed to speed up and improve the way we conceive, develop, produce and access new products, industrial processes and services. This is what CLAY proposes for the artistic ceramic sector, in line with the recent drive towards advanced manufacturing.
CLAY uses interregional exchange to achieve its objectives. All regions in the consortium have both important ceramics traditions and a growing basin of innovative SMEs, seeking market opportunities. They have all identified the challenge of matching these two elements of their regional economy, for the benefit of both. Interregional exchange will help them to identify solutions to the challenge, through improving regional programmes that can support the above described innovation in artistic ceramic SMEs.
The overall objective is to ensure that selected policy instruments are adapted to support an important traditional sector to survive and flourish in today’s global environment. This will benefit the artistic ceramic sector and other sectors of the regional economy involved in innovation in industrial processes.
Thanks to improved policy instruments for SME competitiveness in 5 European regions, in the mid-to-long term, CLAY regions will see a greater number of artistic ceramics SMEs surviving and thriving. Greater SME competitiveness contribute to the overall aim of socio-economic cohesion and growth.