BaltFood integrates local, regional and national food cluster organisations in six countries around the Baltic Sea into one food cluster. The cooperation focuses on enhancing the competitiveness of the BSR food industry to become the European source for valuable and affordable food products. The food industry has developed into one of the strongest business sectors in the BSR characterized by high SME involvement. This competitive position has to be secured in a dynamic, fast changing but relatively mature (regional) marketplace. Concurrently, emerging trends require a constant search for lower costs, innovation and flexible processes. This calls for both process and product innovations to be jointly nurtured and diffused by the scientific and business communities with public institutions shaping the economic development framework. Consequently BaltFood aims at contributing to a sustainable cluster-specific economic development in the BSR by making regionally-embedded knowledge available on a wider geographical basis. The specific objective is to advance the process of building a sustainable and demand-oriented pan-Baltic food cluster structure in the attempt to increase the transfer and application of technological and market-related know-how among its scientific, industry and public members by the year 2011. BaltFood is organised according to the triple helix approach with one workpackage each concentrating on the scientific, business and regional development aspect. Within the scientific area, BaltFood concentrates on identifying best practises in the food innovation process and transferring this into action through the BaltFood R&D Network. In the business area results from the BaltFood R&D network will be transferred into demand-led innovation projects. To successfully run such projects, the BaltFood Academy will be created as a pan- Baltic education body. Finally, the regional development part will create and run the structure for the pan-Baltic food cluster and contribute to a Baltic place branding approach. Results will be documented in best practise guides and first pilot implementations in the aforementioned areas will be carried out. BaltFood will increase the below-average product and process innovation reception of SME management in the BSR food cluster as a pre-condition for building a sustainable transnational innovation network. The (infra)-structural resources supporting the personnel in product and process innovation within the scientific community and the food industry SMEs to jointly identify potentially relevant trends on transnational markets will be improved. Achievements: Establish life-long learning in the food industry With a third transnational e-learning course “Healthy to Go – Food Innovation” for the food industry from September 15th, 2011 to November 10th, 2011 the baltfood project expanded its curriculum. This is another step towards a comprehensive virtual e-learning platform for the food industry in the BSR. Learning independent from time and place was a great advantage for the overall 140 participants. Steps to develop joint R&D project proposals between universities and companies A working manual for the joint development of R&D projects between the scientific community and SME´s in the BSR food cluster has been developed to attract companies and individuals and to encourage them to develop and write a proposal. On the basis of this guideline 5 new project proposals have been developed, from idea generation to the final proposal. Discovering new export markets Since EU member states food markets have already been well researched and can be considered as being easily accessible for food processing SME’ s, three thematic expertises have been created concentrating on those markets for which information and data is not readily available; namely Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. Based on these expertises two fact finding tours to St. Petersburg and Minsk were organized to get a practically oriented picture of the food industry in these areas and to offer useful information on which way the export of foods has been arranged and what has to be taken into consideration if a company aims to start or enlarge own export activities to these regions. “Honestly good – baltfood” A marketing & brand concept for the BSR food cluster network (including identity and image building) has been developed with the aim to contribute to a pan-Baltic place branding strategy. Supporting the BSR food industry in the fields of R&D From 10th until 11th of November 2011 35 representatives of scientific institutions in the BSR held a meeting in Lübeck for the kick-off of the baltfood R&D network. The focus of the cooperation is international networking in the field of science and business. The implementation of an international baltfood R&D network, in which companies have a simplified access to a variety of innovations in the R&D-sector, was advanced by this conference. An online research portal has already been implemented. Future development of a sustainable, innovative and successful food industry in the BSR With the establishment of the baltfood Cluster Secretariat on 24th January 2012 5 project partners from Finland, Lithuania, and Germany commit themselves to further promote the transfer and application of technological and market related know-how among the scientific, industry and public members of a pan-Baltic food cluster after the project ´s end.