TASO is a senior consulting team working on revitalisation of urban economies, cluster development and business facilities. Their most remarkable projects in the last years are related to smart specialisation, innovative city branding & marketing, capacity building in cluster management and creative economy. TASO is often hired as principal consultant to large-scale transnational projects.
They look to explore the uncertain and shape the future, by paving the way to better policies on spatial economic development. That´s their value proposition.
Cluster Development and Industrial Policy
They are passionate facing both the challenge of building up new growth potential to mature sectors and setting the right framework to deal with new emerging industries. To this purpose, they have an extensive background in business cooperation, strategic analysis and change of industrial sectors, value-chain matchmaking and inter-cluster strategies, as well as in capacity building for cluster managers. More recently they are working with the smart specialisation concept to boost the urban agenda on economic development.
Business Facilities and New Industrial Space
SMEs policies are increasingly focused on the business ecosystem and the provision of the new industrial space: tech-parks, brownfield redevelopment, incubators, creative hubs, etc. Their work here may comprise location analysis, strategic positioning and pre-investment strategy, PPP architecture as well as interim or shadow management during the launching phase if necessary. They are also very active in institutional building in the field of development agencies and other bodies supporting innovation and private sector development.
Place Branding and Innovative Urban Policies
They are very active in city branding and urban internationalisation, at a point that they have been involved as principal consultants in large-scale projects in this field. Their way of addressing place branding is a reaction to most common gaps, since it is a practice still influenced at a large extent by a conventional marketing approach. As for urban policies, it is remarkable their use of the so called “URBACT method”, which basically means integrated approach, stakeholder involvement and international peer-learning. Within the URBACT programme, TASO has given support as lead expert to more than 30 cities.
Creative Industries, Creative Economy
TASO has given support to a number of different projects related to creative industries and the creative economy, also as a driver for urban revitalization. Thus, they use the concept of creative local ecosystem, which includes 6 key dimensions: economy, industry, space, culture, education and branding. Furthermore, they have core competences on mapping techniques, creative spillovers and value-chain matchmaking with the wider economy. In 2012 they were appointed by former DG Enterprise & Industry of the European Commission (now DG Growth) as one of the experts for the European Creative Industries Alliance.