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Imaginove supports its member companies in three fields:

• Research & Development: multiplying the number of research projects between companies and research laboratories in the moving image sector

• Commercial and International: supporting businesses that want to access new markets, alter their methods of distribution, or develop new products particularly for the international market.

• Employment and Training: develop professional training to maintain the high level of expertise in companies operating in this sector. Provide a site to help companies find specialized employees with moving image sector skills

Advantages

- The Rhone-Alps region is one of the most dynamic and prosperous regions in Europe (No. 2 leading region in France after the greater Paris region (Ile-de-France)).
- The concentration of businesses specialized in the fields of video games, cinema and audiovisual makes the Lyon area the 2nd leading region in France in this sector after Paris.

Companies :    650
Research  : 23 laboratories   
Training  : 28 training programs for moving images including the Gamagora video game school, created by the cluster

The region organizes international events in this sector:

• Game Connection, trade fair for video game designers in Lyon
• Annecy Animated Film Festival and Market
• Serious Games Sessions, trade fair for video game designers combining “serious” basic materials (educational or informative) with more games applications

The Lyon region was the birthplace of cinema and therefore has a history of developing this sector of activity. It is the 2nd leading region in terms of production after the Paris region.

Finally, numerous synergies exist with the CapDigital Paris-Region and Images&Réseaux clusters which are also specialized in activities linked to moving images, as well as the Minalogic cluster.

Members

More than 210 members
Companies:  more than 180 of which over 90% of companies are SMEs    
- French companies: Atari France, Lyonnaise de Télévision SA, UbiSoft, Mégalo studio, Eden Games, Atos Origin, Widescreen Games, Arkane Studio, Etranges Libellules etc.
- International companies: Electronic Arts (United States)

Research and Educational Institutions
- More than 10, including Institut National de la Recherche en Informatique et Automatique (INRIA), Laboratoire d’Informatique en Image et Systèmes d’Information (LIRIS), Institut National des Sciences Appliquées of Lyon (INSA), Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA) with the Laboratoire d’Electronique et de Technologie de l’Information (LETI) of Grenoble, Ecole Centrale of Lyon, University Joseph Fourrier Grenoble, University of Saint-Etienne etc.
- 5 other organizations are also stakeholders in the cluster including Le Conseil Général of the  Rhône-Alpes, Conseils Généraux of the Drôme and Haute-Savoie, Greater Lyon area (Communauté d’Agglomération) etc.

Current R&D partnerships (see appendix)

25 projects were approved between 2005 and mid-2008

• More than one million euros was granted by the Single Interministerial Fund (Fonds Unique Interministériel or FUI) between 2005 and 2007
• Approximately half a million euros allocated by the National Research Agency (Agence Nationale de la Recherche  or ANR)  in 2007

International partnerships

Current:
- Imaginove International program provides financial support of up to 50% of expenditures (capped at €5,000) and individual or group “coaching” for companies that want to develop their activity on an international scale (over 40 companies benefited in 2006 and 2007)
- Participation in the Rhône-Alpes International Business Mission (ERAI) in China in May 2008, to develop relations with Shanghai Animation Studios.
- Economic Mission organized in Canada for the entire moving image sector.
- Development of European partnerships: Italy, Germany, England, by video games studios

Future
- Strengthening of relations with the German Bade-Wurtemberg video games cluster
- Development of international funding for companies entering the high potential markets of Southeast Asia and the United States
- Planned partnerships with countries in Southeast Asia and Canada
- Development of Euro-region partnerships (Spain, Italy, Germany)   

Appendix: Selected certified R&D projects

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