This material was prepared by Svitlana Kropelnytska, an expert of the Industry4Ukraine cluster development committee based on the results of discussions at the UСA event in Ivano-Frankivsk on August 11 2022. Svitlana is a PhD in Economics in head of the “Agents of Change” project and educational center for Innovations and Investments development at the Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University.
In general, there is a number of gaps in cluster policy in Ukraine, which negatively affect development of clusters as tools of regional sustainable development in general.
First of all, these are problems of an institutional nature:
lack of cluster policy formation in Ukraine in the context and relationship with other policies, absence of an effective national program/strategy for cluster development;
uncertainty at the legislative level regarding regulation of concept/types of clusters, cluster initiatives/organizations, models, etc;
lack of bodies responsible for cluster policy implementation in Ukraine.
And these are also problems in formation of the financial component of cluster development ensuring processes:
uncertainty about sources of clusters/cluster initiatives financing and lack of understanding of the need for it in general;
lack of financial support for launching and ensuring the primary functioning of clusters in Ukraine [1].
Filling the cluster development gap requires:
urgent approval and implementation at the state level of the Project of the national cluster development program until 2027 (https://www.industry4ukraine.net/publications/proyekt-naczionalnoyi-programy-klasternogo-rozvytku-do-2027/) taking into account regional priorities (smart specialization of territories) of clusters’ and cluster initiatives development as well as typology of territories in the war/post-war period (currently relevant for the type of “deep rear” and “support” territories) and functional types of territories in accordance with the DSRR-2027. The existing program/strategy will, first of all, open up new opportunities and increase access to current funding resources for regional and therefore cluster development projects (cross-border/transatlantic cooperation programs, EU structural funds, sectoral budget support, etc.) and current tools of regional development.
at the regional level, in particular in the Precarpathian region, a structured coordination platform for the development of clusters in the region is necessary (a project of this type is included in the strategic planning documents of the region, territorial communities.) to consolidate efforts of potential and existing subjects of cluster and inter-cluster cooperation. The reason for this is that the principles of cluster cooperation at the “territorial communities – region” level do not work: trust between cluster participants is currently at minimal level; there is transparency of actions between potential cluster subjects and communication, but it is not sufficient (certain actions and measures are often duplicated at the level of the region or community without involvement of all the cluster-forming process necessary stakeholders); consolidation of efforts at the regional level does not yet contribute to the necessary cooperation, and sometimes generates “unhealthy” competition, instead of what is necessary for effective cluster management on the territory.
it is also necessary at the regional level to help UСA in the identification (territorial analysis) of regional clusters/cluster initiatives by types, needs, potential, other criteria according to a unified methodology and methodology, which, only in this case, will allow conducting a comparative analysis on different types of territories (see item 1 above). It is recommended to take into account and use the methodology developed jointly with the experts of the German federal company Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in combination with the ECCP and/or TCI Network criteria.
[1] Financial and institutional aspects of the creative industries clusters development in ensuring sustainable development of Ukraine/ Financial regulation of shifts in Ukrainian economy: a collection of theses from reports of the VI International Scientific and Practical Internet Conference participants; by Svitlana Kropelnytska, March 29, 2022. https://cutt.ly/AXonisT
Note. The opinions expressed above, summarized and formed by S. Kropelnytska, may not correspond to generally known provisions, as they are at the same time the results of many years of research, experience, and achievements of the author in the field of cluster development and also reflect her own subjective vision regarding cluster development in Ukraine and the Precarpathian region, in particular.
This publication was prepared with support from “EU4Business: SME Competitiveness and Internationalisation” programme which is co-financed by the European Union and the German Government and is implemented by German Federal Company “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH”. The programme aims to create better conditions for the development of Ukrainian small and medium-sized enterprises, support innovation and export promotion, resulting in sustainable and equitable economic growth. As part of the Team Europe approach, the initiative will also contribute to Ukraine’s COVID-19 recovery.
EU4Business is an umbrella initiative that includes all EU support to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the Eastern Partnership countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. Read more: www.eu4business.org.ua.