Today, Ukrainian clusters operate in one of the most turbulent environments imaginable. The war continuously generates new challenges for industry: the need for resilient supply chains and critical infrastructure, growing talent & workforce shortages, increasing pressure on project sustainability, and strong dependence on grant funding. All of this drives a constant search for new, more adaptive development paths and business models.

In such conditions, the key question is no longer simply “How do we attract another project?”
It becomes much broader:

how can clusters build a strong operational model that enables sustainable growth, scalable impact, and value creation for ecosystem participants under conditions of constant turbulence?

This is exactly the focus of the new playbook “Operational Model of Cluster Organizations”, prepared by the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance based on the practical experience of cluster development in Ukraine over recent years.

This document does not claim to introduce a unique cluster model or a radically new approach to cluster development. In many aspects, it reflects and builds upon the key strengths of models already well established across the EU and global cluster communities. For example, there is little debate that a successful cluster model must be grounded in the shared challenges of ecosystem and value-chain participants — and in the cluster’s ability to address them collectively.

At the same time, for Ukrainian clusters, this effort to “reassemble” and reinterpret established approaches for our own development pathway has proven extremely valuable — especially in the context of building new national and regional cluster policies, as well as developing a new school of cluster management. These transformations are currently being advanced by the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance together with its member clusters through several collaborative projects.

This context is important for understanding why this playbook matters. Previous attempts to establish cluster development schools in Ukraine, often supported through donor-funded initiatives, were largely unsuccessful. Therefore, this playbook is also about finding our own path — one that is deeply connected to and inspired by numerous European best practices.

It is our attempt to systematically rethink:

• what the core elements of a cluster organization model are,
• which cause-and-effect relationships matter most,
• and how clusters move from creating value within industrial ecosystems to influencing broader economic and innovation development.

The playbook pays particular attention to:

• the operational architecture of modern clusters,
• team roles and governance,
• development of service models,
• partnership building,
• financial sustainability,
• interaction with regional policies,
• international integration,
• and the creation of shared value for ecosystem participants.

For European clusters, this playbook may serve as a self-assessment tool for organizational maturity, a framework for operational transformation, a practical guide for emerging clusters, or a basis for strategic discussions within cluster teams and boards.

The Ukrainian context of this document may be especially valuable. Most of the approaches described here were not developed in “laboratory conditions,” but in an environment of extreme turbulence, where clusters were forced to rapidly adapt, rethink their roles, and search for new models of cooperation between businesses, regions, and international partners.

We would be glad to engage in discussion, exchange feedback, and share experiences with European cluster organizations. Today, the cluster idea — as a mechanism for building strong development institutions for industrial ecosystems at sectoral and regional levels — is highly востребована in Ukraine and, perhaps increasingly, across the EU as well.

Together, we are building the future of our ecosystems.