The First UCA Collaboration Project with Cluster Associations of Eastern Europe in the Danube Region
There is currently a lack of an effective and structured approach to transforming successful cooperation between cluster networks into fundamental commercial, technological, or project-based interactions between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Additionally, scaling up successful partnerships between individual companies to the level of cluster networks remains a challenge. This complicates the assessment of the impact of SME-cluster cooperation on green, digital, and sustainable value chains within and beyond the Danube region.
Another issue is collecting relevant economic performance data from SMEs. This process requires significant effort and time, making obtaining real-time data to support industrial policy decisions difficult.
DanubIA Clusters Project: An Innovative Solution for the Danube Region
To address these challenges, five cluster associations from Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Ukraine have joined forces to develop the DanubIA Clusters Project. The project aims to strengthen cooperation between SMEs within clusters and enhance collaboration among key stakeholders of the “innovation quadrangle”(government, business, academia, and civil society) in the Danube region. This will help boost innovation potential and improve their positioning within international strategic value chains.
Project Objectives:
- Enhancing cluster cooperation at multiple levels:
- C2C (cluster-to-cluster), C2B (cluster-to-business), B2C (business-to-consumer), and B2B (business-to-business) interactions.
- Strengthen commercial, technological, and innovation partnerships and participate in international research, development, and innovation projects.
- Providing real-time economic data by developing a mechanism for collecting up-to-date information on the economic competitiveness of regional clusters and SMEs.
- Facilitating knowledge exchange by supporting the sharing of best practices, both at the individual and institutional levels, especially in the field of green and digital transformation.
- Strengthening the resilience of value chains across the Danube region.
The project is implemented with the support of the Interreg Danube Region Transnational Cooperation Program and is co-financed by the European Union.
Project Budget: €124,999
Interreg Funding: €99,999.2
Project Duration: September 2024 – May 2025