The Clusters4Defense Online Conference, organized by the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance (UCA), was the first in a series of events planned as part of UCA’s advocacy campaign under this initiative. The conference brought together around 80 participants, including representatives from 15 EU and other countries. This report summarizes the key outcomes of the event.

Why “Advocacy”? – Context and Background

Despite growing attention across Europe to security and defense topics, clusters represent a large but still underutilized potential for Ukraine and the EU in addressing shared challenges. In Ukraine, UCA is mobilizing clusters through its sector-specific Resource Centers (RCs). Currently, 11 clusters are united under the Dual-Use Technologies RC.

At the same time, a common issue for all 40 clusters within UCA is the weak level of institutional recognition. Historically, and for the past 30 years, clusters in Ukraine were not acknowledged by the State as instruments of industrial, innovation, or regional development policies. UCA began work on this with the Ministry of Economy only in 2024, and several public policy frameworks are expected by the end of 2025. However, their influence will likely be limited — thus, “advocacy” is needed inside Ukraine to secure recognition for clusters and the rightful place they already occupy de facto in many economic sectors and defense initiatives.

In the EU, clustering has activly been developing for over 30 last years. There are around 3,000 clusters, and member states have well-established support mechanisms. A benchmark for UCA is the Catalonian cluster policy, where clusters contribute over 30% to regional GDP and are key drivers of innovation and new value chains, including dual-use sectors.

In the context of the war in Ukraine, both Ukrainian and European clusters expect more decisive and concrete actions from policymakers, governments, and the European Commission to mobilize clusters through joint initiatives. The first Ukraine–EU Defense Forum, held in Brussels in May 2024, demonstrated strong interest and willingness from EU defense associations and large companies. However, European clusters and their member SMEs were notably absent. In this context, in May 2024, the Clusters4Defense initiative was born.

From Common Challenges to Joint Action: The Campaign Vision

In 2024, UCA clusters identified key market challenges in the security and defense sector across five areas:

1. Innovation
2. Import substitution and integration into value chains
3. Automation and digitalization of the defense industry
4. Reskilling and upskilling
5. International cooperation

For example, Ukraine’s R&D infrastructure remains weak and highly fragmented. In terms of equipment — laboratories, testbeds, and certification centers — Ukraine significantly lags behind most EU countries. Under these conditions, it’s hard to talk about “breakthrough innovation” in defense tech. A clear solution would be cooperation with EU countries, where clusters have developed strong joint innovation models. So why not extend these models to Ukraine?

Despite strong moral support and understanding from partners, Ukrainian clusters have yet to receive meaningful support. The lack of concrete mechanisms and tools for such cooperation in the security and defense sectors is evident. A striking example is the European Defence Fund (EDF) — despite four years of full-scale war, and the fact that Ukraine’s million-strong army is effectively defending the EU’s eastern borders, the €8 billion fund remains largely inaccessible to Ukrainian enterprises.

In 2025, the Clusters4Defense campaign aims to achieve tangible results across three strategic categories:

1. Improve (or create new) mechanisms for cooperation between European and Ukrainian clusters in the fields of security and defense.
2. Maximize integration of Ukrainian clusters and SMEs into joint value chains and defense industrial ecosystems.
3. Boost innovation and productivity levels among SMEs participating in Ukrainian clusters.

Conference Highlights and Discussions

The above-mentioned ideas were presented in UCA’s keynote presentation on April 16. Alex Yurchak, CEO of the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance, also outlined key arguments regarding the strategic positioning of clusters.

Currently, Ukraine’s defense innovation landscape is dominated by the “Fast Track” approach — a model focused on the rapid transition of innovative ideas into MVPs, followed by commercialization through investment or government contracts. The goal is to quickly deliver innovations to the front line. The state-backed Brave1 platform is a strong example of this model, already supporting more than 1,500 SMEs and startups through various services.

However, this approach alone cannot ensure the sustainability of Ukraine’s defense industrial base in the face of prolonged war. It does not address long-term needs like:

• reskilling-upskilling of thousands of engineers and workers in Defense sector,
• building resilient innovation ecosystems, incl. networks of RTO and EDIHs,
• accelerating the automation and digitalization of production processes & scaling to mass production,
• improving manufacturing productivity and quality,
• value chain management and import substitution.

That is why the Clusters4Defense initiative invites all stakeholders to mobilize clusters as platforms for solving these structural challenges through ecosystem-based, sustainable development integrated with EU industrial value chains.

Rather than replacing Fast Track, Clusters4Defense complements and strengthens it. It helps unlock the full potential of collaborative innovation, not only with clusters but also with institutional partners from the Euro-Atlantic space, including industry associations and RTO networks. The initiative focuses on the broader SME base, not just large enterprises or startups, and aims to involve partners not only from the EU, but also from Norway, the UK and Canada.

In conference breakout Sessions and pitches, participants then split into five breakout sections for pitch sessions and discussions:

1. Ecosystem Collaboration

Topics included:

• Networked prototyping and expertise centers based on EDIHs (presented by APPAU),
• Defense community building (Kharkiv IT Cluster),
• Mentorship and crowdsourcing platforms (Dual-Use Cluster),
• Proposal to launch an EU–Ukraine Cluster Partnership in Defense.
  

2. Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management

Projects presented included:

• Industry 4.0 in defense industry (flexible production, digitalization through innovation experiments, roadmaps of digital transformation– APPAU),
• Supplier marketplace (Dual-Use Cluster),
• Boat production (Maritime Cluster).

A highlight was the pitch by Danish partners on modular, plug-and-play drone production lines, which can be deployed in just a few weeks — sparking major interest.

3. Technology Section (two thematic blocks):

• Photonics: The Lviv quantum technologies ecosystem was showcased, along with pitches by international participants on innovations in this field.
• Space Technologies & Unmanned Systems: This section drew some of the greatest interest. Topics included large-scale, multi-partner regional ecosystem projects as well as specific technological innovations. Discussions focused on creating secure supply chains, import substitution.

4. Reskilling & Upskilling

Project proposals from clusters included:

• Tactical medicine and battlefield medical training (Rivne Interregional Medical Cluster),
• Cybersecurity training (Ukrainian Cybersecurity Cluster),
• Digital skills programs (Kharkiv IT Cluster).

International participants also had the opportunity to pitch in each section.

Main Outcome of April 16: A Milestone in Cluster Consolidation

The organizers, UCA management, and cluster members expressed good satisfaction with the first results of the initiative.

Together, we have reached a new level of internal consolidation — the Clusters4Defense initiative now includes 11 UCA member clusters: IRON cluster, Ukrainian Cybersecurity Cluster, Ukrainian Industrial Cluster, Rivne Interregional Medical Cluster, Association of Innovative Space Clusters, Vinnytsia AIM, Kharkiv IT Cluster, APPAU, Dual-Use Technologies Cluster, and a new addition — the Ukrainian Demining Cluster.
Collectively, this represents around 80% of all clusters working in the Dual-Use / MilTech sectors in Ukraine.

UCA clusters are demonstrating readiness for collaboration through the practical implementation of over 40 projects, most of which are aimed at ecosystem-level cooperation, including development of collaborative platforms, training programs, talent development, and sector-based joint agendas.

There was significant international interest — over 50 participants joined from countries including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the UK, Greece, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Singapore, and the United States.

The initiative received official support from the European Cluster Alliance, as well as national cluster associations from Poland, the Czech Republic, and Romania.

Intensive exchanges, personal introductions, and the joint identification of shared challenges and solutions form the foundation of trust-building, the critical first step toward establishing joint consortia and alliances. UCA sees the formation of such alliances as one of the key goals of the Clusters4Defense campaign. In this sense, the April 16 event marks a promising beginning for deeper cooperation.

A vital element of UCA’s efforts in this area is its close coordination with the Center for Scaling Technological Solutions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which was also involved in this event.

UCA extends sincere thanks to all participating partners and supporters.

Next Steps

The Ukrainian Cluster Alliance (UCA) plans to expand the Clusters4Defense campaign through the end of 2025. Activities will unfold across five main directions:

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1. Series of Events in Ukraine and Abroad

Several key engagements are already scheduled:

• April 29 – Carpathian Sea Conference (Truskavets, Ukraine)
• May 12 – EU–Ukraine Defense Forum (Brussels)
• May 15 – Supply, Security and Defense (Tallinn)
• May 19–22 – Czech–Ukrainian SpaceTech Forum (Prague)

2. Formation of Consortia and Alliances

UCA clusters are open to joining consortia under EDF / Horizon Europe, and partnering with international donors on ready-to-launch project proposals.

A particular focus will be on forming bi- and multilateral programs with Eastern European, Baltic, and Scandinavian countries. The so-called “Eastern Shield” is no longer just a political concept — it is a shared strategic necessity in light of current military-political realities. UCA proposes the concept of a cluster platform and It will be topic of the discussion on the next meeting, 29th of April

3. Strengthening the Coordination Center

To support growing alliance activity, UCA will strengthen the structure of the Dual-Use Technologies Resource Center, including appointing dedicated project managers, and assigning leads for international partnership engagement / community management.

4. Analytical and Positioning Work

The development of common agendas for integrated ecosystems requires a clear understanding of technological priorities and strategic directions. To achieve this, UCA will initiate in-depth analysis of the current state of Dual-Use / MilTech sectors in Ukraine and EU countries, and clearer cluster positioning relative to other industrial ecosystem actors.

5. Launch of a Fundraising Campaign

Currently, all activities under the Dual-Use Resource Center are conducted on a volunteer basis. Clusters within UCA receive virtually no significant support from the state or EU funds, and membership fees are limited. Therefore, the #Clusters4Defense campaign budget will initially rely on donor and sponsorship contributions. UCA plans to announce a partnership fundraising program on April 24.

Regarding mid-long-term collaboration mechanisms, see the main suggestions here.

A core task of the campaign is also to define ecosystem and business cases aligned with the operational needs of the Ukrainian Defense Forces. These must form the foundation for all joint activities. After all, it is thanks to the Defense Forces that we can defend our independence and safeguard peace in Europe. This is a complex challenge, considering the fragmented nature of Ukraine’s innovation ecosystems, and the confidentiality requirements surrounding sensitive information.

UCA invites Ukrainian and international organizations whose mission is the development of Dual-Use / MilTech industrial ecosystems to join the initiative.
Together, we can make a significant contribution to the defense capability of Ukraine and the EU.

UCA Executive Directorate