Imagine your direct competitors becoming partners, co-creating a single product, and sharing patients. Impossible in healthcare? The Lviv Healthcare Business Cluster has proven otherwise. With the support of GIZ, they developed the “Check-Up Lviv” web platform, uniting over 25 private clinics in the region around preventive medicine. Discover how to transform fragmented competition into a sustainable coopetition ecosystem, attract 10,000+ patients, and start positioning an entire region as a medical hub of Eastern Europe.
Practice profile
| Practice name | Medical Check-up Platform “Check-Up Lviv” |
| Cluster / originating organisation | Lviv Cluster of Medical Business |
| Region | Lviv, Lviv Region |
| Implementation period | Implemented as a GIZ grant project; currently operating on an ongoing basis (in a simplified format) |
| Cluster maturity level | Mature cluster with a project portfolio |
| Number of Participants | 25 |
| Thematic areas | SME services, value chain development, networking, international cooperation |
| Who is the practice for | Mature clusters in any service sector with high competition but strong potential for creating joint products and standardizing services under a unified brand umbrella |
Context and Problem Addressed by the Practice
Initial situation: Private medical centers in Lviv operated in isolation, competing in a fragmented manner. At the same time, awareness of preventive medicine and European check-up standards among the population (both locals, internally displaced persons, and foreigners) remained low. Lviv had the potential to become a medical hub but lacked a consolidated value proposition.
What wasn’t working before implementation: Individual promotion of preventive services by clinics was costly and ineffective at the regional scale. The absence of unified check-up standards made it difficult for patients to choose and prevented building trust in Lviv as a single medical destination. Prior to the grant, collaboration between clinics was limited to occasional networking events, without evolving into joint product development.
Description of the mechanics of the practice (‘what’s under the bonnet’)
The project was implemented with grant support from GIZ (EU4Business).
Key elements (logic):
- Development of a digital web platform: Creation of a unified online channel, “Check-Up Lviv,” bringing together the offerings of participating clinics.
- Joint product design: Development and implementation of standardized medical check-ups by competing clinics. This required alignment on quality standards, protocols, pricing, and patient journeys.
- Collective marketing: Promotion of preventive medicine and European standards under the Cluster’s brand (target audience: citizens of Ukraine, patients from other regions, and international clients).
Roles:
- Cluster Management: Coordination of platform development, facilitation of cooperation among competitors, alignment of standards, collective marketing, and communication with donors. Importantly, the Business People Club Ukraine — a co-founder of the cluster and initiator of the platform — acted as the guarantor of project implementation and the key facilitator. It ensured process sustainability, trust among participants, and practical coordination at all stages.
- Private clinics (SME participants): Developers of check-up packages, providers of medical services, and subjects of standardization.
- Donor (GIZ): Financial support and expert guidance.
Frequency and Rhythm: Ongoing practice (the platform operates continuously).
Resources and prerequisites
Type of Resource: Donor-funded / grant project (“EU4Business: Recovery, Competitiveness and Internationalisation of SMEs”).
Organizational Prerequisites: A sufficient level of cluster maturity to moderate coopetition, capacity to work with digital platforms, and skills in collective marketing.
Results and outcomes
Achieved Quantitative Results:
- A joint cluster product (standardized check-ups) was developed and launched.
- Over 10,000 visits to the web platform.
- Up to 10 inquiries (check-up bookings) per week.
- SME participants were engaged, and sustainable cooperation links were established.
Qualitative Results:
- Strengthened trust among cluster participants.
- Formation of a culture of cooperation (“coopetition”) and a partnership-based model of interaction.
- Shift from individual service promotion to coordinated joint actions.
- Strengthening of the cluster’s institutional role as a coordinator and representative of participants’ interests.
Structural Changes (Behavior):
- Participants began to systematically collaborate in developing and promoting check-ups, sharing information, and referring patients between clinics.
- Regular joint working formats emerged, along with clear rules of interaction and shared quality standards.
- Cluster processes became more structured and results-oriented, with defined KPIs and demand analytics.
Consistency in practice
Status: Yes, continues after the pilot phase (in a simplified format).
Sustainability Factors:
- Economic incentives: Participants see a steady flow of patients.
- Institutionalization of cooperation: An established culture of trust and regular working formats.
- Digital platform: Serves as a continuous channel for attracting clients.
- Shared product: The availability of standardized check-ups generates consistent demand.
Limitations and risks
Risk of declining activity after the grant: Platform coordination and collective marketing require continuous effort from the cluster management team. In a simplified format, the impact may diminish over time.
Risk of unequal patient distribution: If one or two large clinics receive 90% of inquiries through the platform, it may undermine trust among smaller participants and weaken cooperative links.
Lessons learnt and recommendations for Clusters4Regions
Clusters often lack practices for service standardization and mechanisms to finance joint initiatives. This case demonstrates how grant funding can serve as a catalyst for addressing this challenge.
Coopetition in the service sector is only possible when a cluster creates a new, additional market (e.g., medical tourism), rather than forcing competitors to divide an existing one. A shared check-up is an ideal MVP (minimum viable product) for entering coopetition.
The presentation of the case study is available via the link:
This practice has been included in the Ukraine Best Practice Guide, which we are developing as part of the Clusters4Regions project.
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Clusters4Regions is an initiative aimed at designing and implementing cluster programs in six regions of Ukraine (Vinnytsia, Volyn, Sumy, Odesa, Khmelnytskyi, and Ternopil regions). The initiative is implemented by the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance at the request of the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, with the support of the Swiss-Ukrainian project “Ukraine`s Cohesion and Regional Development” UCORD, and is aligned with EU priorities, international donor frameworks, and Ukraine’s recovery agenda.