Financing cluster initiatives

In the last two decades hundreds of cluster initiatives have been launched involving virtually all regions of the world and their number is growing. Cluster initiatives are viewed as conscious actions taken by various actors to create or strengthen clusters. There are multiple relevant actors, and they may relate to each other in different ways. Governments and other public authorities are known to be responsible for most cluster initiatives, although there is a marked geographical variation. At the end of the 1990s, industrial and regional policy increasingly concentrated on stimulating clusters and clustering processes in many EU member states using different forms of support. The paper describes the rationale for regional cluster initiatives in general and presents different approaches of countries to the financing the specific programmes for cluster development. Although public funds should not be viewed as systematic aid and should comply with the State aid regulations, experts recognise that they are often needed to support start-up projects, networking, information, research, education, and specialised infrastructure. At the end of paper the Czech way to financing cluster initiatives is presented based on government programme with the financial contribution of EU Structural Funds.Competitiveness; region; cluster; cluster initiative; cluster policy; financing development programme

The Use of Structural Funds for Enterprise Competitiveness Growth in the Czech Republic

The competitiveness of enterprises depends not only on their strategies and operations but also on the macroeconomic and microeconomic environment in which they operate. The various instruments for business support can be found in industrial policies of EU member states, which were often successful due to co-financing from EU structural funds. The Operational Programme Industry and Enterprise uses the structural funds as the main financial source of the Czech national strategies for industry development in 2004-2006. The paper summarizes the main policies for both business environment and enterprise competitiveness development in the Czech Republic which focus mainly to the infrastructure for industrial research, innovation, industry clusters, human resources and business development.Structural funds; competitiveness; enterprise development; innovation

Constructing Regional Advantage: Does it matter for Czech regions?

Innovation and competitiveness are two concepts which govern the national and regional policies throughout the world. Innovation is the key driver of global economic competitiveness. Regions are considered a key level where innovation processes are shaped, coordinated and governed through localized capabilities. While until recently competitiveness of economies was developed from comparative or competitive advantages, in the era of knowledge economy the new theory of constructed advantage allows for more attention to the role and impact of the public sector and public-private partnership in the economy, based upon the dimensions related and unrelated variety and differentiated knowledge bases. The key to the constructed advantage is regional innovation systems approach. The introduction to the new theory is explained in the paper in the view of European collaborative research project and the first assessment of how policies for constructing regional advantage can work within the environment of specific regions of the Czech Republic is proposed.Regional innovation system; comparative, competitive and constructed advantage; related and unrelated varieties; differentiated knowledge bases

Clusters in the Transformation of Regions - Five years After

Five years ago the first theoretical works on industry clusters in regional development appeared in the Czech academic papers and conference proceedings. The research in this field, which was initiated at the Faculty of Economics at VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, was followed by other university research centres. The programme Klastry (clusters) announced by CzechInvest, the governmental agency for enterprise and FDI support in the Czech Republic, and financed by EU Structural funds in the period 2004-2006 opened a huge national-wide clustering movement. Several tens of cluster initiatives have been established in all regions by now and the idea of industry clusters has developed into the phase of implementation. This paper reviews and summarizes developments of cluster policies in the Czech Republic at both national and regional levels and presents achievements and a role of clusters in the transformation of traditional industrial region of Moravia and Silesia.Cluster; regional policy; regional development

Industry Clusters in Regional Development

The concept of „Industry Clusters“ has become very popular in the vocabulary of regional planners and researchers throughout the world in the last decade, namely in the United States, European Union and generally in OECD countries. However it has been not known in the Czech Republic yet. The paper aims to introduce the industry cluster concept and definition, the ways of cluster identification, the factors affecting cluster development and their contribution to regional development policies. The example of preliminary industry cluster analysis in Moravia Silesia region in the Czech Republic is presented in the conclusion and the potential clusters are identified.Cluster, industry analysis, regional development

Systems of Innovation in Regional Development

In recent years, the concept of Regional Innovation Systems has evolved into a widely used analytical framework generating the empirical foundation for innovation policy making. Yet, the approaches utilizing this framework remain ambiguous on such key issues as the territorial dimension of innovation, e.g., the region, and the apparently important role played by “institutions” or the institutional context in the emergence and sustenance of regional innovation systems. This paper reviews and summarizes the most important ideas and arguments of the recent theorizing on innovation systems approach, regional innovation systems and regional clusters to provide the basis for understanding these important tools for regional development policies, which are not much known in the Czech regional studies yet.Regional innovation system; regional cluster; regional development

The Role of Clusters in the Regional Policy of the Czech Republic

Regional, industry, innovative and knowledge-based clusters have become popular and important policy tools to boost economic development and competitiveness at regional level. The expectations of their role is still growing as it can be seen in the statements of official documents of European Union concerning social and economic cohesion or competitiveness and innovation programmes and also in many national and regional strategic documents of member states. The cluster development dilemma appeared in many CEE countries. On the one hand clusters are business or industry driven, on the other hand the cluster initiatives for starting cluster-based policies are mostly public sector driven. The public sector has in the past often tried to develop clusters directly. Now it appears that its role may prove more effective in providing the infrastructure on which clusters can grow. The Czech Republic adopted the comprehensive approach to cluster-based policies which are incorporated in different national and regional strategies focused not only to regional development but to business and innovation support as well. The analysis of cluster-based interventions in different types of strategic documents is presented in the paper

The Role of Clusters in the Regional Policy of the Czech Republic

Regional, industry, innovative and knowledge-based clusters have become popular and important policy tools to boost economic development and competitiveness at regional level. The expectations of their role is still growing as it can be seen in the statements of official documents of European Union concerning social and economic cohesion or competitiveness and innovation programmes and also in many national and regional strategic documents of member states. The cluster development dilemma appeared in many CEE countries. On the one hand clusters are business or industry driven, on the other hand the cluster initiatives for starting cluster-based policies are mostly public sector driven. The public sector has in the past often tried to develop clusters directly. Now it appears that its role may prove more effective in providing the infrastructure on which clusters can grow. The Czech Republic adopted the comprehensive approach to cluster-based policies which are incorporated in different national and regional strategies focused not only to regional development but to business and innovation support as well. The analysis of cluster-based interventions in different types of strategic documents is presented in the paper