This is part 1 of a 5-part, self-guided series on cluster identification.
About Clusters
Session 1: What clusters are and how they fit into economic development
Session Agenda
- Explaining cluster development’s appeal
- Unpacking jargon
- Comparing clusters to other economic development approaches
- Funding cluster development strategies
Session Slides
View the embedded slides or use the link below to download them as a pdf.
Download the slides [pdf].
Terms & concepts
- Cluster – A concentration of interconnected businesses, assets, and institutions operating in a sector (or related sectors) within a region.
- Cluster Development – describes a set of policies, actions, and initiatives intended to support one or more clusters
- Cluster Development Strategy – a plan for supporting one or more clusters
- Cluster Initiative – a specific program/activity for cluster development
- Cluster Organization – an entity that supports a particular cluster
- Competitive Advantage – An attribute that helps overcome competitors. In economic development, these often are unique assets or economic strengths that are attractive to companies and investors.
- Virtuous Cycle – A type of feedback loop that produces self-reinforcing, positive results with each iteration.
Next session
Session 2 covers Location Quotients:
- Calculating and interpreting Location Quotients
- Data sources for LQs
- Problems with relying on LQ alone for cluster IDs
Further reading
- Porter, M.E. (1998). “Clusters and the New Economics of Competition.” Harvard Business Review, 76, 6, 77-90. Retrieved: https://hbr.org/1998/11/clusters-and-the-new-economics-of-competition.
- De Almeida Tavares, M. S., Gohr, C. F., Morioka, S., & Da Cunha, T. R. (2021). Systematic literature review on innovation capabilities in clusters. Innovation & Management Review, 18(2), 192–220. https://doi.org/10.1108/inmr-12-2019-0153.
- Delgado, M., Porter, M. E., Stern, S., Center for Economic Studies, & U.S. Census Bureau. (2010). Clusters and entrepreneurship. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1689084.
- Ketels, Christian & Sergiy Protsiv (2021) Cluster presence and economic performance: a new look based on European data, Regional Studies, 55:2, 208-220, DOI: 10.1080/00343404.2020.1792435.
- Delgado, M., & Porter, M. E. (2021). Clusters and the Great Recession. SSRN. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3819293.
- Campi, M., & Dueñas, M. (2022). Clusters and Resilience during the COVID-19 Crisis: Evidence from Colombian Exporting Firms. In Inter-American Development Bank, IDB Working Papers Series (No. 1375). http://www.iadb.org.
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