Polish clusters and cluster policy Maciej Dzierżanowski Gdańsk Institute for Market Economics

1. Polish clusters and cluster policyMaciej DzierżanowskiGdańsk Institute for Market Economics Launching conference of the ClusterCoop Project The future role of clusters in Central EuropeBudapest, 13th of July 2011

2. Polish clusters and cluster policy • Clusters landscape in Poland(based on PARP benchmarking project) • 47 active cluster initiatives (out of almost 180 identified) • most of them (ca. 75%) established in 2007-2009 • on average 42 entities per initiative (min. 14 and max. 122) • economic potential of 47 formalized clusters is relatively low – around 2 thousand entities and employment level approaching 250 thousand • not always appear in places where statistical agglomeration is observed • average external funding within last 2 years 1,4 mln PLN – ca. 43% with no external funding, 30% up to 1 mln PLN and 27% above (max. 17 mln) – 62 externally funded projects with the overall budget 65,5 mln PLN • 68% did not used membership fees to fund shared activities • in most cases only one person (cluster coordinator) employed in a initiative • low levels of innovativeness and international exposure

3. Polish clusters and cluster policy • Supporting clusters’ development with • EU Structural Funds 2004-2006 • pilot cluster initiatives within implementation of Regional Innovation Strategies (action 2.6. of the Integrated Regional Operational Programme) • PARP „Clustering promotion training project” financed from the Operational Programme Human Resources Development • other actions with the Sectoral Operational Programme Improvement of the Competitiveness of Enterprises aiming at strengthening business support organizations and stimulating inter-firm cooperation and cooperation with higher education institutions and research centres

4. Polish clusters and cluster policy • Supporting clusters’ development • with EU Structural Funds 2007-2013 • Operational Programme Innovative Economy (national) – main activity: 5.1. Support for the development of supra-regional cooperative relations (422 mln PLN) but also other activities (support for S&T parks, technology incubators, CTT etc.) • Operational Programme East Poland (5 Polish regions) – activity 1.4.2. Cooperation – Establishing and developing clusters (11 projects – 33 mln PLN, additional 15 mln PLN foreseen in 2011) • Operational Programme Human Capital (national part) – PARP training programme „Developing cooperative relations of Polish enterprises” (15,3 mln PLN) • Regional Operational Programmes – different direct and indirect measures • Operational Programme Human Capital (regional part) – local partnerships

5. Polish clusters and cluster policy • Other PARP activities and support measures • pilot cluster programme 2007 ‘Support for cluster development’ (5 projects and total budget 1,6 mln PLN) • Inovation Express • Benchmarking of Polish clusters 2010 • Transnational Alliance of Clusters Towards Improved Cooperation Support – TACTICS • NGPExcellence – Cluster Excellence in the Nordic Countries, Germany and Poland (benchmarking of clusters and cluster policies) Other funding sources for clusters • Interreg • Framework Programme • Leonardo da Vinci

6. Polish clusters and cluster policy • Main national support measure for Polish clusters (1): • support for the development of supra-regional cooperative relations (activity 5.1. of Operational Programme Innovative Economy) • joint activities of groups of entities aiming at developing innovative product or service and introducing it to the market • at least 10 companies (6 for initial stage projects) and one R&D and business support institutions / at least half MSME’s / at least 30% of sales out of the region (10% for initial stage projects) • strengthening cooperative links between companies supporting and R&D institutions – knowledgetransfer, exchange of experience, better utilization of available resources thanks to joint infrastructure (e.g. R&D) or dedicated services

7. Polish clusters and cluster policy • Main national support measure for Polish clusters (2): • max. (regular) project budget up to 27 mln PLN: investments (20), R&D (5), international cooperation (0,6) + consulting services (0,4) + training program (1) • the support (100%) goes to cluster coordinator but should be distributed (within 15 years) to the cluster members (members of the cooperative relation); now there is also an option to use the alternative scheme that requires standard private co-funding without redistribution requirement • cluster coordinator must be non-profit – different legal entities incl. research institutions – cluster coordinator must provide open access to the joint infrastructure or service • total foreseen budget for this activity – ca. 100 mln Euro – so far only 7 projects with average budget 14 mln PLN – ca. 24% utilization of the total budget

8. Polish clusters and cluster policy • The Working Group for Cluster Policy: • established under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy and PARP • consists of representatives of: • different ministries and governmental agencies, • regional and local authorities • clusters and business organizations • all together 22 permanent members • supported also by domestic and foreign experts • the results will be consulted with clusters’ practitioners and broader audience • the opening meeting took place on the 10th of June and the final report will be presented in Oct. 2012

9. Polish clusters and cluster policy • Main challenges and dilemmas for cluster policy: • understanding of clusters: significant agglomerations or micro-clusters (cooperative networks) • new emerging clusters (e.g. in creative industries) need to be considered • selection process (mapping, accreditation, competitive tenders) • scope of support: just for cluster coordinators or more direct support for different cluster actors (e.g. R&D funding) and projects that will improve specific framework conditions (e.g. education) • coordination mechanisms • mobilization of cluster actors, cluster initiatives and coordinators • how to stimulate bottom-up initiatives

10. Polish clusters and cluster policy • Main challenges and dilemmas for cluster policy in Poland: • in Poland we can observe that cluster policies are quite narrow – i.e. concentrate on providing support to cluster organizations or particular joint infrastructure projects run by these organizations • on the other hand we have a lot of structural funds with different aims and in different lines (operating programmes) which are being utilised in a rather dispersed and uncoordinated manner • there is a case for introducing cluster policy that would result in coordinating and concentrating different financial instruments available with structural funds to support development of most promising clusters • to introduce such policy there is a need for mechanisms allowing to earmark (dedicate) different funding within structural funds to projects coming from and defined by clusters selected in an open and competitive tender

11. Thanks for your attention!Contact:Maciej.Dzierzanowski@ibngr.pl Polish clusters and cluster policy Gdańsk Institute for Market Economics Instytut Badań nad Gospodarką Rynkową 80-227Gdańsk, Do Studzienki 63 Str. Tel. + 48 (58) 5244900/54 Fax + 48 (58) 5244908 www.ibngr.pl