Clusters and regional development: a practitioner perspective - Ksenia Shadrina, US Department of Commerce Workshop on Modernising Statistical Systems, OECD 2018.

1. 1
Cluster mapping and regional
development: a practitioner
perspective
Ksenia E. Shadrina
U.S. Economic Development Administration
November 5, 2018

2. Overview: EDA & U.S. Cluster Mapping Project
US Cluster Mapping Portal
Applications of cluster mapping tool & data
Future outlook:
Towards internationally
harmonized
cluster mapping data?

3. U.S. Economic Development Administration: the only
federal government agency focused exclusively on economic
development, EDA works directly with communities and regions to
help them build the capacity for economic development based on local
business conditions and needs.
Mission: “To lead the federal economic development agenda by
promoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions
for growth and success in the worldwide economy.”
https://www.eda.gov/
EDA & US Cluster Mapping Project

4. 2010
EDA partners with
HBS: Development
of publicly available
Cluster mapping
portal
2014
Launch of the U.S.
Cluster mapping
portal
U.S. Cluster
Mapping Portal
Today:
A community of users
EDA & US Cluster Mapping Project

5. US Cluster Mapping Today
Over 50 million open data records…
 51 traded & 16 local empirically-defined clusters
 Over 60 regional indicators on economic performance,
business environment, and demographics
 Geographic level: State (TL2), EA (TL3), MSA, and County
 Close to 1,500 organizations in the Registry
 API

6. Clustermapping.us
Source: Prof. Michael E. Porter, Cluster Mapping Project, Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, Harvard Business School; Richard Bryden, Project Director.

7. Source: Prof. Michael E. Porter, Cluster Mapping Project, Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, Harvard Business School; Richard Bryden, Project Director.
Exploring the data

8. Source: Prof. Michael E. Porter, Cluster Mapping Project, Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, Harvard Business School; Richard Bryden, Project Director.
Exploring the data
 Different but
complementary
roles of Traded
and Local
Clusters
 Key indicators of
economic
performance of
clusters

9. Source: Prof. Michael E. Porter, Cluster Mapping Project, Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, Harvard Business School; Richard Bryden, Project Director.
Exploring the data

10. Source: Prof. Michael E. Porter, Cluster Mapping Project, Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, Harvard Business School; Richard Bryden, Project Director.
Exploring the data

11. Applications
Strategy:
- Industry/Cluster
Targeting
Action:
- Policy
Applications
-ED Plans &
Initiatives
Collaboration:
- Best Practices
Exchange
- Networking
Analysis:
- Research
- Benchmarking/
Performance

12. Models for Driving Cluster
Growth
Cluster-oriented economic development plans: target
several clusters and include strategies that cut across all clusters (e.g.,
improved transportation or workforce development); generally
established by public economic development entities or public-private
partnerships charged with economic development (more common in
the U.S. )
Cluster initiatives: support or accelerate the growth of a specific
cluster; strategies include: developing networks for business financing,
suppliers, customers, and workforce development as well as creating
opportunities to expand into markets nationally and internationally.
(more common in the E.U.)
Source: JPMorgan Chase & Co. // ICIC (2017)

13. The Southern Tier 8 is a regional planning agency
that offers leadership support and technical assistance in project
development, grant writing, program administration, geospatial and data
analysis, with considerations for natural resources across the region.
 Serves 8 counties, 5 cities, & 206 rural towns and villages in NY state
 Economic Development District designated by EDA
 Asset-Based Economic Development Southern Tier 8 works with a
consulting firm, Industry Building Blocks, to develop an asset-based
program for businesses across the region, pursuing the goals developed
in the region’s EDA’s sponsored 2018 Comprehensive Economic
Development Strategy (CEDS)
Southern Tier 8 Regional Board

14. Southern Tier 8 Regional Board
US Cluster Mapping uses
 Analysis:
Identify clusters in the region to build county- specific support strategies
 Strategy:
Promote regional assets and focus
strategies on industry clusters
 Action:
Informs the economic development
plans
 Collaboration:
Regional Industry Summits/
include educational sessions on
Industry Clusters and the tool

15. The German American Chamber of
Commerce® of the Midwest, Inc.
GAAC founded in 1963 to “further, promote, and assist
in the expansion of bilateral trade and investment between Germany
and the United States, especially the Midwest.”
 German Chamber Network (AHKs) with 140 offices in 92
countries.
 GACC: The 13 states of the Midwest and Colorado, approximately
one quarter of the nation’s geographical area, its population, and its
GDP.
 Unique approach to international trade promotion combines elements
of a trade commission, a membership association, and a professional
consultancy.
German American Chamber of Commerce® of the Midwest, Inc.

16.  The Transatlantic Cluster Initiative brings together leading
German and US industry clusters to promote knowledge exchange
through content-driven encounters (supported by the German Federal
Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy through the European Recovery
Program (ERP))
 The core program connects German and American cluster
organizations through targeted roadshow series in the US and
delegation trips to Germany and establishes exchange for best-
practices focused on cluster management, internationalization,
cluster policy, recruitment of a skilled workforce, technology
development and transfer, and more.
 Since 2016, the program targeted five industry clusters
(Metalworking, Lightweight technology, healthcare &
medical technology, industry 4.0, & electric mobility)
The German American Chamber of
Commerce® of the Midwest, Inc.
German American Chamber of Commerce® of the Midwest, Inc.

17. The German American Chamber of
Commerce® of the Midwest, Inc.
US Cluster Mapping uses
 Analysis:
National overview of industries and their economic performance
Research for German SME market entrants (discovering regions)
 Strategy:
Visualization feature as an overview tool for SMEs
Site selection process
 Collaboration:
Exchange of best practices in the US Cluster Portal’s Registry
Reported Challenges
 Select indicators should be better explained for the practitioners &
businesses.
 Not all industries are available resulting, sometimes, in missed
opportunities for cluster exchanges.
German American Chamber of Commerce® of the Midwest, Inc.

18. Future Outlook:
Cluster Mapping in Practice
 Promote wider adoption by the practitioners in order to empower
them to:
- Develop and evaluate economic development strategies and
initiatives around publicly-accessible empirically-based concepts & consistent
data
- Reinforce consistent communication across regions, countries, and
stakeholder groups (especially businesses)
 Internationally comparable cluster mapping data:
- Leverage the existing mapping portals to create a harmonized dataset
- Further research and collaboration across countries.

19. Cluster Mapping Portals
US Cluster Mapping (2014)
Canada Cluster Map (2018)
Mexico Cluster Mapping (2016)
European Cluster Observatory (2014)

20. Towards Harmonization
Methodology
Porter, Delgado, Stern
US Cluster
Mapping
NAICS
Mexico Cluster
Mapping
NAICS
Canada Cluster
Map
NAICS
European Cluster
Observatory
NACE
Known limitations:
 Country-specific context
 Lack of consistent industry
classification concordance
 Varying levels of data
granularity
Advantages:
 Comparable indicators for
measuring cluster
performance
 Common
methodology/common
research
 Comparable visuals

21. Towards Harmonization
Internationally harmonized cluster mapping portal can:
 Mitigate the country-specific conceptual and data limitations
 Enhance internationally-comparable research
 Create a global platform for best practices exchange
 Enhance communication among stakeholders (EDOs and businesses)
 Facilitate international cluster-to-cluster exchange

22. Discussion
• What are some of the uses of the cluster mapping
framework in the practitioner circles in your countries?
• What are some of the known challenges?
• What are the benefits you see in an internationally
harmonized dataset?

23. Thank you.