An interregional conference ‘Cooperation and Clusters: Effective Tools for Sustainable Recovery’ was held in Ternopil, bringing together more than 60 participants from 11 regions of Ukraine — representatives of local and regional authorities working within the framework of the ‘Strengthened Partnership for Sustainable Recovery’ project, as well as regional development agencies (RDAs).
The event was held as part of the Enhanced Partnership for Sustainable Recovery (EPSR) project, which is funded by the Swedish government through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine.
The event was held as part of the Enhanced Partnership for Sustainable Recovery (EPSR) project, which is funded by the Swedish government through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine.
The event focused on modern approaches to the use of cooperatives and clusters in local economic development and best practices of Ukrainian communities.
UCORD is a project that supports the development of clusters as an effective tool for regional economic development, in particular through its Clusters4Regions initiative. Olena Boiko, regional coordinator of the UCORD project, told conference participants about it.
The Swiss-Ukrainian project ‘Ukraine’s Cohesion and Regional Development’ (UCORD) was launched in 2022, perhaps the most difficult time for Ukraine, and is currently in its first phase, which will last until the end of 2026. The project is unique in that its main focus is on strengthening RDAs, transforming them into powerful European institutions capable of providing quality services to local communities and acting as ‘leaders’ in the implementation of national policies and reforms. One of the key issues today is the implementation of the national clustering policy at the regional level, the search for and introduction of tools to stimulate regional economic development. To this end, and at the request of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, the UCORD project launched the Clusters4Regions initiative, which is currently being implemented by the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance in six pilot regions: Sumy, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Volyn and Odesa regions,” said Olena Boiko.
As a result of the implementation of Clusters4Regions, the pilot regions will receive at least two economically active clusters in each of the six regions, six regional cluster programmes based on the strengths of each region, and a comprehensive methodology for the development and implementation of cluster programmes for all regions of Ukraine. Today, all six regional working groups are in the final stages of developing regional cluster programmes. The next steps include not only approving the programmes, but also establishing mechanisms for their effective implementation.
It should be noted that the RDAs play a special role in the implementation of Clusters4Regions. They engage and bring together all interested parties, facilitate communication and the search for joint development opportunities, support the creation and development of regional cluster organisations, and ensure that clusters are connected to wider networks and that their activities are aligned with regional and national strategies. As a result of the implementation of Clusters4Regions, the agencies will receive a full package of support tools and competencies for running cluster programmes and will become the ‘leaders’ in the implementation of the national clustering policy at the regional level.
The Swiss-Ukrainian project ‘Ukraine’s Cohesion and Regional Development’ (UCORD) is implemented with the support of Switzerland via the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation by NIRAS Sweden AB.