The project aimed at identifying emerging industrial clusters and at fostering their socio-economic development through accurate economic analysis and regional planning activities. Based on the Italian experience of local development through cluster economy enhancement, the project included the following activities, performed in close contact with a local network of selected institutional stakeholders:

• The economic analysis of the local productive and industrial specializations and the identification of three pilot areas showing the typical features of emerging industrial clusters;
• The identification of local development players interested in taking part to the project testing and to the dissemination of inter-companies relationship and territorial development of good practices topical for a cluster approach;
• Training and technical assistance to experts belonging to the Russian partner organization;
• Training – provided by Italian experts – of key local development players that will take direct care of the field piloting of the practices, and that will monitor the needs of local businesses;
• Final analysis of the collected data and preparation of a final report (concept) summarizing the cornerstones of innovative governance for making more of industrial clusters specialisation to the Russian relevant authorities at federal and local level.

The results of the project have been presented to the Russian authorities during a final conference, where experts representing the Italian districts with specializations similar to the ones piloted in Russia have been invited, in order to promote mid term twinning among similar clusters in the two countries. The project also included the design and implementation of a multi-lingual web site, where details regarding project, partners, experts, best practices, pilot areas and actions, contacts and links are available (http://www.progetti.informest.it/edef/).

Type of service

Economic analysis.

Strategic planning.

Organization of workshops, conferences and dissemination events.

Transfer of good practices.

Training, on-the-job training.

Local development and governance innovation concept drafting.