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Generating Cluster Policy Learning through Evaluation
Madeline Smith, James Wilson & Emily Wise
Cluster Lab 2
Cluster EvaluationCluster Lab | Daegu, Republic of Korea5th November 2015
The Story So Far• Common Challenge• Complex • Increasing importance
• Sharing learning• Identifying gaps• Trying new
Cluster Evaluation Working Group• Over three years of work• Workshops, conference presentations & discussions• Newsletter updates• Website zone
March 2015Working group meetingRzeszow, Poland
November 2015TCI ConferenceCluster LabDaegu, South Korea
Kolding TCI 2013
Belfast March 2014Digging Deeper into questions
Monterrey TCI 2014ProgressOutputsMini Projects
Rzeszow March 2015Human Element• Framework• Firm Level• Test /iterate
Benchmarking• Sharing• Learning
On-line discussion
Daegu TCI 2015
This cluster lab is a forum to:
• Address sticky issues• Leverage TCI knowledge• Collaboratively tackle shared challenges• Create better solutions to cluster evaluation
Agenda
• State of play of cluster evaluation• Exercise: ‘the perfect cluster’• Working on ‘sticky problems’• Wrap up
The Challenge
Despite proliferation of cluster initiatives, there is a shortage of evaluation research and practice• Leaves cluster policies open to questions• Prevents learning
How then do we develop better approaches to capture the impact of cluster policies and foster learning around how to improve them?
Methodological Difficulties
Direct outcomes are intangible & difficult to isolate• Space for debating issues that may only
generate solutions in the longer term• Higher trust and social capital• Spillovers to agents outside the cluster initiative
This it is difficult to rigorously show whether or not cluster policy has positive effects: “pick and mix of research evidence” (Perry, 2005)
Heterogeneity & Policy Mixes• Variety of policies in ‘cluster’ family• Complex relations with other competitiveness
policies
Source: Magro & Wilson (2013)
A generally accepted framework
...contribute to increased interactive learning and
collaborative research and innovation projects
...which contributes to increased innovation, international
attractive-ness, productivity and growth
Activities to strengthen or
upgrade a cluster/
innovation environment...
Input/Resources Activities Results/Outcomes Effects
3-10 years >10 years
Structural capital
(tangibles)
Social capital (intangibles)
Results/Outcomes
3-10 years
How to capture and
evaluate collaborative
dynamics?How to evidence broader
regional socio-economic
impacts?
Which data and
indicators?How to benchmark
and learn from
others?What is the role and effect
of cluster management?
Evaluation as Learning
• Evaluate across why, what & how• Not audit – all about learning• How to influence policy improvement and cluster
management improvement simultaneously
Emerging approaches
Quantative Impact Studies
Qualitative Case Studies
Towards ‘mixed methods &
evidence’
(smart combination of
pieces of evidence gathered by
different people)
Social network analysis
Participatory evaluation
Realist evaluation
The Perfect Cluster
• A user journey story from the perspective of the cluster
• If we were starting, growing, internationalising and diversifying the perfect cluster, how would we evidence its development?
The Perfect ClusterCreation Growth Internationalisation Diversification
Activity: What is happening?Actors: Who is involved?
Resources: What money & physical assets are being used?Social Capital: What type of behaviour do we see?Results: What is being generated?
Sticky Problems
1. How can we capture the right information (qual/quant) without making evaluation excessive?
2. How can we measure/evidence trust building and collaborative strength?
3. How do we ensure evaluation is about learning that is useful to both clusters and policy makers?
Sticky Problem GroupsExperience Audit
• What methods/approaches have we used before?
Experience Reflection
• What was good about these and what issues have we had with them?
Summary and Next Steps Key learning from today?How to take it forward?
Cluster EvaluationCluster Lab | Daegu, Republic of Korea5th November 2015