In October, a new Concept for the Clusterization Development in Lithuania was approved, according to the order of the Minister of Economy. The data of the Lithuanian cluster study and the latest international trends was summarized to set current goals and objectives of clusterization development and to updated cluster definition, categorization, etc.

“Although industry clusters and their benefits are defined relatively recently, the global economic environment is changing the concept of clustering and requires more attention to the cluster’s internationality and cross-sectoral nature. We hope that the new concept of clusterization development in Lithuania will help to move on to another cluster development level which in turn will have a positive impact on the competitiveness of the country,” commented Jolita Razumienė, Project Manager of the InoLink project and representative of the Research, Innovation and Technology Agency (MITA) in the working group, which put together the Concept.

Four levels of cluster maturity

Purpose of cluster development as stated in the new document is to increase the competitiveness of the Lithuanian economy by promoting clusters and clusterization. To achieve the objective, it is necessary to advance the innovative potential of clusters, to promote the export of clusters’ goods and encourage them to join international value chains. In addition, it is necessary to increase the productivity of clusters, to create even better environment (ecosystem), to promote cross-sectoral, interregional and international cooperation and to promote clusterization the benefits.

The new Concept for the first time defined four cluster categories. It is suggested that clusters can be classified according to the maturity level into the following categories: emerging, formed, developing, and mature. This categorization should help to assess Lithuanian clusters, clusterization processes and even facilitate decisions on the allocation of European Union (EU) funding. The new document outlines that funding priority should be given to cluster initiatives aimed at R&D activities, innovations, expanding potential of clusters abroad and enhancement of employee competencies.

Monitoring of clusterization processes will be carried out by Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology (MITA) as directed by the Ministery of the Economy.