UNIDO’s Approach to Cluster Development published

UNIDO released a technical paper on its revised approach to clustering entitled “The UNIDO Approach to Cluster Development - Key Principles and Project Experiences”.

Clusters have gained increasing prominence in debates on economic development in recent years as they  are considered to be efficient policy instruments allowing for a concentration of resources and funding in targeted areas with a development potential. Clusters have also proven to strengthen the resilience of SMEs, as companies that are embedded in local production systems  tend to recover faster from external shocks due to the collective efficiency they are able to generate.

Given the increasing reach of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world, more and more SMEs are facing lockdowns effects resulting from disruptions in the supply chains they are integrated with. Acknowledging the need to strengthen the development of more resilient local value chains , UNIDO recently published two technical papers closely related to SME clustering and networking: “Responding to the COVID-19 Crisis – Pathway to Business Continuity & Recovery. Guidance for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)”, which provides guidance to owners, managers, and staff of SMEs, who seek some orientation while dealing with the effects of the pandemic on their businesses, and “Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) for promoting Local Food on Local Markets”, which highlights the potential of SFSC initiatives for achieving local development and allowing for higher resilience of food production systems in front of global market disruption.

Over the past 30 years, UNIDO has been involved in the implementation of cluster and network development projects in several countries around the globe. Based on lessons learned from theory and practice, UNIDO has developed a step by step methodology to assist cluster stakeholders, which is presented in the released publication, and which is further elaborated on the web-platform www.clustersfordevelopment.org.

Read the publication here.

For more information contact Fabio Russo (F.Russo [at] unido.org (F[dot]Russo[at]unido[dot]org))