Industrial clusters are getting into the orbit of the cluster policy
In 2016, integrated government support will be provided not just to innovative clusters but also to industrial ones. According to experts of the Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge’s Russian Cluster Observatory, there’re 125 clusters in Russia currently active in the industrial production field. However, only those included in the RF Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Registry would be able to receive financial support from the government budget. The ministry is going to set the registry up very shortly.
The scope for providing government support to industrial clusters is defined by the federal law “On Industrial Policy” of 31.12.2014 #488-FZ and the RF government regulation “On industrial clusters and specialised organisations of industrial clusters” of 31.07.2015 #779.
Also, the RF Ministry of Industry and Trade, supported by HSE ISSEK experts, has developed the following documents which set the rules for providing government support to industrial clusters:
In mid-2015, draft sub-programme “Development of industrial infrastructure and infrastructure to support industrial activities” for the state programme “Development of industry and increasing its competitiveness” was prepared.
In the beginning of 2016, the RF government approved the “Rules for providing federal subsidies to participants of industrial clusters to reimburse part of the costs of clusters’ joint industrial production projects aimed at import substitution” (the RF government regulation of 28.01.2016 #41). This document is a major tool for providing government support to industrial clusters; you can find its detailed analysis on the Russian Cluster Observatory website.
According to the new rules, subsidies will be provided only to industrial clusters included in the Registry of Industrial Clusters and Specialised Organisations of Industrial Clusters. To put together such a register, a set of documents was prepared with the ISSEK experts’ support, specifying procedures for submitting and assessing applications, including the Regulation on Applications Commission.
To identify potential beneficiaries of government support and help them develop, the RCO experts analysed prospective industrial clusters’ plans and projects and prepared methodological guidance for setting up industrial clusters (a roadmap, and design algorithm and templates for main documents including functionality map and cluster development programme), and suggested key efficiency indicators and methodologies for calculating them.
You can follow announcements on submitting applications for inclusion into the Registry of Industrial Clusters and Specialised Organisations of Industrial Clusters at the official website of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, and at the site of the Russian Cluster Observatory.
ISSEK provides systemic methodological support to the RF Government on developing and implementing cluster policy. In 2012, the Institute’s experts participated in assessment of 94 applications for inclusion in the RF Ministry of Economic Development’s list of pilot innovative clusters, and in development of methodological guidance on designing and implementing innovative clusters’ development programmes and regional cluster policy.