During the “Cluster Forum” event organized by the Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology, a new initiative was signed to establish the Lithuanian cluster network Klaster.LT. This network will serve as a gateway to the European Cluster Alliance, which already brings together 10 cluster associations from different countries.
The joint activity agreement was signed by MITA Director Kęstutis Šetkus, Lithuanian Innovation Centre expert Dr. Artūras Jakubavičius, and Giedrius Bagušinskas, Director of LitMea and Coordinator of the SMART FOOD cluster.
Nine leading Lithuanian clusters holding the Bronze Label of Cluster Management Excellence are joining the initiative: Health Technology Cluster iVita, the Lithuanian Prefabricated Wooden House Cluster PrefabLT, the Laser and Engineering Technologies Cluster, the LAuGEA cluster, the Lithuanian Medical Tourism Cluster, the National Food Cluster, the Photovoltaic Technology Cluster, the Vilnius Film Cluster, and the SMART FOOD cluster.
“The Lithuanian cluster network will help better represent our country’s interests in the European Cluster Alliance, open wider cooperation opportunities for joining international clusters, creating innovations, promoting product exports, and increasing competitiveness,” said MITA Director Kęstutis Šetkus.
“Folk wisdom says: one man in the field is no warrior; better to have 100 friends than 100 euros. All this applies to clusters as a business development tool. The Lithuanian cluster network is a real instrument that enables clusters and cluster companies to act together and in a coordinated way, integrate into international value chains, and earn more with lower costs,” said A. Jakubavičius.
“The European Cluster Alliance is a space for finding connections and contacts for international projects. It is also a place to learn from one another, an opportunity to submit proposals for cluster policy development, and a way to be among the first to receive news from the international cluster community,” said G. Bagušinskas, representative of the SMART FOOD cluster.
The KLASTER.LT cooperation platform, created during the InoLink project coordinated by MITA and serving as a key source of information, is now developing into the Lithuanian cluster network.
The main goal of Klaster.LT is to create incentives for Lithuanian clusters to integrate into international value chains. Its key objectives include promoting cluster development initiatives and the recognition of Lithuanian clusters in Europe, sharing good clustering practices, providing consulting services to clusters, developing cooperation with other cluster networks and organizations, and submitting recommendations to public administration institutions at national, regional, and EU levels on the activation and development of clustering.
The memorandum on the establishment of the European Cluster Association, also known as the European Cluster Alliance, was signed recently, in May, in Bucharest. Ten European cluster associations from Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Spain, and Lithuania agreed to cooperate. This means that European cluster associations have united in the areas of policy development and exchange of experience. The memorandum was approved by representatives of the European Commission.
