European Social Fund in Poland: Best Practices - Europejski ...

Jacek Lesiewski,
Bydgoski Klaster
Przemysłowy:
Do założenia klastra
zmotywowała nas chęć
wspólnego rozwiązywania
problemów, którym łatwiej
sprostać, gdy działa się
w grupie
Jacek Lesiewski,
Bydgoszcz Industrial Cluster:
We were motivated
to establish a cluster
by the desire to jointly solve
the problems that are easier
to deal with when you operate
as a group
» This was mainly due to poor organization and the complete lack of effective coordination of any joint ventures.
Naturally, mutual confidence is of paramount importance in building relations among partners.
“Local businessmen had ideas and a lot of goodwill, but they did not trust each other enough, nor did they have
experience in these types of initiatives. This is where the assistance from TARR experts came in handy.
Our agency has the skills, expertise and the necessary experience in bringing businesses together. First
and foremost, we know the needs and expectations of the firms in the region. All of these combined led to
the strong possibility of success”, claims Małgorzata Baran, European Projects and Funds Director at TARR.
The project included preparing a website and data bases, the preparation of promotional materials as well as
the running of training workshops which helped the beneficiaries to work more efficiently on developing a common
strategy for co-operation between groups in particular industries. A cluster development strategy was
developed for each of the industries, followed by analysis to identify the potential for increasing co-operation
in the region for each of the industries. The project commenced and closed with a conference. Businessmen
also made good use of a fact-finding trip to Austria during which they found how clusters work elsewhere
in Europe, bringing tangible benefits to all businesses involved. Individual meetings and consultations took place
as well.
“We succeeded in having two clusters established in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province, namely the Bydgoszcz
Industrial Cluster and the Valley of Health Cluster, based in the spa town of Ciechocinek. We also have one
cluster initiative, the Kujawsko-Pomorski Wood and Furniture Cluster. This is a major success, considering that
the project initially envisaged setting up just one cluster”, explains Małgorzata Baran. “Additionally, since February
2007, we have been working on the “Kujawsko-Pomorski e-cluster” project to bring together local companies
in the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) industry.” ◗
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