S&T Country Report - Albania - WBC-INCO Net

Name of
initiative:
Tourism Cluster “Institute for Collaboration” (IFC)
Contact person: Snjezana Derviskadić (Cluster Team Leader)
Email: sderviskadic@usaidcca.ba
Website: http://www.usaidcca.ba/
The USAID Cluster Competitiveness Activity (CCA) functions as the “Institute for
Collaboration” (IFC) of the BiH Tourism Cluster. It has taken the initiative to bring
together stakeholders from the cluster in three regions of BiH (Herzegovina, Krajina,
and Sarajevo) and has facilitated the formation of working groups to deal with key
competitiveness challenges in tourism. As the cluster’s IFC, CCA provides support to
many joint action initiatives that improve BiH tourism products and expand markets.
All of CCA’s activities are on behalf of the cluster. Eventually, CCA will pass its
responsibilities on to a local institution that will become the BiH Tourism cluster’s
permanent IFC. The project’s headquarters is in Sarajevo with offices in Banja Luka
and Mostar.
There are 3 regional tourism sub-clusters in Sarajevo, Krajina and Herzegovina at the
moment.
Industry/Sector (technology area): Tourism
International activities: Extensive participation in major tourism trade fairs and
promotion of BiH country image.
B) Technology/Innovation Centres
In Bosnia and Herzegovina co-operation between universities and large companies is
generally at a very low level in terms of technology innovations and transfer. Efforts
have been made at entity level to try to change this situation. The most advanced
entity is the Republika Srpska, where there is organised support for innovation, coordinated
by the Republic Ministry of Science and Technology. With Ministry support
the recently formed Centre for Technology Transfer and Centre for Quality are now
operational. In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) plans for the
establishment of technological parks in Zenica, Sarajevo and Tuzla are being
progressed. No initiatives are being undertaken by the Brčko District. Few initiatives
are being taken at state level to co-ordinate actions in this area.
Technology transfer mechanisms are limited to initial work on clusters. However, in
the district of Brčko, an ambitious innovation and technology triangle Brčko-Bijeljina-
Tuzla is part of the district’s 2002 - 20306 economic development strategy. It would
link the educational infrastructure of the three towns to their industrial sectors. The
project has nonetheless so far not been implemented (European Commission 2006).
page 19/BIH