Clusters are individuals - VDI/VDE-IT

2.7 POLAND
2.7.1 POLISH CLUSTER SUPPORT
Name of program
Country
Contact details
Internet
Polish Cluster Support (different programs)
Poland
Polish Agency for Enterprise Development
Grazyna Buczynska
Chief Expert Innovation and Technology Unit
ul. Panska 81/83
PL-00-834 Warszawa
Tel. +48 22 432 80 80
Fax +48 22 432 62 20
Email: grazyna_buczynska@parp.gov.pl
www.parp.gov.pl
2.7.1.1 Objectives, Rationale, Target Groups and
Instruments
On September 4th 2006 the government adopted the “Strategy
for Increasing the Innovativeness of the Economy, 2007-
2013” that identified the need of support for clusters. The Polish
government considers the support of clusters as “an important
component element in several spheres of economic policy,
most especially those connected with innovation, regional development
and industry”. 70 A specific feature of cluster policy
in Poland is the interest of the government in linking clusters
and cluster policy more closely with the development of special
economic zones. 71 These are areas in which business activity
may be conducted under preferential conditions defined
by the Act on Special Economic Zones of 20 October 1994. 72
The support of clusters is provided by a set of different grant
funding and technical assistance programs respectively
projects. They include:
• The Innovative Economy Operational Program,
Measure 5.1 “Support of the Development of supraregional
clusters”, addresses cluster coordinators to
support investments, training, advisory services and
internationalization activities. The budget of this program
(only Measure 5.1 of the Innovative Economy Operational
Program is EUR 104.3 million in the period 2007-2013).
The overall objective of this measure is to support the
development of national clusters and to enhance the competitive
position of companies through supporting collaborative
relationships between companies and between
companies and business environment institutions, including
scientific institutes. Support is available to coordinators of
such collaborations (cluster coordinators) who do not operate
for profit or allocate the profit for objectives relating to
tasks pursued by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development.
Beneficiary may be a foundation, registered association,
joint-stock company, limited-liability company, R&D
institution or an organization of entrepreneurs. To be eligible
a project should involve at least 10 companies of which are
at least 50 per cent SME and at least one R&D institution and
one business support institution. In order to facilitate the
development of supra-regional clusters project participants
have to come from at least two voivodeships (provinces) and
their total share in sales outside this region must be at least
30 percent.
The maximum amount of co-financing per project (can be
up to 100 per cent of total project costs) is EUR 5 million (PLN
20 million) for investments, EUR 250,000 (PLN 1 million) for
training that is related to the investments, 5 per cent of the
total eligible expenditure for operational and administrative
expenses, EUR 100,000 (PLN 400,000) for advisory services.
70 Ministry of Economy, 2010: National Reform Programme: Europe 2020 – Clusters: Clusterbased
Economic Development Policy, p. 2
71 Ibid., p. 13
72 For an overview see Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAliZ), 2009: A
Guide to Special Economic Zones in Poland
• To support the development of regional clusters the
overnment has set up the Operational Program Development
of Eastern Poland 2007-2013, Priority 1.4 “Promotion
and cooperation” with Measure 1.4 “Cooperation – cluster
creation and development”. The program is restricted to the
120