Evaluation Study MSE Cluster Development - Ministry of Micro ...

Nevertheless, it is expected that the information gained as a result of the diagnosticstudy and the joint preparation of the action plan (especially concerning the competitiveposition of the cluster in the national and international market) will suffice to identify thepotentialities of the cluster as well as the key obstacles which prevent it from taking upthe opportunities provided by the globalisation of the Indian economy. As these obstaclesare identified, a key task is to help the partner institutions to prioritise them (both interms of their importance and of the capacity of the cluster actors to jointly tackle them)and to identify the initiatives which can relieve them including the utilization of existingBDS and the development of new ones.The elaboration of an action plan is meant as the initial step for the development of pilotprojects where groups of firms sharing similar constraints (networks) are formed andspecific initiatives are formulated and implemented. During this phase, co-operationstarts bearing concrete results to the participating enterprises. The initiatives aregenerally of a commercial and/or promotional kind (e.g. joint participation in fairs, jointpurchase of raw materials, design of a collective catalogue). The idea is to generatevisible results (although of a short-term nature) to engender optimism and trust. At thesame time, the pilot projects consolidate willingness of the networks and associations toundertake long-term strategic initiatives around an increasingly shared vision for thecluster as a whole. These projects generally entail an increase in the degree ofspecialization by process and/or by product of the firms involved (e.g. restructuring orcreation of common service facilities, new product lines, common brands). It is at thisstage that the involvements of both technical and financial institutions become essentialand that the initiatives are meant to contribute more directly to the creation of capacitiesat the cluster level. UNIDO therefore ensures that the networks/associations supportedby the projects can draw assistance from the available institutions. As will be emphasisedin subsequent Chapters, this task often implies upgrading the capacity of BDS providersor even initiating their establishment, especially in clusters characterised by a relativelyweak support framework.Finally the intervention gives way to a self-management phase, as the networks /associations gain greater autonomy from the sponsoring agency’s assistance and thecapacity to undertake further joint activities independently. It is during this phase that itbecomes possible to test whether the earlier investment on vision- and capacity buildinghas delivered the expected results and if the cluster approach has won the endorsementof the various cluster actors. Self-management is not always easily achieved. Often thenetworks/associations tend to lean on sponsoring agency’s assistance for a longer timethan initially envisaged. In order to avoid dependency the work plan established by thecluster actors and the Focal Point must have a specific time frame. The cluster actorsthus know from the beginning that they can count on assistance only for a limited periodof time. As the various networks/associations develop, sponsoring agency’s interventionshifts towards softer co-ordination and a progressive transfer of responsibilities to thecluster actors is ensured.15