According to the deputy director of the Department of Regional Industrial Policy of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Oleg Radionov, each year the Ministry expands the range of tools to support industrial clusters, technoparks and technological centers. Stable development of this sphere requires constant improvement of existing approaches with regard to both regional practices and foreign experience. He pointed out the significance of organizing such missions for the heads of executive bodies of Russian regions, because they initiate creation and implementation of technopark and cluster projects.
Upon completion of the mission, the Ministry is planning to aggregate the information and formulate methodological recommendations that will facilitate customization and integration of international standards and approaches to organizing the activities of industrial clusters at the Russian territory.
The Russian delegation learned about the experience in implementation of cluster policies in Germany and France. A number of high-profile meetings were held with representatives of the Ministry of Economy, Energy, Industry, Medium-Scale Entrepreneurship and Skills of North Rhine Westfalia and the French Ministry of Economy, Industry and Digital Technologies. In the course of specialized practical seminars the representatives of European industrial clusters shared their best practices.
Together with their European colleagues, participants of the mission discussed issues of normative-legal regulation of activities and support of clusters and technological parks in France and Germany and the European Union as a whole. The Russian experts pointed out a number of similarities and differences between Russian and European programmes on support of industrial clusters and technoparks.
The Director of the Association of Clusters and Technological Parks Andrey Shpilenko explained that the legislative differences in the sphere of supporting industrial clusters and technoparks are due to the different stages of the development of this production sector in Europe and Russia: “To my mind, Russia is closer to the French cluster model. The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade is truly one of the most efficient ministries that are carrying out the policy of developing industrial production. Among the successful tools to support clusters and technoparks in Germany and France special note should be taken of direct subsidies to the managing companies of clusters for performing their functions and subsidizing the costs of cluster members for the lease of high-tech equipment from manufacturers”.
The agenda also included signing of the Agreement on Cooperation between the Association of Clusters and Technological Parks and the managing company of one of the largest European technoparks E.S.T.E.R, which deals with composite materials, electronics, optics, telecommunications and biotechnologies. This agreement will facilitate faster exchange of information of projects under implementation and more active participation in joint projects.
