Evaluating clusters for learning: A guide for clusters policymakers and practitioners
This guide is the result of ten years of building a collective knowledge on the TCI Evaluation Working Group, which has been meeting annually in dedicated workshops hosted in different locations. Each meeting has brought together 20-35 participants from academic, policy and practitioner circles, from a wide range of countries, to discuss and progress cluster evaluation agendas.
This has been complemented by special sessions at the TCI Network’s annual global conferences, the sharing of ongoing discussions, developments and outputs through an online platform on the TCI Network website, and a growing portfolio of publications.
The aim of the publication is to build the right evaluation framework for clusters programmes, supporting cluster policymakers and practitioners in the development of their evaluation strategies by:
- Inspiring discussions among cluster stakeholders around why, how, and when to evaluate their activities.
- Informing the development of coherent evaluation strategies at the cluster policy level and/or cluster initiative level.
- Helping identify specific methods that can be employed as part of a coherent evaluation strategy.
We hope you find this guide useful in the design of your own evaluation framework!
This publication is free for TCI members.
Other author´s publications:
Wilson, J., Wise, E. & Smith, M. Evidencing the benefits of cluster policies: towards a generalised framework of effects. Policy Sci 55, 369–391 (2022).https://doi.org/10.1007/s11077-022-09460-8
Wise, E., Eklund, M., Smith, M. and Wilson, J. R. (2022). A participatory approach to tracking system transformation in clusters and innovation ecosystems: Evolving practice in Sweden’s Vinnvaxt programme, Research Evaluation, Research Evaluation, 2022, 1–17,https://doi.org/10.1093/reseval/rvac006.
Smith, M., Wilson, J.R. & Wise, E. (2021). Measuring the human element in cluster evaluation- evidencing collaborative dynamics, Academic and Practitioner Proceedings of the 2021 University-Industry Interaction Conference series: Challenges and solutions for fostering entrepreneurial universities and collaborative innovation, p. 29-44.
Evaluating clusters: Where theory collides with practice. Smith M, Wilson JR, Wise E. Reg Sci Policy Pract. 2020;12:413–430.https://doi.org/10.1111/rsp3.12279
