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ABSTRACT
“Clusters” have become central to European regional economic development policy. However, concerns have emerged over the content and quality of delivery of cluster-based initiatives. Here we review the implementation of English cluster policy, with a focus on medical technologies in the West Midlands region of the UK. Using a policy streams framework, we seek rapprochement between counter arguments that implementation difficulties are the inevitable results of applying a “fuzzy” concept or are avoidable outcomes of organizational deficiencies. We illustrate how both can contribute to failure at different policy stages and suggest that before adopting a cluster approach more consideration should be given to the institutional capacity required for implementation.
Notes
1. An Act of Parliament established the English RDAs in 1998. The RDA for London was launched in 2000 when the Greater London Authority was set up.
2. The SRB was launched in 1994 and brought together various strands of funding for area regeneration. It is operated by local partnerships and its priority is to enhance the quality of life of local people in areas of need by reducing the gap between deprived and other areas, and between different groups. RDAs took over responsibility for SRB.
3. The RIS was produced immediately prior to the creation of AWM. However, AWM took over responsibility for its implementation. The RIS and its accompanying research base formed a major input to AWM's first RES.
4. A previous generation of agencies that was largely concerned with inward investment.
5. It is notable that bioscience companies were not identified as significantly “clustered” in the West Midlands in either the Sainsbury Report on biotechnology (Sainsbury, Citation1999) or the DTI's assessment of UK Business Clusters (Trends Business Research, Citation2001).