Review of the UMC activities 2020
Processing of the first requests.
Discussions on initiatives of consolidation the representatives of the maritime industry have been going on since 2018. The directions of the first steps to solve urgent problems and the formation of development projects, which is the most important, were identified during numerous meetings and public events.
The first result of those discussions was the creation and registration of the Public Association “Ukrainian Maritime Cluster”, which was presented in September during a round table “The place of Ukraine in the European Maritime Community. The future and prospects of the maritime industry in the context of global economic challenges”. This is an important step towards presenting opportunities of cooperation with Ukrainian maritime industry to international partners and positioning the maritime economy in proposals for legislative initiatives, solving existing problems and improving the current state of Ukraine’s maritime industry.
Promotion of the cluster and participants.
During the fourth quarter of 2020, the Ukrainian Maritime Cluster team held more than 10 meetings with representatives of international maritime organizations and associations (European Enterprise Network, ENMC, Sea Europe, Pôle Mer Méditerranée etc.) and continued the cluster diagnosing to identify opportunities for Ukraine’s maritime economy. Further contacts require more concrete proposals for our partners, which is a challenge for all of us, in view of the maritime economies development level in Europe and most of the world.
“ClusteRize” with GIZ та APPAU
One of the first projects the Ukrainian Maritime Cluster joined was ClusteRize with the support of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ). The project, which is managed by the Association of Industrial Automation of Ukraine (APPAU), provided an opportunity to train the cluster management team according to European methods and expand the chain of partnerships and networking.
“Integration 4.0” with IEF and APPAU
Also since October 2020 PA “UMC” participates in the project “INTEGRATION 4.0”, where due to the cooperation with the Institute of Economics and Forecasting of NAS of Ukraine (IEP) and the Association of Industrial Automation of Ukraine (APPAU), were combined 2 approaches to regional development – smart specialization and cluster movement. The purpose of the activities is to identify development projects on the basis of cooperation between business, science, government and the public and the teams formation in the region in order to promote and implement planned activities.
“Strengthening the UMC Institutional Capacity” with the EBRD
At the beginning of 2021, the activities of the ICU were supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in the areas of institutionalization and development of the first projects. In particular, in January, a study “Review of the Maritime Industry of Ukraine” was commissioned from SE “Ukrpromzovnishekspertiza” to determine:
volumes of production / transshipment / transportation in quantitative and cost terms;
importance of the sector for the economy of Ukraine;
the total number of companies, major players;
number of employees in the sector;
prospects and directions of development of sectors.
- volumes of production / transshipment / transportation in quantitative and cost terms;
- importance of the sector for the economy of Ukraine;
- the total number of companies, major players;
number of employees in the sector; - prospects and directions of development of sectors;
- prospects and directions of sectors development.
According to the plans outlined during the presentation of the Ukrainian Maritime Cluster, the team processed the requests identified during the last meeting and currently the Ukrainian Maritime Cluster is at the stage of identifying key projects in the industry. Integrating the experience of all meetings and projects that have started, our team offers a series of events, which are divided into 5 stages. The results of joint work in February-March 2021 will be fixed agreements on 5 top projects for the development of the Maritime Industry, their resources and tools. These agreements are fixed between the Maritime Cluster of Ukraine and other stakeholders – regional authorities, other clusters, associations and institutions that consider themselves stakeholders in the Maritime Industry development.
Tasks and features of each stage:
Stage №1:
The strategic session and meetings on February 2-3 in Mykolaiv have the following tasks:
- Involvement of all major stakeholders of the maritime industry development representatives in the project ideas discussion;
- Analysis of the current situation and the next review of the main development directions, based on the strengths and best opportunities of the region;
- Determining the list of top 20 project ideas in the areas of innovation, engineering, shipbuilding, educational development, etc.;
- Formation of working groups to process the details of these projects according to the criteria of attractiveness and feasibility.
Stage №2:
The elaboration of these ideas will continue in the background until the end of February.
Stage №3:
The second strategic session will take place on February 27, with several presentations:
- Results of the market research from SE Ukrpromzovnishekspertyza, which is already underway;
- Draft strategy for the development of the Maritime Cluster, which is currently also being launched;
- Presentations of working groups to identify top maritime projects.
These three directions and results of work are further coordinated in strategic and tactical aspects, including the final selection of 5 top development projects
Stage №4:
The presentation of the preliminary results of the whole project will take place on March 9 at the national conference “Final of the Integration 4.0 project“, which takes place within the EU Industry Days and is monitored by the European Commission. Of course, the status of this event is self-sufficient, thus not only business but also local leaders should mobilize and understand that it is the opportunity for public relations at the national and European levels. All previous steps so far are nothing more than important preparations for the demonstration of intentions seriousness, genuine ambitions and regional potential.
Stage №5:
Follow-up should further consist in signing specific agreements with various stakeholders within the framework of the identified 5 projects. The number “5” is conditional, of course, the framework of 3-7 is quite balanced given the current situation.
Based on statistics from European countries, the performance of enterprises participating in cluster associations is much higher than those operating alone. Also according to cluster movement practices, the companies that are most active in the activities and projects of the association receive the maximum benefits from the cluster.
On February 3, the UMC participants will gather for a strategic session with the purpose to discuss the above results and pre-determine the priority projects for the UMC development.
Find the registration form and the program via the link.