Business Cluster Development

Individuals members of teams (be it a sports or organisational team) have long realised that they can collaborate for the good of the whole while continuing to compete with one another in terms of their own individual success.

The same concept holds true for businesses within the same region and industry sector.

But developing these clusters in the face of existing competition amongst stakeholders is not easy.

Well, the FutureSearch _{by distil} approach does exactly that.

Outcomes from Other Cluster Arrangements

Initiatives that have come from other cluster situations are listed below. Note that the initiatives that are suitable to a given situation depend entirely on that situation. It is likely that some of the following may not apply in your situation.

• New business
• Innovative ideas
• Sharing facilities
• Sharing ideas
• Sharing administration
• Joint purchasing
  
• Joint marketing initiatives
• Joint R&D
• Joint service delivery

Our Process

Stage 1:  – Assessment of Interest - get support from key groups (eg State Government, Local Government, Industry Bodies and Relevant Education Bodies) and a 60-90 minute meeting with stakeholders (including seeking a Champion and/or Driver).

Stage 2: Preparation – 2 meetings with a Planning Group and interim online communication to settle on the purpose, get the right stakeholders in the room and agree on the meeting design.

Stage 3: Planning – face to face Future Search Event to develop an abundance of ideas and initiatives, build goodwill and enthusiasm, and decide on specific action steps.

Stage 4: Implementation – includes report and action

Stage 5: Review & Adjust – includes first 3 monthly phone reviews & first quarterly review*

* In those circumstances where distil takes on the driver's role (as well as the facilitator's role),  meetings are held on a monthly basis with a larger quarterly meeting.

Allied Information:

Business Cluster & Economic Development Examples and Case Studies

Definition & Benefits of Business Clusters

More Thoughts on the Definition of Clusters

The First Step in Business Cluster Development