Methodological toolset of regional authority bodies’ cluster policy

Abstract

The article represents the results of elaborating the methodological toolset of a region’s cluster policy. The analysis of the regional economy’s competitive advantages, the assessment of production intra and interregional links, infrastructures and R&D organizations, and the institutional characteristics of a region’s potential cluster companies serve as the methodological basics of the research. Unlike the rest of existing methods of assessing the cluster potential, the approach of the current article allows defining the potential cluster’s primary content. The authors approbated the suggested methodology in Volgograd Oblast (in 2012–2014) and highlighted the enterprises, which can unite in a chemical cluster providing adequate regional authorities’ support.