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  • I am an Economic Developer

    Are you trying to determine a strategy for your organization, region, or industry? Then follow our Economic Developer path.

    Follow Economic Developer Path
  • I am a Policymaker

    Are you hoping to effect change in the economic landscape through federal, state, or local government policy choices? Then follow our Policymaker path.

    Follow Policymaker Path
  • I am an Academic or Researcher

    Are you interested in learning more about clusters and conducting action-oriented research? Then follow our Academic or Researcher path.

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    Are you looking into the economic competitiveness of a region through the lens of the private sector? Then follow our Private Sector path.

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  • Data by Cluster

    A cluster is a regional concentration of related industries that arise out of the various types of linkages or externalities that span across industries in a particular location. The U.S. Benchmark Cluster Definitions are designed to enable systemic comparison across regions. View and compare clusters across the U.S.

    View Data by Cluster
  • Frequently Asked Questions

    How do I compare different clusters on a national level?

    How do I find my region’s strongest cluster(s)?

    How do I identify which cluster my industry belongs in?

    How do I compare local vs traded clusters?

    Are there overlaps between the clusters?

  • Data by Region

    A region is broadly defined as a county, economic area (EA), metro/micropolitan statistical area (MSA), or state. The U.S. Benchmark Cluster Definitions use the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis defined economic areas. View and compare regions across the U.S.

    View Data by Region
  • Frequently Asked Questions

    How do I compare different regions?

    How do I build a region to meet my needs?

    How is my region doing, especially in comparison to its peer regions?

    How do I find subregions related to my region?

    How do I use the map view to visualize economic data across the country?

  • Organizations

    View Organizations
  • Blog

    View Blog
  • Resources

    View Resources
  • Community

    The Community of Practice enables practitioners to share Resources, post Blogs, and find partner Organizations. View and contribute content of interest to the cluster based economic development community.

    View Community Page
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  • U.S. Cluster Mapping
  1. Resources
  2. Minneapolis-St. Paul Regional Cluster Initiative: Providing a Framework for Minnesota's Economic Competitiveness

Minneapolis-St. Paul Regional Cluster Initiative: Providing a Framework for Minnesota's Economic Competitiveness

by cmp.admin Fri, 09/17/2021 - 12:27

This Policy and Impact Study by the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, State and Local Policy Program at the University of Minnesota is the second in a series of four developed as part of the U.S. Cluster Mapping Project, an effort supported by the U.S. Economic Development Administration. The report illustrates how Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) has benefited from applying a cluster approach as a conceptual framework for diagnosing the regional economy and as a platform for joint action to address the challenges identified. The cluster framework provided public and private regional leaders with a common language for understanding regional competitiveness, significantly enhancing the effectiveness of their dialogue. By organizing the policy discussion around clusters, the programs that were developed became targeted enough to have an effect on the issues that mattered for MSP. The cluster-based approach was first applied in workforce development, but over time has been used in other policy areas as well, including in the creation of a broader regional economic development strategy.

A set of four Policy and Impact Studies was developed by the U.S. Cluster Mapping Project to impart collaborative, real-world examples of how clusters have been used to improve regional economic growth. These studies are: Mobilizing Oregon Clusters (OR), the Minneapolis-St. Paul Regional Cluster Initiative (MN), New Carolina (SC), and the Precision Manufacturing Regional Alliance (MA). By documenting cluster programs and amassing a set of best practices, they display how organizations can apply and leverage data from the U.S. Cluster Mapping website to improve their own regions. Each study tells a unique story, but all provide lessons learned that can be applied and extended to other regions.

 

Minneapolis-St. Paul Regional Cluster Initiative - Executive Summary_1.pdf
Minneapolis-St. Paul Regional Cluster Initiative - Full Report_0_1.pdf
Regional Economy
Regions: 
Minnesota
Minneapolis St. Paul Food Cluster by auri (Data processing...)
Minneapolis St. Paul Food Cluster by auri (Data processing...)
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Copyright © 2020 President and Fellows of Harvard College.
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The U.S. Cluster Mapping Project is led by Professor Michael E. Porter at the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, Harvard Business School.

This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration.