Todorova O. The cluster approach as a public instrument for implementing the national policy of regional development

The thesis analyzes the dominant concepts of the modern paradigm of national regional development policy as a form of political process, implemented in public space. The chain, the network and the hierarchical models of national policy of regional development realization was investigated. In research the conceptualization of the concept was approached and the definition of "public instrument" as a combination of integrated and coordinated management methods, tools, actions and information and communication technologies to ensure vertical and horizontal interaction of public policy entities in creating the potential for motivated execution of the tasks based on partnership and coordination of interests was provided. The term "cluster approach" was formed, which, unlike the existing scientific approaches, focuses on the implementation of a set of organizational and economic measures for consolidation of all regional development entities, and which is to be formalized in policies and programs of regional development. The idea of the cluster approach as a public instrument of national policy of regional development is author conceptualized, the representative signs of which are: decentralization reform oriented to partnership between various levels and branches of power, as well as private and non-governmental sectors; network paradigm of public governance and territorial development; market mechanism of self-organization of regional development; activity of political and non-political actors who seek to implement local public interests through various complex interactions. The public format of cluster approach is aimed at ensuring the processes of interaction between actors and their associations, provides combination and complementarity of resources, ensures the formation of public interests and meets the "public good" in the field of territorial location of the cluster associations. The objective prerequisites for the implementation of the cluster approach in solving problems of national policy of regional development were defined. The principles of cluster policy, which were proposed in the dissertation, are recommended to consider within the complex principles of interconnection, operation and evaluation of the effectiveness of the cluster approach to the realization of national policy of regional development. The current state of clustering process in Ukraine was analyzed. The institutional framework of clusters' functioning in Ukraine, the state of the use of cluster approach in policies and programs of regional development are investigated and priority directions in terms of clustering according to such indicators as: available capacity (resource component), the historical activity (archetypical component), the vector of territorial development (institutional component) are defined. Foreign experience in using the cluster approach is generalized and findings on the conceptualization of the cluster approach as a public instrument implementing the national policy of regional development are made. In the thesis the identification of clusters based on the concept of archetypes of the territory which promotes the archetype of the cluster for optimal system design between the elements and between cluster members, specialization of segment services is justified. The conceptual approach to the formation of cluster initiative as an institutional form of a public instrument in implementing national regional policy is offered. The organizational mechanism of cluster networking strategy was developed. Its functional features are: community network creation and the formation of information and communication platform of interaction between the stakeholders within the cluster initiatives with the development of regulations on interactions between initiators and cluster stakeholders of regional development; the formation of a partner network with the procedural institutionalization of partnership and regulations on partnership in the implementation of investment projects within the cluster development strategy; the formation of specialized associations of cluster members and the assessment of the efficiency of cluster initiatives. The prospects for further research have been identified.