Cluster Strategy
BOB's industry cluster strategy attempts to bring together private and public sector stakeholders to drive innovation and growth to the benefit of all the companies in the cluster.
Clusters meet regularly to discuss the state of their industry in the Downtown Eastside. They identify problems and opportunities as well as developing initiatives to address them. BOB provides guidance, resources, introductions, and expertise as cluster participants work together for the betterment of the industry as a whole.
BOB is uniquely positioned in the inner-city to bring together at one table: business leaders, all three levels of government, industry associations, business improvement agencies, social enterprises, non-profits, and NGOs. Current clusters include Tourism & Hospitality as well as our Green Inner-city Cluster. BOB works with many committed and progressive organizations on exciting initiatives such as the Gastown/Chinatown Pedicab service.
BOB's cluster strategy is modelled on successful initiatives in American inner-cities and was developed with the consultation of the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC), a not-for-profit agency founded by Harvard University professor Dr. Michael Porter.
Dr. Porter is an internationally recognized expert in strategy and industry competitiveness. Building on his work in "The Competitive Advantage of Nations", Dr. Porter identified the following three ways clusters affect competition:
- by increasing the productivity of the companies in the cluster,
- by driving innovation in the field,
- by stimulating new business in the field.
Talk to Brian Smith on how your organization can participate and benefit from BOB's Cluster Strategy.