DMP for PhD research project - 'The Value of Hi-Tech Clusters as a Policy Tool: A Stakeholder Perspective'

The research looks at the long-standing interest of regional and national policymakers in the spatial agglomeration of hi-tech industry, especially those based on the physical sciences, in the UK. The degree to which the deliberate seeding and nurturing of such clusters can deliver wider benefits, in the context of wider industrial and innovation policy objectives is explored from a broad stakeholder perspective. The wider stakeholder landscape engaging with, or impacted by, such clusters will be mapped and the perceived and realised benefits and costs of clusters will be uncovered. This empirical data informs development of a theoretical viewpoint which, in turn, underpins the development of an holistic evaluation framework for such cluster initiatives.