Industry Cluster Solutions 

While industry cluster analysis can be an effective tool in discovering economic linkages, it is equally important to apply this methodology with caution when piecing together your economic development strategy.  Cluster-based strategies are most appropriate for larger regions seeking to channel their economic diversity as a source of competitive advantage and to organize local stakeholders around similar development goals.  An industry cluster analysis should be conducted periodically throughout the lifetime of your cluster-based strategy as a mode of inquiry to track economic progress and to give direction to new initiatives.  ri applies an unbiased approach to cluster analysis by using multiple cluster definitions from the most reputable academic sources, including the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School, the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Purdue University.