Published on: Sunday, 09 November 2014

(Left - right) Dr Andrew Reamer (George Washington University); Mr Alexandre Monnard (Optimal Solutions Group) Dr Scott Dempwolf (University of Maryland) Mr Eric Stokan (George Washington University) and Dr John Hobbs (Cork Institute of Technology) pictured at the Tracking the Dynamics of Network Relations in Industry Clusters Workshop at George Washington University.

The George Washington Institute of Public Policy (GWIPP), George Washington University hosted a workshop entitled ‘Tracking the Dynamics of Network Relations in Industry Clusters’ on the 6th November in the Marvin Centre, Washington DC. The workshop featured presentations from cluster experts: Dr John Hobbs (Department of Management and Enterprise, CIT); Mr Alex Monnard (Optimal Solutions Group) and Dr Scott Dempwolf (University of Maryland).

Dr Hobbs was delighted to be invited by Dr Andrew Reamer (George Washington University) to participate whilst on route to present work he has developed in cluster visualisation at the TCI conference in Monterrey, Mexico from the 9th to the 13th of November. Dr Hobbs’ presentation focused on the application of V‐LINC to 7 ICT clusters who participate in the FP7 funded BEWISER project. V-LINC is a new software application developed in the School of Business which maps, visualises and analyses strategic relationship data collected from clustered firms to inform strategy and policy development for the individual organisations involved as well as catering for sectors, clusters and regions. Dr John Hobbs and Eoin Byrne have driven the development of V-LINC in CIT.

In Ireland, V-LINC is being implemented to map the cluster ecosystems in Agri-food, Biopharma, ICT, Maritime and Tourism sectors in conjunction with it@cork European Tech Cluster, IMERC and the West Cork Development Partnership, with the support of Cork County Council.
According to Dr Hobbs, “The invitation to present at the cluster workshop in GWU represented an ideal opportunity to share the cluster ecosystem mapping methodology and knowledge developed in CIT with an international audience active in cluster and regional economic development policy. The presentations on the day were extremely informative, engaging and though provoking. I believe the workshop has provided a conduit for future research collaboration between CIT, GWU and the University of Maryland.”

GWIPP is a university-wide center for faculty and graduate students engaging in public policy research. GWIPP coordinates closely with the university’s Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration, which offers a PhD in Public Policy and Public Administration, a Master's of Public Policy, and a Master's of Public Administration.

After the seminar series, Dr Andrew Reamer, the cluster workshop organiser, spoke of his interest in creating a transatlantic research network: “Today’s workshop showcased several complementary approaches to tracing the nature of relationships among cluster participants and between clusters and the external world. I’m particularly impressed with CIT’s V-LINC project and am interested in exploring opportunities for the application of V-LINC in America.”

For further information on V-LINC and BeWiser, enquiries to:

Dr John Hobbs
Department of Management & Enterprise
Cork Institute of Technology
Bishopstown,
Cork

E: john.hobbs@cit.ie
T +353 21 433 5149