Co-funded by the OP TAK Cooperation — Clusters Programme, Call II, registration number: CZ.01.01.01/07/24_048/0004771.
The main aim of the project is to strengthen the position of the footwear cluster on domestic and foreign markets and to contribute to increasing the competitiveness of companies. This will be achieved by optimising cooperation among cluster members, strengthening the capacities and knowledge base of the innovation cluster, creating specialised high value-added services, and deepening cooperation with foreign institutions active in the field.
As part of the development of the innovation cluster, the following will be implemented:
- Activities aimed at increasing the quality of management, expanding the communication platform between cluster members and ČOKA management, and — where possible — eliminating existing communication barriers.
- Activities that will broaden the knowledge base of the cluster, thereby (a) enabling the introduction of new innovative technologies and materials into production, (b) applying innovative approaches in companies engaged in sales, and (c) bringing all members new value-added services.
- Activities that will strengthen the cluster’s position internationally, especially in research or cross-border cooperation, with an emphasis on new materials, new technologies and new design possibilities (particularly those related to circularity, decarbonisation, eco-design, etc.).
The project is designed so that its objectives are realistic, measurable and achievable within the 26-month implementation period, supported by allocated personnel capacities, financial resources and, above all, the time availability of the cluster members.
Each key activity is based on an analysis of the needs of individual cluster members and has been designed to achieve maximum synergistic effect. These analyses will continue on an ongoing basis so that the service offering for members can be continuously updated or expanded. Building on this foundation, ČOKA’s management adds activities that (a) increase the cluster’s visibility externally; (b) deepen cooperation with related industrial sectors and research institutions, bringing future outcomes of joint R&D projects applicable in practice — results that SMEs would otherwise not have access to; and (c) provide cluster members with contacts for further matchmaking activities (through establishing new memberships in national and international organisations).