With the goal to enhance cooperation with Ukrainian stakeholders and to develop projects, the Priority Area 8 “Competitiveness of enterprises” of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) awarded a service contract “Project Development with Focus on Ukraine“ for a study, analyzing the economic situation in the Ukraine and identifying strategic thematic fields and stakeholders in Ukraine. Further part of the contract is to implement hybrid workshops to bring stakeholders from the Danube region together.

 

The service will be implemented by the VDI/VDE Innovation und Technik GmbH (VDI/VDEI-T) together with its partner the Ukrainian Institute for International Politics Kyiv (UIIP).

 

The assignment is divided into four parts:

 

Firstly, a study will be conducted to analyze the economic situation in the Ukraine in the context of project collaboration. This sets forward a focus on cluster, small and medium-sized entreprises (SMEs) and research institutions. It is moreover inherent to include a political stability index in the context of the ongoing war, market conditions and resource availability. The role of universities and research institutions will be evaluated to identify possible areas of collaboration within an EU-funded project.

 

Secondly, the assignment sets forth to identify relevant economic actors and institutions in Ukraine, specifically broken down by Oblast and subject areas. This includes an analysis of the existing networks and relationships between actors and an active search for corresponding cooperation opportunities.

 

The third aspect of this assignment is conducting two hybrid workshops to promote exchange between Ukrainian stakeholders and actors from other countries in the Danube region. The insights from the workshops should be used in the further concept and project development. PA 8 kindly invites interested stakeholders to get in touch with VDI/VDE-IT, if interested in participating.
Lastly and mainly, the service contract follows the goal to create concept developments for potential cooperative future projects. With all the relevant data from the study and the workshops, proposals will be created, including goals, target groups, activities and expected results.

 

A major focus of this contract will be the contribution to an innovative ecosystem by connecting Ukrainian stakeholders with each other and with those of the Danube Region and to enhance competitiveness in the area.

 

Priority Area 8 is particularly pleased that the VDI/VDE-IT, a renowned organization with great experience, will lead this important initiative alongside its partner. The contractor has extensive experience in socio-economic analysis and cross-border matching activities. For instance, VDI/VDE-IT is in charge of the RegioClusterAgentur BW, which supports cluster and SME development in Baden-Württemberg. VDI/VDE-IT covers the entire spectrum of innovation support schemes and the company’s primary objective is to promote competitiveness and innovation. VDI/VDE-IT will be supported by the Ukrainian Institute for International Politics. It has experience in building horizontal connections and communication between Ukrainian ministries and has a broad networking and international presence. For instance, UIIP experts are part of the Joint Research Centre Smart specialization for Ukraine and the company has direct communication with the DG Regio, DG Near, DG JRC and DG Mare.

 

Priority Area 8 is confident that the service contract will bring significant benefits and enhance the stakeholder connections in the Ukraine and the Danube Region.
All tasks are planned to be completed at the end of 2025. Results will be published on this website.