In Turkey, The Ministry of Economy is implementing a project named the SME Networking and Clustering (SNC) Project) supported by the EU during the period from February 2011 to November 2013. The aim of the project is to improve the understanding of sector cooperation for exports and encourage the development of cluster strategies in Turkey to augment exports and international competitiveness.

In this context, this conference focused on cluster development issues from different perspectives such as innovation, internationalization, cluster management and competitiveness. The Ministry of Economy launched a cluster support program (UR-GE) in the beginning of 2011, and currently manages and helps implement a portfolio of 110 projects.

Optimal spoke on its contribution to cluster development initiatives in the field of cluster performance evaluation. The goal was for Turkish cluster practitioners to benefit from Optimal's insights on cluster development.