The goal of Business Oulu's LIKE project is to create a circular economy cluster in the Oulu region to accelerate the development of the circular economy in the region. The project implements e.g., Northern Ostrobothnia's climate strategy and the circular economy road map of the city of Oulu.
In order to start and implement the cluster’s activities in an appropriate manner, Business Oulu needed to clarify the content of the cluster’s activities, such as its purpose, goals, actors’ roles, operating models, and the services produced by the cluster, as well as the benefits for companies and other stakeholders.
In addition, the need for a digital platform to support the cluster’s operations had been identified. For that, a platform concept and planning of functionalities were needed.
Taival developed and defined the cluster’s operating model and digital platform. The project started by interviewing 15 actors and gathering expectations. In addition, three stakeholder workshops were held. As a result of the first workshop, the purpose and goals of the cluster and the metrics that support them were defined. In the second workshop, the strategic choices were determined, which serve as the basis of the operating model. In the third workshop, the operating model of the cluster was developed and validated through a use case. That helped to concretize the services produced by the cluster and served as the basis for defining the road map as the final result of the project.
As a result of the project, Business Oulu received a clear road map including the concrete activities needed to start the cluster and recommendations for further actions. With the help of defining the digital platform, it is clear what kind of platform serves the functions of the cluster and what kind of technical structure is needed in order to proceed with the implementation of the platform.