• The analysis covers the entire region, as illustrated in the map below, as well as its constituent economic areas, metropolitan areas, counties, and distressed inner cities.
• Clusters are geographic concentrations of interconnected companies, specialized suppliers, service providers, and associated institutions in a particular field that are present in a nation or region. Clusters arise because they increase the productivity with which companies can compete. The development and upgrading of clusters is an important agenda for governments, companies, and other institutions.
• The theory and clustering methodology employed in this project were developed by Prof. Michael E. Porter. The methodology provides a systematic approach for defining the industries that should be included in each cluster and is based on a statistical analysis of data on cluster composition across a large sample of economies in the U.S..

A more detailed description of this project, including its methodology, is available from the 'HELP' link at the bottom of this page. This project is a joint effort of the Princeton University Policy Research Institute for the Region, The Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School, and the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City.  See below for further information available from each of these organizations.