RDAs and BCs as a tool for regional development and key partners at regional level

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RDAs and BCs as a tool for regional development
and key partners at regional level
EURADA 9th EUROPEAN CONGRESS OF CEEC RDAs and 1st
Balkan Regional Forum (Balkan Regio) Ruse,
Bulgaria, 9-11 September 2009
Shkelzen Marku (PhD) Executive Director

• Mountain Area Development Agency, Albania

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Issues of regional and economic development in
the Balkan

• Concepts of regional, rural and business
  development
• Concepts of market does all, free market and
  market failure
• Limitations of public policy and concepts of
  government interventions vs incentives
• Missing/unclear long term strategic policies and
  commitment
• Missing integrated territorial approaches and
  multi-sector partnerships
• Sector approaches and economic growth vs
  integrated regional development
• Parallel Agendas of poverty reduction/social
  cohesion and economic growth

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Balkan RDAs/BCs

• Most of them are young (established after 2005)
• Establishment initiated mostly externally and
  through donor funding opportunities
• Key declared objectives
• Spreading economic prosperity and opportunity
• Promote business efficiency, investment and
  competitiveness
• Providing strategic direction for economic
  development
• Promote employment and skills enhancement
• Ensuring the needs and opportunities for every
  region are taken into account

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Types of RDAs and BCs

• Mostly extension or substitution of government
  institutions and/or services

• Mostly overcoming limitations/gaps of government
  institutions and/or services

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Types of RDAs and BCs
Integrated Regional Development Interventions
Specific interventions
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RDAs and BCs focus

• Regional analysis, strategy and action planning
  (ensuring buy in from political and business
  stakeholder)
• Ensure relationship with higher level strategies
  and programmes
• Identification of market failures and provision
  of practical solutions and policy feedback
• Develop and implement programmes to fulfil the
  strategies and action plans
• Research and intelligence on regional economic
  opportunities and competitiveness issues
• Centre of knowledge and expertise on
  technologies, good practices, market access and
  business linkages
• Maintain and strengthen leadership of the
  development agenda

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Key RDAs and BCs achievements
Key functions Achievement
Regional analysis, strategy and action planning
Ensure relationship with higher level strategies
Market failures
Develop and implement programmes
Research and market intelligence
Centre of knowledge and expertise
Business information, promotion and linkages
Leadership of the development agenda
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Development functions equilibrium
Normal development support equilibrium
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Key RDAs and BCs partnerships
Regional strategy and programming interventions
Strong
Strength
Weak
Low
High
Relevance
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Key RDAs and BCs partnerships
Business development support and services
Strong
Strength
Weak
Low
High
Relevance
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Tentative SWOT
Strengths Weaknesses
Good knowledge of local economy and business situation Good technical and business expertise Relatively large amount of interesting information Still limited coverage and low profile Limited sector diversification and integrated approaches Limited alternative funding sources Short term objectives
Opportunities Threats
Weak public institutions and quality of public services Significant need for their services Increasing demand from private sector and non-government stakeholders Over-dependant on government and donor funding Monopolization from government authorities
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Conclusions

• RDAs and BCs in the Balkan are still relatively
  young, have limited financial (re)sources and
  limited outreach
• RDAs and BCs are providing interesting services
  and have potential to become an important
  development tool in the region
• Still biggest efforts and costs go towards soft
  rather than hard interventions
• Still a major share of one-off or something
  most be done alike interventions and programmes
  
• Short term objectives dominate the agendas and
  eat major share of resources.

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Recommendations

• Strengthen leadership role and visibility on
  development agendas
• Stronger priority towards longer-term objectives
  of integrated regional/territorial development
  and demonstrably value adding interventions
• Diversification of resources and increasing the
  proportion that goes for harder programmes
  delivery
• Improve linkages between objectives/purpose and
  practical field interventions (flexibility,
  consistency and effectiveness of actions)
• Strengthen partnership with business and social
  stakeholders and improve their involvement in
  priority setting and development programming.

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List of reviewed RDAs and BCs

• Albania (i) Mountain Areas Development Agency
  (www.redeval.org) (ii) Albanian Investment
  Promotion Agency (Albinvest) (www.albinvest.gov.al
  ) (iii) Albanian Business Information Center
  (www.albic.net)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina (i) Foreign Investment
  Promotion Agency (www.fipa.gov.ba)
• Croatia (i) Croatian Agency for Small Business
  (www.hamag.hr) (ii) Trade and Investment
  Promotion Agency (www.apiu.hr) (iii) Regional
  Development Agency of Istria County
• Greece (i) Regional Development Agency of
  Western Macedonia
• Kosovo (i) SME Support Agency (www.sme-ks.org)
  (ii) Investment Promotion Agency of Kosovo
• Macedonia (i) National Enterprise Promotion
  Agency (ii) Agency for promotion of the
  Entrepreneurship
• Montenegro (i) Montenegrin Investment Promotion
  Agency (www.mipa.cg.yu)
• Serbia (i) Agency for Development of Small and
  Medium-sized Enterprises and Entrepreneurship
  (www.sme.sr.gov.yu) (ii) Serbian Investment and
  Export Promotion Agency (www.siepa.sr.gov.yu)
  (iii) Regional Agency for Spatial and Economic
  Development of Raski and Moravicki districts
  (www.kv-rda.org) (iv) Economic Development
  Agency for the Banat Region
• Slovenia (i) Regional Development Agency Celje
  (www.rra-celje.si) (ii) Regional Development
  Agency of Gorenjska (www.bsc-kranj.si)