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Tools for Regional Development. Thomas Wobben Representation of Saxony-Anhalt to the EU Boulevard Saint Michel 80 B-1040 Brussels E-mail: thomas.wobben@lv-bruessel.stk.sachsen-anhalt.de. Saxony-Anhalt. Saxony-Anhalt in the Heart of Europe. The Challenge: Human Capital and Innovation.
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Tools for Regional Development Thomas Wobben Representation of Saxony-Anhalt to the EU Boulevard Saint Michel 80 B-1040 Brussels E-mail: thomas.wobben@lv-bruessel.stk.sachsen-anhalt.de
The Challenge: Human Capital and Innovation Quelle: Berechnungen isw Institut gGmbH
Key factors for competitiveness • SME innovation capacity directly linked to: • Co-operation with other firms: firms learn best from other firms • Co-operation with the public sector and the R&TDI intermediaries & Infrastructures: technology centres, universities, polytechnics, business services… • Translate ‘knowledge’ into GDP: Innovation Strategies are an efficient instrument to create Regional Innovation Systems = territorial systems that efficiently create, diffuse and exploit knowledge than enhances regional competitiveness
Regional bottlenecks regarding networking and clustering in Saxony-Anhalt • destruction of previous (formal and informal) business networks during the process of economic transformation after German unification (typical for this kind of transformation process) • lack of personal contacts/information about partners/actors in the region • low willingness for co-operation (no moderators available, lack of mutual trust) • lack of interregional contacts (low export orientation) • lack of spill-over effects of major regional investment projects for local businesses
Challenge of Halle/Leipzig • around 2.7 Million inhabitants • economic entity overlapping two German Länder (Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt) • high population density, high economic concentration of enterprises in the chemical and energy sector • major economic restructuring taking place since 1991: more than 160 investment projects over 25 MECU each were realised since 1991 amounting to 34 Billion EURO (total amount of investments in the region: 50 Billion EURO) • new sectors were developed, such as pharmaceuticals or information-technologies and media services
Tool: Networking for Innovation • step-by-step confidence building measures in the region (personal contacts) • integration of leading companies/science institutions in the networking exercise and close interaction between network activities in working groups and a joint steering group • efficiency orientation in the network actions • close involvement in the innovation and regional policies of both regional governments/parliaments/monitoring committees
The physical network • Chemical Industry in • Central Germany: • 7 chemical sites • highly interlinked • in three German regions
Setting up joint working groups on site development in Central Germany
Czech Poland Industrial Sites Chemical Industries Small & Medium Enterprises Chemical Triangle East Germany Estonia Slovakia Training and Education Universities Institutes + Organizations Other countries Other countries CeChemNet as a networking example
…from regional networking to interregional co-operation…
Tool: Regional Management System Partner: • City of Halle • 6 counties around Halle Working Structure: • Steering Group • Regional Conference (annually) • Regional Association (for co-operation project) • Regional Forum for Central Germany (political platform) • Business Initiaitive Central Germany (business initiavtive) Regional Management • Coordinating office (rresponsible for the day to day management)
Objective of the Regional Management System Objective: • Promote regional thinking versus focus on individual interests • Include urban and rural dimension • Define joint priorities and carry out joint planning • Consensus building and joint articulation • Regional Management as an initiator for joint co-operation • Regional Management as a tool for interregional co-operation Tools: • Regular Meetings of decision makers • Partnership of local authorities, businesses and civic society • Information and joint campaigns • Regional and interregional Benchmarking
Conclusions • Regional co-operation is essential for efficient regional development • Regional partnerships can have an impact on regional development strategies • Success orientation and delivery are crucial for sustainability • Business can play a major role in overcoming local barriers • There is no golden rule – everybody has to find once own solution • But there are a lot of experiences to learn from