THE ROLE of REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES IN EUROPE Jacques Evrard EURADA EURADA President.

THE ROLE of REGIONAL THE ROLE of REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES

IN EUROPEIN EUROPE

THE ROLE of REGIONAL THE ROLE of REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES

IN EUROPEIN EUROPE

Jacques Evrard

EURADAEURADA President

“I’m from the government and I’m here to help”

- Ronald W. Reagan -

RDAs in EuropeRDAs in Europe

Core businesses: - Regional strategy implementation- Infrastructures (industrial parks, incubators, …)

- Support to enterprises, mainly SMEs (creation, development, innovation, access to finance, clustering)

- Attraction of FDI & territorial marketing.EURADA federates 150 RDAs active in more

than 20 European countries.

FDIFDImodus operandi of RDAsmodus operandi of RDAs

• Own offices abroad (USA, Japan, …)• Using existing diplomatic channels (i.e. trade commissioners)

• Hands in hands with national agencies• Hiring consultants

KEY QUESTION IS :

HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE ?

Economic profile

Markets

Taxes

Regulations

Labor climate

Suppliers & know-how

Utilities

Incentives

Quality of life

Infrastructure & logistics

Sites & offices (real estate)

Divergence Convergence

Source : Buck Consultants International – Eurada meeting 10.02.2004

Challenges (1)Challenges (1)

Challenges (2)Challenges (2)

Providing a unique selling point Indeed most EU regions have similar

competitive advantages

Focus on regional strengths

Or/and

Better market segmentation

Challenges (3)Challenges (3)

Direct Inward Investment in developed countries

ATTRACT

• ADDED VALUE• SMEs• TALENTED PEOPLE

Region attractiveness

•ATTRACTIVENESS FACTORS OF A REGION: – Clusters– Human capital (training)

– Excellence in RDT or innovation

– Quality of life – Proximity of the markets

QUESTION :

Are these competing advantages reflected

in the advertisements

for the regions?

Territorial marketingTerritorial marketing

Jacques Evrard

EURADAEURADAAvenue des Arts 12, bte 7 –

1210 Brussels, BELGIUM

[email protected] – www.eurada.org

For more information:

Thank you for your attentionThank you for your attention