Regional Economy and Policy Issues

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ERVET S.PA
Paola Maccani
10th October 2003
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Emilia-Romagna. Some Indicators

• Population 4.037.095
• Total labour force 53,0
• Total unemployment rate 3,8
• Female labour force 44,3
• Female unemployment rate 5,3
• GDP per head () 21.132
• Employees in themanufacturing industry
  645,648
• Manufacturing local units 94.817
• Firms with less than 50 empl. 98

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ERVET is a corporation established in 1974 as a
limited company by the Emilia Romagna Regional
Government, which is also the major shareholder,
with the mission of translating regional planning
choices into actions, designing and carrying out
innovative projects together with the economic
groups concerned.
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ERVETs Shareholding Composition
Share capital 10.225.154,04
Emilia-Romagna Region
Commercial Banks and Credit Institutions
Industrial Associations
Emilia-Romagna Regional Union of the Chambers of
Commerce
Municipalities
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• The historical roots
• a) PARTICULAR POLITICAL AND ISTITUTIONAL SETTING
• Regional administrations had been established in
  Italy only a few years earlier, with the
  transference to them of powers relating to areas
  of vocational training, agriculture and artisan
  production and no competences on SME sector.
• The growing role of business associations and
  economic actors in influencing local policy
  making.
• The competition between national and regional
  model of government encouraged innovative
  policies.
• b) PARTICULAR ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
• The crisis of large industry and, on the other
  hand, the growth of small businesses

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ERVETs role in the 70s
Policy of Industrial infrastructured areas
(business parks)

To foster greater cohesion within the Region and
promote new enterprises in disadvantaged areas
BY
Lowering the cost of access to premises and
primary infrastructure through the provision of
grants for the construction of infrastructured
areas
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The 1980s show a strong development of the
regional economy, mainly composed by micro and
small businesses concentrated in industrial
districts
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Emilia-Romagna industrial districts
Farm machinery
Machine tools
Textile-clothing industry
Biomedical products
PIACENZA
Shoes
PARMA
FERRARA
REGGIO EMILIA
RAVENNA
MODENA
Upholstered furniture
Food processing
BOLOGNA
FORLI
Ceramic products and machines for ceramic industry
Packaging machines
RIMINI
Wood processing machines
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ERVETs role in the 80s
Policy of Real services
Based on the fundamental role played by local
manufacturing systems (Textile in Carpi and farm
machinery in Modena and Reggio Emilia)

• Planning and interventions are conceived to have
  an impact on a large group of companies belonging
  to the same sector.
• Continuous monitoring of the status of local
  production systems.
• Involvement of all the relevant actors (Local
  Administration, Business associations, Chamber of
  Commerce, Trade Unions, etc.)

Basic assumptions
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Emilia Romagna
Emilia Romagna for historical reasons
(fragmentation of regional territory and of the
political-administrative government) has been one
of the main actors of the Italian industrial
development. In that context the regional
policy, which had not any power on industrial
matters, has been the setting up of a
geographically distributed network of Business
Service Centres, some of them focused on a
specific sector, other characterised by an
horizontal approach. The network has been
promoted, financed and co-ordinated through and
around its regional development agency ERVET.
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The ERVET System
ERVET
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Fashion
CITER Textile/Apparel Industry Carpi
(Modena) CERCAL Shoe Industry S. Mauro Pascoli
(Forlì)

• Information on fashion trends
• Market analysis and trends
• Advanced training and retraining
• Tutoring and technical assistance
• Services for transnational co-operation among
  SMEs

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Quality-Technology-Engineering

• Laboratory analysis and testing
• Process and product certification
• Assistance to SMEs in introducing quality control
  systems
• Training
• Information and assistance on technology
  innovation and regulations
• Demonstration installations

CERMET Quality Certification and Lab.
Testing Bologna CESMA Farm Machinery Reggio
Emilia DEMOCENTER Industrial Automation Modena
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Construction Industry
QUASCO Construction Industry Bologna CENTRO CER
AMICO Research Centre for the Ceramics
Industry Bologna

• Databases on industry trends and legislation
• Advanced training
• Market forecasts
• Applied research, testing and analysis of new
  materials
• Assistance to firms in introducing quality
  control systems

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Innovation Technology Transfer

• Technology innovation strategic analysis
• Networking for technological innovation
• Gathering and spreading of information about
  technological innovation
• Technology transfer demonstration projects
• Design and implementation of Regional policies in
  favour of innovation and technological
  development

ASTER Technology Innovation Agency Bologna
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Emilia Romagna
The Service Centres were/are independent
organisations. ERVET has been the major
shareholder and business Associations, companies,
Local Authorities, Chambers of Commerce owned
most of the remainder quota. The Business
Service Centres provided training, information,
marketing, technical/technological services and
developed innovative activities and projects
aimed to enhance the competitiveness of the
regional productive system in a market still not
ready to provide that offer.
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• In these last years the scenario has showed
  significant changes
• Thanks to the transfer of competencies from the
  national level, the Region's role on industrial
  policy matters and in general on the promotion of
  the territorial development is destined to grow
  relevantly
• The development of the regional economy and
  entrepreneurial system has fostered the birth and
  the development of an articulate private or
  associational tertiary sector, which often
  supplies high quality services to companies
• The companies have changed their needs of public
  support steering them towards applied research
  and technology transfer
• The evolution of regional industrial system which
  needs new reading tools

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Emilia Romagna
A new reading of the economic system
The whole region could be considered as a broad
multi-sectoral district

• Industrial system strongly diversified
• Prevalence of mechanical sector in terms both of
  employees (45) and of local units
• In areas where mechanical sector is prevailing,
  the dense presence of firms belonging to
  different sectors and the widespread system of
  subcontracting relations make it very difficult
  to identify productive areas with a single
  predominant product.

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From ID to Local Productive System
The reasons of the choice

• The concept of IDs strictly defined, in the last
  years has shown increasing difficulties to be the
  unique point of reference for territorial
  policies
• Issues concerning the local development of the
  region are too narrowly represented by IDs
• Changes occurred in the inter-firms relations and
  in the sectoral composition of IDs
• Increasing range of entrepreneurial opportunities
  
• Opening of productive systems
• Productive and financial concentration by leader
  companies
• Acquisitions from and to foreign countries

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Emilia Romagna policy
COMPETITIVENESS
EFFICIENCY OF THE SYSTEM
OBJECTIVES
STRENGTHENING OF A KNOWLEDGE-BASED AND
INNOVATIVE REGIONAL COMMUNITY
BENEFICIARIES
SINGLE FIRMS
FIRMS, CONSORTIA, UNIVERSITIES, RESEARCH
CENTRES, INNOVATION CENTRES
PA, INTERMEDIARIES, CREDIT INSTITUTIONS
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Emilia Romagna policy
COMPETITIVENESS
OBJECTIVE

• Quality
• Internationalisation
• Technological and Managerial Innovation
• Marketing Policies
• Credit and financial Tools
• Competencies

FIELDS OF INTERVENTION
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Emilia Romagna policy
EFFICIENCY OF THE SYSTEM
OBJECTIVE
FIELDS OF INTERVENTION

• Infrastructures
• ICTs
• Cut red tapes
• Negotiating programming
• Credit

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Emilia Romagna policy
STRENGTHENING OF A KNOWLEDGE-BASED AND
INNOVATIVE REGIONAL COMMUNITY
OBJECTIVE

• RS Projects
• Development of Laboratories
• High Tech/ Academic Spin-off
• Grants/ Guarantees for Start-ups
• Venture Capital
• Knowledge Transfer
• Network for Applied Research and TT

FIELDS OF INTERVENTION
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Preliminaries for anew Players System

• Emilia Romagna Regional Government has enforced a
  Law on innovation and TT in order to encourage
  partnerships between firms, Universities and
  public research bodies
• ERVET leaves the role of shareholder in favour of
  others (i.e. Universities, Companies, etc.)
• ASTER has changed its legal status and
  shareholders composition
• The evolution of Business Service Centres moves
  towards a full immersion in the market
• Only for their innovative activities, the
  Business Service Centres can have access to
  public funds through public tenders (in
  competition with other private and public
  Business Service Centres) on projects developed
  in a close connection with the companies

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The new Players System
TA and support to PA and Local Authorities for
Promotion and Improvement of the regional
territory
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The new Regional Law reforming ERVET /1

• Realization of actions targeted to the promotion
  of sustainable development and to the environment
  qualification of the regional territory through
• TA to ERR and to local Authorities in carrying
  out territorial development programmes promotion
  and co-ordination of initiatives and agencies
  focused on territorial development.
• Management of ERR actions aimed to interregional
  and international cooperation.
• TA for programmes and projects of Development
  co-operation.
• Promotion of foreign direct investments in the
  regional territory.

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The new Regional Law reforming ERVET /2

• TA to ERR and to Local Authorities for the
  participation to initiatives of design and
  investment aimed to
• Realization of systems and infrastructures for
  the economic development of the territory.
• Promotion of PPP even through project finance.
• TA to ERR and to Local Authorities for analysis
  and studies on regional economy and for the
  evaluation and monitoring of regional policies.
• 2. Promotion and participation to investment fund
  initiatives and management-investment trusts
  aimed to territorial development projects.
• 3. Acquisition of capital shares in companies in
  which Emilia Romagna Region holds stakes.

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ERVETS Departments

• European Union Services - Information and Support
• Local Development Policies design and
  implementation
• Assessment and Evaluation of Public Policies
• Information Society and e-Government
• Sustainable development and environment
• Special Projects (healthcare and culture)

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LOCAL DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES MAIN ACTIVITIES

• Technical assistance to the Emilia Romagna
  Regional Government in designing instruments
  (Structural Funds) to support regional
  development
• Technical assistance for the implementation of
  development programs
• Plans of economical development
• Support to public agencies in opening and
  managing bargaining tables and implementing
  animation projects
• Assistance for local development
• Promotion of development agencies and setting up
  of institutional and private-sector networks
• Territorial analysis

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ERVET System sources of funding
ERVET SYSTEM TURNOVER 2002 30.475.585
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Service Centres Year of start-up and employees
2003
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ERVET sources of funding
ERVET TURNOVER 2002 8.764.969