Mazovia Development Agency S.A. implemented the project “Enhance the Competitiveness and Sustainability of European SMEs through succession procedures and models” with the acronym SUCCESS ROAD under the INTERREG EUROPE programme. Phase I ran from 1 August 2019 to 31 January 2022, Phase II (implementation) until 31 January 2023.

Budget: EUR 859,840.00 (EU funding of 85%)

Project objectives

In a market economy, small and medium-sized companies created by individual entrepreneurs play a particularly important role. The vast majority of family businesses operate in the SME sector. Family businesses are the most natural form of entrepreneurship and are the engine of development in any economy. They constitute the most numerous group of companies in Poland and should be treated as the basis of sustainable economic growth.

Statistics show that the succession of business ownership between generations can be a situation that threatens the existence of many businesses in Europe: only 30% of family businesses survive the transition to the second generation, and only 10% of these will make the transition to the third generation. Success Road aimed to help manufacturing companies in the textile, clothing and footwear industries prepare for and carry out their transition, both in the context of family succession and when selling to third parties.

The overall objective of the project was to help national and regional authorities to implement policies and new measures to support succession in their operational programmes, so that SMEs can better face the transition phase and secure their future after a change of ownership. Actions to strengthen the overall sustainability and long-term viability of European SMEs will contribute to the growth of the economy by preserving jobs and stimulating economic growth.

What were the specific objectives of the project:

• To analyse the gaps between the current and desired state of business succession and transfers and to explore the parameters and obstacles.
• To sensitise regional and local policymakers and civil servants to the problems and risks associated with the succession process in order to support the creation of tools to help business owners through the succession process.
• Shaping a business-friendly legal and institutional ecosystem by creating incentives and removing barriers to entrepreneurship.

What were the expected outcomes of the project:

• Building the capacity of key staff of partners, stakeholders and policy makers through inter-regional workshops, local stakeholder group meetings and staff exchanges that will enhance their ability to identify and address challenges to improve policy instruments.
• Development of 4 integrated regional action plans with the support of stakeholders and in cooperation with regional authorities to propose changes and measures for a seamless transfer and succession process.
• 4 policy learning guidelines on identified priority themes to improve policy instruments, ensure regional sustainability and influence decision makers in other regions.
• Improvement of 4 policy instruments in Greece, Lithuania, Poland and Spain.

Consortium:

1. Ministry of Development and Investments (GR) – Leader
2. European Footwear Confederation (BE)
3. Lithuanian Innovation Centre (LT)
4. AVECAL – Valencian Association of Footwear Entrepreneurs (ES)
5. The Valencian Institute for Entrepreunarial Competetiveness (ES)
6. Hellenic Clothing Industry Association (GR)
7. Mazovia Development Agency Plc (PL)

Project results:

The implementation of the project has provided an opportunity to confront theoretical assumptions with the actual state of awareness regarding the understanding of the importance of the succession process and all aspects related to it, both among entrepreneurs in the SME sector and representatives of local authorities. Thanks to the exchange of experience between project partners, we have obtained a comparative scale facilitating recognition of the actual scale of the problems faced by local authorities in the Mazovia region. The most important element, however, turned out to be the work with the actors involved in the Local Stakeholder Groups, which are directly related to the SME environment. The most important conclusions we obtained are the following:

• SME entrepreneurs (in general) understand the succession process in a simplistic way, overlook and selectively treat key challenges and are unfamiliar with the methods of handling them;
• SME family business owners (in general) do not understand the paradox of the family business system;
• There is a need to support the SME sector (including family businesses) in legal, tax, financial and accounting, management (e.g. assessing the status quo in one’s own business, business risks);
• There is a need to support the SME sector (including family businesses) in areas such as: communication and information flow in the family, conflict resolution, building a business strategy, division of competences, preparation and career planning of successors, ways to protect the existing owner, but also property succession without business succession – “non-family” companies;
• There is a need to continuously educate local government representatives and sensitise them to the problems of businesses (including family businesses) operating in the region;
• There is a need for closer cooperation between local authorities and non-governmental entities working for family businesses (in the field of succession);

Identifying these problems became the starting point for creating a Regional Action Plan to improve the situation in the region. It was inspired by the good practices identified in the project and the exchange of experiences with partners and local stakeholders.

The actions described in the Regional Action Plan were formally integrated into the policy instrument, the RIS Implementation Programme 2021-2022, following its revision in 2022. A new task has been included in the RIS 2021-2022 IR: Promotion of Succession Knowledge in Mazovia. This task has three main objectives:

• raising the level of knowledge of entrepreneurs in the field of the succession process, including, above all, the legal norms in force related to it;
• increasing the level of knowledge of representatives of local authorities and public sector employees and introduction to the issue of succession in the SME sector;
• disseminating information on the importance of succession planning for maintaining business activity and ensuring its effectiveness and competitiveness.

These objectives were achieved through the following activities defined in the Regional Action Plan:

• Organisation of 4 training courses/events/workshops for entrepreneurs from the SME sector;
• Organisation of 4 trainings/events/workshops for representatives of local authorities and business environment institutions;
• Organisation of a meeting (Cross Meeting) for entrepreneurs of the SME sector, representatives of local authorities and public sector, NGOs and Business Support Institutions;
• Newsletter – 4 steps to succession.

Four meetings were organised for entrepreneurs, attended by 85 representatives of entrepreneurs from the SME sector. The following meetings were organised:

• “Family owned firms on the way to building multi-generational family businesses”.
• “Change of owners in a business – sole proprietorship and companies”.
• “Family-business crisis under the magnifying glass of a lawyer – or a story that could happen”.
• “Succession through the eyes of a psychologist”

Meetings were held for Local Government Units, with 84 local government representatives attending.

A bridging meeting was also held entitled. “Succession in family businesses. A Challenge for Entrepreneurs, Local Governments and Business Environment Institutions,” which was attended by 44 representatives of SME entrepreneurs, representatives of local authorities and the public sector and NGOs.

More information:

Since August 1, 2019, Mazovia Development Agency Plc was implementing the project “Smart tools for quick and easy business start-up in Europe: the once-only challenge” with the acronym START EASY as part of the INTERREG EUROPE program. The first phase of the project last until July 31, 2022, the second phase (implementation) until July 31, 2023.

Budget: 158,958.00 EUR (EU funding of 85%)

Objectives:

START EASY was a project of the Government of Catalonia that aimed to improve regional policy and provide intelligent tools that enable companies to start their business and develop, combine and integrate the principles of “think small first”. The project aimed to promote interregional experience exchange, to combine regional knowledge and provide mutual learning opportunities, and to facilitate the development of joint policies and new action plans. Increasing the education of the local community will contribute to reducing the concerns related to starting a new business, and thus to the increase in the number of newly established companies and startups.

The task of Mazovia Development Agency Plc in the project was to identify good practices and new administrative tools through consultation with interested parties and learning from other EU regions. Increasing education of the local community will contribute to reducing concerns related to starting a new business, and thus to the increase in the number of newly established companies and startups.

During the Regional Stakeholder Group (RGI) meetings, information on the current situation were exchanged, as seen through the eyes of stakeholders. The diversity of partners, the presence of larger and smaller centres (LGUs), Business Environment Institutions, start-ups, SMEs, and Scientific Institutions, enables the exchange of experiences and learning from each other. It was important for us to get information from the subregions on their current situation, on what needs to be changed, how the business start-up procedure works, what is the situation of start-up companies, and which services the local administration provides to the entrepreneurs. The Regional Stakeholder Group worked at the local level to analyze regional needs, identify good practices, identify problems and difficulties, and seek solutions together. The worked out practices wasincluded in the regional action plan and, in the second phase, implemented in selected subregions.

Partnership

• Government of Catalonia (ES) – project leader,
• Metropolitan City of Bologna (IT)
• Lithuanian Innovation Center (LT)
• Lublin Science and Technology Park (PL)
• Economic Council of East Flanders (BE)
• Mazovia Development Agency Plc (PL)
• Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Latvia (LV)

Outcomes

The I phase of the project, and exchange of experiences that took place, provided the opportunity to learn about good practices on OSS from all project partners and to collect stimuli to improve our local state of play. During the interregional learning events, we developed a shared knowledge regarding several critical issues. At the end of the I phase of the project, we created a Regional Action Plan that included the activities to be carried out in the II phase of the project.

The activities aim to support the implementation of the Strategic Objectives of the Regional Innovation Strategy for Mazovia 2030 dedicated to the promotion and implementation of innovative solutions in public administration (linkage with Regional Innovation Strategy for Mazovia until 2030 – Strategic Objective 2.5. Promotion of implementation of innovative solutions in public administration units and scientific institutions) and reduce the differences between the NUTS regions of Warsaw Capital and Mazowieckie Regional (NUTS PL91 and PL92).

The activities described in Regional Action Plan were formally included in the policy instrument RIS Implementation Programme 2021-2022 in its revision made in 2022. In concrete, a Thematic Task Area (TTA) was included in the Implementation Programme: The Promotion, training, and provision of supporting activities for substantive staff and local authorities of LGUs, aimed at promoting innovative solutions in public administration focused on creating OSS or creating and introducing new services to the existing OSS. This Thematic Task Area has three main objectives:

1. the promotion of innovative solutions in public administration. 
2. the provision of knowledge and know-how on the creation of OSS in the Mazowiecki Region. 
3. creating and developing additional services to existing OSS.

These objectives were achieved through the following activities outlined in our regional action plan: 

• webinars / information meetings for local government units.
• workshops for local government units.
• consultations for local government units.
• study Visits in OSS Warsaw.

Recommendations and standards for building OSS and servicing entrepreneurship developed under the START EASY project were presented to local self-government units. Local authorities were sensitized to the needs of entrepreneurs, received knowledge about the benefits of building the OSS and guided along the way to the implementation of the OSS.
During the workshops, local government units received a practical set of knowledge on topics such as:

• how to map relevant stakeholders;
• how to determine what type of OSS to choose, considering information such as resources available, possible expenses and their amount, etc.;
• the type of services included in the OSS (including new services or change to existing service offers);
• how to perform a self-evaluation of existing OSS.

During the workshops and consultations, LGUs, together with the MDA’s experts were also analysing their situation, discussing potential new services under their existing OSS. To complement the knowledge provided by MDA experts, the study visits in OSS Warsaw – Centre of Entrepreneurship Smolna (CES) was organised. During these study visits, local government units were able to obtain details on the methods of financing the activities of OSS and individual OSS services. All these activities will eventually contribute to supporting entrepreneurship in the region and bridging the gap between NUTS PL91 and PL.

More information here: START EASY | Interreg Europe

Mazovia Development Agency Plc. is a partner in the consortium implementing the project “Professionalisation of pro-innovative advisory services of partnership of Business Environment Institutions of Mazovia, under the program: “Modeling the System of Offers for Innovation”.

Professionalisation of pro-innovative advisory services of the partnership of Business Environment Institutions of the Mazovia region is an undertaking, in the framework of which services will be created, that will give SMEs the ability to develop new products and non-standard competitiveness increasing business models. The project partnership will create new services that will support people planning to set up their own business, as well as help already existing enterprises on their way to competitiveness on the domestic and foreign markets.

Programme Name: Modeling the System of Offers for Innovation
Implementation date:  05.01.2021-31.12.2021
Financing: The project is co-financed from the European Regional Development Fund under Priority Axis III of the Regional Operational Programme for the Mazovian Voivodeship Development of innovation potential and entrepreneurship Measure 3.1 Improvement of SME development in Mazovia Sub-measure 3.1.2 SME development
Total project value: 2,407,825.21 PLN
Total eligible expenditure of the project: 2,143,382.71 PLN
Own contribution: 264,442.50 PLN

The aim of the project is to create and implement seven new services, which will become a new driving force for the four consortium members. Thanks to the high quality of the provided services, as well as the use of agile project management methodologies, these services will respond to the needs of the recipients and will be co-created by them. The services will be pro-innovation and developmental in nature.

The project is implemented by the Mazovia Development Agency Plc in partnership with the Polish Investment and Trade Agency.The project consists in the implementation of uniform standards of investor service in Local Government Units (LGU) of the Mazovia region. LGUs that join the project, go through two stages and implement the standards, will receive a certificate confirming that the given local government is comprehensively prepared for professional investor service. Participation in the project will allow to increase the level of knowledge of the authorities’ employees and to prepare a professional offer addressed to potential investors, as well as to develop a high level of establishing and maintaining relations between the authority and the investor/entrepreneur.

The project is a response to the activities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, which carried out pilot activities in 2016-2018 for municipalities in the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship. Currently, 45 municipalities in the region already have a Certificate confirming the implementation of the standards.

Operational Programme: Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development 2014-2020
Measure: 2.18 High quality administrative services
Implementation period: 1 October 2019 – 28 December 2023.
Main Beneficiaries: Local Government Units in Mazovia.
Project objective: implementation of uniform standards of investor assistance for Local Government Units

The project is being implemented in two stages:

Stage I of the project is the participation of employees from 141 territorial self-government units (JSTs), in training courses on basic investor service issues. The trainings will be conducted in groups of leaders and substantive employees.

Examples of training topics include:

• Standards of investor service and competitive advantages of the location;
• ABC of the investor service system in the local government;
• Investment offer – the commodity we want to sell.

Management staff: 1 training day;
Substantive staff: 2 training days.

Stage II consists of training, counselling and implementation of the Standards in 71 territorial self-government units which have an investment offer owned by the territorial self-government unit or privately owned. Planned training topics are:

• Non-standard approaches used by TSU in marketing investment areas;
• Forecast trends in marketing investment areas;
• Strengthening the image of TSUs using marketing mechanisms.

Management staff:  2 training days;
Professional staff: 4 training days.
Individual consulting for Local Government Units on site or on-line.

Project will identify future research and innovation needs for a better integration of biodiversity with infrastructure planning, construction, operation and decommissioning.

BISON is a € 3 563 652,50 project funded by Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Framework Programme of the European Union ( H2020-EU.3.4.)The project is officially launched : 1 January 2021 and will run for 30months and is implemented by a consortium of 39 partners + 6 third parties from 16 European countries. Coordinated by ETHNIKO KENTRO EREVNAS KAI TECHNOLOGIKIS ANAPTYXIS (Greece),  BISON, led by a consortium of 39 European members and associated countries, aims to tackle the integration of biodiversity with the development of infrastructure, including roads, railways, waterways, airports, ports, or energy transport networks.

The project will address the needs of western Europe where it is necessary to adapt existing infrastructure to new climate conditions. In the case of eastern Europe, the project will design solutions to address land use change and habitat fragmentation due to the surge in infrastructure developments. BISON will also engage stakeholders in biodiversity mainstreaming for infrastructure planning and development. It will further identify the construction, maintenance and inspection methods and materials that are long-lasting and resilient and can be used by different transport modes so as to mitigate impacts on biodiversity.

Project build set of ideas how public institutions on the cities level can support micro, small and medium enterprises through Sharing Economy model.

The main objective of the project is to provide conditions for the strengthening of micro-enterprises and MSMEs in urban areas during the ongoing recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as during the economic recovery phase. Economic history confirms that each crisis significantly influences small enterprises, causing an increase in bankruptcies and unemployment in general. Many public institutions at the regional and local level should be more involved in supporting companies during crisis. Consequently, the project will bring together local experiences from the urban areas of the V4 region to share best practice and contribute to providing a support framework for MSME in a post-crisis context. It is crucial to use the unexplored potential of public institutions to support MSMEs by rethinking and re-inventing connectivity and partnerships at the local level – the project will provide tested guidelines on how public institutions can generate and distribute innovative resources for SMEs, following the Sharing Economy model.

A project supporting the transformation of manufacturing SMEs to become Factories of the Future embracing the ecological, digital, and societal challenges.

ADMA TranS4MErs is a €5.6M project funded by Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Framework Programme of the European Union, building on the work of ADMA, the European Advanced Manufacturing Support Centre. The project is officially launched : 1 October 2021 and will run for 3 years and is implemented by a consortium of 38 partners from 27 European countries. Coordinated by the Irish Manufacturing and Research Company (IMR), ADMA TranS4MErs brings a pan-European multi-partner cooperation together, including research and technology organizations, universities, industry associations, chambers of commerce, incubators/accelerators, regional development agencies and vocational training institutes. 

The project will support ambitious SMEs on their digital transformation journey. ADMA TranS4MErs will build and deliver assistance with digital competencies (underpinned by technology: high performance computing, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity) and training in advanced skills in digital technologies in SMEs in line with Industry 4.0 concept.

The project ‘Network of Investor and Exporter Service Centres (COIE)’ was a system project, implemented under Sub-measure 6.2.1 of the Innovative Economy Operational Programme, 2007-2013, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.

Project duration:: 2010-2015

Project sustainability: 2015-2020

Project objective:

• an increase in the level of internationalisation of Polish companies/enterprises by facilitating access to services necessary for planning, organising and realising exports/ or investments outside Poland, and
• working to increase the level of foreign investment in Poland by facilitating potential foreign investors’ access to information on the conditions for undertaking business activities in Poland.

Services within the project:

The project provided two services:

Service „pro-eksport” included obtaining and providing information on:

• administrative, legal and financial issues, security of business transactions in the selected foreign market,
• doing business in foreign markets, developing export activities and undertaking/executing investments abroad
• potential business partners for export or investment in the selected foreign market,
• applicable international settlement methods, trading customs and usages, techniques of financing export transactions, ways of assessing and managing export risks,
• effective and efficient forms of implementing marketing activities in foreign markets,
• Sources and procedures for obtaining funding for export activities and investments abroad, from European Union aid programmes – national and regional – and from public funds,
• possibilities of using active export support instruments,
• support centres for exporters and investors, at home and abroad, such as government agencies, foreign missions, chambers of commerce, etc,
• functionality and rules for the use of the intervention system SOLVIT.
• the possibilities for preparing economic missions, as well as the Experts can assist in handling them.

Service „pro-biz” included obtaining and providing information on:

• statistical data showing the region’s economic potential and the current local economic situation,
• administrative and legal issues of running a business in Poland,
• instruments supporting the development of entrepreneurship, investment incentives offered at the regional and national level and institutions relevant for individual instruments (contact data),
• available investment locations,
• economic entities from the region looking for an investor,
• potential sub-suppliers by sector,

Project indicators:

During the course of the project, we were able to support many entrepreneurs, as evidenced by the following indicators:

• Number of pro-export services provided to entrepreneurs by COIE – 4826,0 points.
• Number of pro-biz services provided to foreign investors by COIE – 313,5 points.

In both services the calculation of indicators followed similar principles (e.g.: Direct servicing of an entrepreneur / investor – 1 point; Organisation of a conference / information meeting * number of participants – 0,5 points; Telephone information – 0,5 points).

By implementing this project, we want to encourage public institutions in the Mazowieckie Voivodeship: city halls, culture and education institutions, universities and research institutions and others to share knowledge and ideas that fit into the Sharing Economy model. More information about the project: www.public4sme.EU The project team: Department of Urban Policy and Innovation Michał Klepka, m.klepka@armsa.pl Patrycja Laskus, p.laskus@armsa.pl

Więcej informacji o projekcie:
www.public4sme.eu
Zespół projektowy:
Dział Polityki Miejskiej i Innowacyjności
Michał Klepka, m.klepka@armsa.pl
Patrycja Laskus, p.laskus@armsa.pl

The project is co-financed by the Governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe. 
www.visegradfund.org www.public4sme.eu 

The implementation of the project is meant to increase in the economic competitiveness of the voivodship and global economy, as well as to raise the education level of the inhabitants and reduce the unemployment level in the region. The project alters the differences between enterprises that are scattered through the region.

“Internet for Mazovia” is one of the most important projects carried out by the local government of the Mazovian Voivodship. It will allow to better monitor and boost the development of the whole region by minimising digital exclusion negative effects.
The contractor of the project is a consortium of KT Corporations (leader), Daewoo International Corporations, Asseco Poland, Warwick the enterprise of Telecommunications and Telecommunication Works, Biatel Telecommunications and Telecommunication, BIT S A. and KBTO Sp. z o. o.
The local government of the Mazovian Voivodship in 2013 signed an agreement with the Polish-Korean consortium of KT Corporation for the implementation of such network in the Mazovia region. This is the largest project of this type implemented in Europe. The main milestone is a construction of 3,640 km of fibre-optic network, and thus creating enhanced access to the Internet for almost all residents of Mazovia. This will elevate the economic and social competitiveness of the region. The project is implemented within the framework of the Regional Operational Program.