The Training Academies held in Edirne on 2-3 April aimed at highlighting the role regional decision-makers play in delivering changes in their regions. Whilst on the first day the focus was put on entrepreneurship and how regions can promote SMEs in their territory, with best practices coming from Flevoland (NL) and Donegal (IE), the second day highlighted the innovation potential in the health sector. In both cases, the importance of the leadership features of a region were underlined as key elements to successfully fight resilience to change and promote innovation.
The Training Academies were therefore the occasion to introduce participants in core principles of leadership management, on the basis of a toolkit developed by the Council of Europe. This toolkit entails background information and self-assessment exercises which can be easily used by regional decision-makers to check how well their region is equipped to deliver change and support innovation and what they can do to turn their authority into a learning and dynamic organisation.
