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Regional Business Forum – Second Edition

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Regional Business Forum – Second Edition

Date: 1 – 3 October 2019
Venue: Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vojvodina, 11 Hajduk Veljkova St, Novi Sad

 

The Autonomous Province of Vojvodina will host the Second Edition of the Regional Business Forum, it will be an opportunity for companies to exchange their business ideas and find new partners.

Following the success of last year’s forum, this year’s Regional Business Forum will be organised in partnership with the Enterprise Europe Network, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vojvodina, Vojvodina Development Agency and the Novi Sad Fair.

 

Sectors Involved:

– Agriculture & Food
– Metal Processing Industry
– Automotive Industry
– ICT
– Creative Industries

 

Want to know more?

We look forward to having fruitful discussions in Novi Sad, but first…

For more info about the event please read this article.

Regional Business Forum – Second Edition

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The Second Regional Business Forum will take place in Vojvodina from 1-3 October 2019. Given the success of the previous edition, the Assembly of European Regions and the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina want to establish this Regional Business Forum as an unmissable event in the business development year. 

The expertise of the Enterprise Europe Network, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vojvodina, Vojvodina Development Agency and the Novi Sad Fair will help you make the right connections. 

Shaping Business Cooperation

The event will create an opportunity for companies to present their business potentials and ideas and exchange good practices and technologies. Business cooperation will be facilitated by Regional chambers of commerce, Regional development agencies and institutions supporting SMEs development.

Sectoral Diversity

This year, the Regional Business Forum will focus on 5 main sectors: 

  • Agriculture & Food
  • Metal processing industry
  • Automotive industry
  • ICT 
  • Creative industries

Business-to-business Dialogues

Through B2B (business-to-business) meetings, participants will be able to find partners according to their own interests and objectives. The B2B meetings will be managed in advance via the Enterprise Europe Network matchmaking tool: to request B2B meeting, participants have to fill in the required information when registering for the event.

A Tip for your Free Afternoons 

In addition to the busy programme prepared for you, this year’s Regional Business Forum will coincide with the 52nd International Fair of Hunting, Fishing and Tourism in Novi Sad. You will be more than welcome to take part in the fair’s activities!

Further Information & Registration

If you want to know more about the programme, the B2B platform and registration, please visit the Regional Business Forum website.

Photo by: Gerd Altmann on Pixabay

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Regional Business Forum in Vojvodina

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On the occasion of the Autumn Committee Plenaries in Vojvodina from 25-27 September 2018 a Regional Business Forum is being organised together with the Enterprise Europe Network and the Vojvodina Chamber of Commerce and Development Agency. 

Sharing experiences to support the business community

The Regional Business Forum will gather in one place Regional chambers of commerce and Regional agencies in charge of investments, support for SME and promotion of business and commerce from wider Europe. The event creates a possibility for collaboration and good practice sharing. This event is an opportunity for regions to promote their business potentials and achievements through both dialogue and bilateral meetings.

The Forum will be a place to exchange on the support for SME, promote business and commerce, incentive the possibility to collaborate and share best practices between regions.

The programme includes a one-day conference, a high-level panel debate on Open Data for startups together with all the policymakers from AER member regions, B2B meetings and different study visits.

Open Data for startups: a high-level panel debate

The high level panel debate will bring together speakers from startups, regional policymakers, experts on design and data to discuss why, how and for what regions should open their data and look at challenges and opportunities. Policymakers and representatives from the business sector will discuss how opening public data supports the emergence of startups in regions.

B2B meetings powered by Enterprise Europe Network

Business-to-business (B2B) meetings will be organised in the framework of the Regional Business Forum in Vojvodina. Enterprise Europe Network will facilitate these B2B meetings to help delegates find business partners based on their own interests. The Enterprise Europe Network helps businesses innovate and grow on an international scale. It is the world’s largest support network for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with international ambitions. The network is active in more than 60 countries worldwide and brings together experts renowned for their excellence in business support.

The B2B meetings will be organised via the Enterprise Europe Network matchmaking tool. These will be organised in advance. To request B2B meetings participants have to fill in the required information when registering for the event.

Study visits

The study visits organised in the framework of the Regional Business Forum will feature:

  • the BioSense Institute, the Research and Development Institute for Information Technologies.
    BioSense cross-fertilizes the two most promising sectors in Serbia: ICT and agriculture. BioSense performs multidisciplinary research in the fields of micro and nanoelectronics, communications, signal processing, remote sensing, big data, robotics and biosystems. The goal is to support the development of sustainable agriculture and create a positive impact to the lives of people. BioSense aims to incorporate all efforts and results of various research groups into a unique BioSense integrated system for agricultural monitoring. BioSense Institute coordinates or participates in a large number of international research projects, including Horizon2020, FP7 and Eureka.
  • Unimet, a metal transformation company based in Serbia

Registration

Further information including the programme, the B2B platform, the practical information and the registration can be found in on the Regional Business Forum website. To request a B2B meeting, participants need to fill in the relevant fields in the registration form.

Photo Credits: Viktor Krč,  UnsplashFollow AER!

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AER series on investments: Episode 2

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Episode 2 of the AER series on investments focuses on the EFSI technical and advisory services available to regions for a sound and smooth implementation of the Juncker Plan.

Reaching the real economy

At the Opening Conference of AER Committees’ Plenaries in London, Florentine Hopmeier, Team Leader for the Investment Plan for Europe, European Commission, presented the latest features of the Investment Plan. She insisted on the EFSI technical and advisory services in particular. Regions had the opportunity to discuss and ask her questions about the challenges their facing. The European Fund for Strategic Investment is mobilising at least € 315bn for access to finance and strategic investments and is already supporting projects from areas such as research & innovation, digital economy, energy union, transport or the circular economy.

To facilitate the process of developing projects and matching with the investment opportunities, the EFSI has been equipped with the European Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH), for advisory services, technical assistance and providing expertise and with the European Investment Project Portal (EIPP), to improve transparency and to help matching investment opportunities proposed by project sponsors with investors’ interest. We will go through the main accessible services.

EFSI technical and advisory services for project development

To address the main financial and non-financial obstacles the European Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH) is providing support to the investment environment, during the project development and preparation. It is a partnership between the EIB and the European Commission and both contribute to its financing.

Project promoters, public authorities and private companies can ask for technical assistance and receive advices from high-level experts in order to get their project ready and suitable for investment opportunities. Here are the main programmes available:

  • JASPERS (Joint Assistance to Support Projects in European Regions), provides EU Member States with assistance during all stages of the project cycle, from development to capacity building and provides you an independent quality review. Here is the detailed description of the services, which are free of charge.
  • ELENA (European Local ENergy Assistance), provides investment preparation support related to energy efficiency and renewable energy across the 28 EU Member States. You can contact ELENA providing a brief description of your entity and the planned investment programme. The ELENA team will review the information and assess if the project meets the eligibility criteria and they will actively support you during the application process.
  • EPEC (European PPP Expertise Centre), supports the public sector’s ability to deliver better Public-Private Partnerships, through market intelligence, helping the PPP legal framework, the processes of preparing, approving and managing PPPs. This is mainly done through network activities, policy advice and project development support. Through the helpdesk facility they provide responses to immediate questions or find the relevant expertise needed.

The fi-compass  platform supports and enhance the use of EU funds. Searching by topic or by country gives access to guidance and manuals, providing practical know-how and learning tools on financial instruments. Through events and learning opportunities the platform enables the sharing of experiences in using the financial instruments and supports in the management.

InnovFin Advisory guides its clients on R&I projects in order to improve their structure and the access to finance. The services provided are many such as business modelling, strategic planning, eligibility criteria, governance, innovative financial instruments and they are provided independently of the EIB’s lending/investment decisions. You can submit you request writing a detailed description of the project, including business plan highlights and the expected budget commitment.

Bridging opportunities to investors

The European Investment Project Portal (EIPP) is a web portal where investors can search for project opportunities across Europe, choosing the size, sector and geographical position. Project promoters seeking for investors have only to register their proposal to the portal  and filling out a project application. The publication is free for public authorities.

In this way the project opportunities gain visibility and the investors can choose the solution which better fit their willings. The matching process between the interested sides becomes smoother and easier. This simple and user-friendly portal enables the transparency of the EU investment opportunities and at the same time makes them attractive to investors worldwide.

Useful link

Presentation on Investment Plan for Europe & EFSI 2.0

Related articles

AER series on investments: Episode 1

Committees’ Spring Plenary

Investing in the future: new perspectives for the regions

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Outermost regions’ work in AER and worry about Guyana

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It is with great worry that the Assembly of European Regions follows the situation in its French outermost member region, Guyana. After two weeks of unrest and the region’s activity put to a standstill, we look upon the start of the negotiations with the French government with trust and confidence.

AER President Hande Özsan Bozatli : « I want to address to the President Rodolphe Alexandre and the people of Guyana the solidarity of the members of AER and the wish that a positive solution to this grave crisis will be found soon. AER will remain an ally of all Spanish, Portuguese and French outermost regions and wants to cooperate more with them ».

These territories are of huge importance for Europe. Leaders in terms of blue growth and innovation, their strategic location opens Europe to the world thanks to their territorial waters and continental borders with some of the South American giants.  

At the occasion of the Outermost regions forum in Brussels this week, AER Secretary General Mathieu Mori met with the Presidents of the AER outermost members Alfred Marie-Jeanne (Martinique-FR); Ary Chalus (Guadeloupe-FR), Miguel Albuquerque (Madeira-PT), Vasco Cordeiro (Azores-PT) and Didier Robert from non member region La Réunion (FR). These encounters were the occasion to congratulate Madeira and the Azores for the opening of their regional office in Brussels and their continuing involvement in AER Eurodyssey programme. The opportunity also to talk about potential topics of further cooperation. A specific topic has been pinpointed with Guadeloupe and a joint event will be organised for the benefit of all outermost AER members and beyond. 

In light of the coming strategy of the European Union- to be released end of the year – the outermost regions reached a common agreement and handed in a memorandum to the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu.

 Pictures

Alfred Marie-Jeanne, President of Martinique (FR)

Miguel Albuquerque, President of Madeira (PT)

Ary Chalus, President of Guadeloupe (FR)

Vasco Cordeiro, President of the Azores (PT)

Didier Robert, President of La Réunion (FR)

 Marc Lemaître, Director General for Regional Policy (European Commission)

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AER series on investments: Episode 1

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The Prodi High Level Task Force

As a follow-up on the AER conference on sustainable financing for the regions, AER will be publishing a series of articles on investments. These will provide deeper insight on the different financing tools available for regions, which were presented on the occasion of this conference.

Maximising public value

AER is participating in the work currently being carried out at European level on long term investments. On the occasion of the Spring plenary meeting,  Jonathan Watson, Managing Director of the Think Tank INTEGRATE updated AER members on the EC High-Level Task Force on financing social infrastructure and maximising public value, also called the Prodi High Level Task Force. This Task Force is providing inputs to the Commission on how current instruments should be completed in particular in the field of long-term investments for health, education and housing.

This Task Force was set up by the European Association of Long Term Investors and the Think Tank Integrate and  is supported by Jirki Katainen and the European Investment Bank. The Chair of the High-Level Task Force is Romano Prodi and Deputy Chair is Christian Sautter. Two working groups are working on current investment patterns in the public sector by sector and by geography on one hand and future patterns on the other hand.

AER member region Arad (RO) is contributing to the work of the first working group, it is possible for another region to contribute to the group which will look at future patterns.

Reworking how the public sector mobilises finance for social infrastructure

The High-Level Task Force for Social Infrastructure investment while maximising public value formally launched in February 2017. While there is undoubted interest in what the dialogue it moderates between social and financial sector experts will say when the final report is delivered in December 2017, it is not about changing current regulations. Instead it will focus on doing things differently in order to

  • overcome the current shortage in social infrastructure investment especially for lifelong education, health and social care and affordable housing
  • address the gap in the finance industry’s ability to arrange financeable social infrastructure projects on behalf of the public sector.

 

Help secure the inflow of investable projects

A common message is already emerging. There is a need to include new measures that will help secure the inflow of investable projects to the various funds available: public, private and third sector. These new measures have yet to be identified and agreed but a key challenge that will remain at the end of the Task Force exercise will be how we ensure the generation of credible investment opportunities that are to scale and how to better blend different funding streams during a project’s lifecycle. For example, it has been suggested that the pipeline of EFS projects can be improved by creating investment platforms that bring together smaller projects from the same sector. This tool needs other tools and resources because it won’t succeed alone.

For the public sector a particular issue is how it mobilises finance for social infrastructure. This needs some reworking in ways that unlock social infrastructure investment from political cycles. Specifically, it involves adopting prevention as a strategic principle for planning and investment, finding ways to improve local capacity to absorb capital and knowing how to ‘sell’ the added value from social infrastructure investment.

Next steps

The presentation on the Prodi High Level Task Force at the AER plenaries in London will be followed up by a workshop in Brussels in September which will consider exemplar pipelines (R20, European Fund for SE Europe, the High Road Predevelopment pipeline) and what needs to happen to improve the generation of projects locally including a role for intermediation platforms with non-profit dealmakers.

If your region is interested in contributing to the work of the High Level Task Force, please contact AER Coordinator for Policy and Knowledge Transfer Johanna Pacevicius.

Related articles

Committees’ Spring Plenary

Long term Investments, the EU and you

 

 

 

 

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Local investment needs: a study by the Council of Europe Bank

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At the opening conference on sustainable financing for the regions, 21 March in London, a very brand new study on investment in public infrastructures will be presented by Mr. Jérôme Hamilius, ECS Director at the Council of Europe Development Bank – CEB.

Just today, the CEB has published on its website the study “Investing in Public Infrastructure in Europe. A local economy perspective”, presenting an overview of the CEB’s long-standing experience in improving the living conditions in urban and rural areas across Europe. It also assesses recent trends and challenges in the provision and financing of local infrastructure across CEB member states and their implications for future lending to this sector. Here the key messages of the study.

The dragging of the crisis

There has been a slow and uneven recovery in public investment in Europe since 2009. While all levels of government are seeing investment levels below pre-crisis peaks, local governments are noticeably lower than central government levels. Moreover, the study shows that the public capital stock (the accumulated stock of all public infrastructure) is beginning to drop in many countries, after years of weakening public investment in infrastructure. This deterioration may result in sub-optimal delivery of public services in the near future.

Re-start from the people needs

Yet, the scale of investment needs in the local infrastructure sector across Europe is particularly large, given the changing demographics, increasing urbanisation, shifting migration patterns, and rising pressures from climate change. Investment in this sector should thus be a driving force in the current challenging environment, with the clear objective of improving people’s welfare and quality of life. In this respect, regional and local authorities have a huge potential to revive infrastructure investment as they play a key role in financing and managing public investment programmes.

How can the CEB help?

The CEB endeavours to respond to local investment needs in its member countries. In the coming years, from a geographic standpoint, the focus of CEB action could be placed on the countries that have experienced the most severe decline and weakest recovery in public capital investment since 2009. From a sectoral standpoint, the CEB will examine the possibility of providing financing in the following areas: urban and rural investment in infrastructure and services, “silver economy”, migrant integration, urban and rural adaptation to climate change. Given its social mandate, the CEB will be giving special attention to vulnerable and marginalised groups in society such as low-income households, the unemployed, the frail elderly, people with disabilities or chronic diseases, ethnic minorities and migrants.

Links

Investing in Public Infrastructure in Europe. A local economy perspective – Download

The Council of Europe Development Bank

Committees’ Spring Plenary

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What can the Investment Plan for Europe do for health?

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Today, in Brussels, Member States and regional representatives, healthcare service providers, public and private investors, economists, and practice innovators, participate in a Seminar on strategic investments for the future of healthcare, organised by the European Commission.

A vital economic sector

Health is a vital economic sector representing 10% of the EU’s GDP and accounting for 8% of the total workforce in the 28 EU countries. Today’s seminar explores what the Investment Plan for Europe can do for health: What types of investments are needed in the health sector? Which funding streams can support these investments? How can we invest to ensure successful implementation of new care models? These are just some of the questions that will be raised.

The Seminar was opened by Jyrki Katainen, Vice-President of the European Commission and Ambriose Falloye, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank with closing remarks by Vytenis Andriukaitis, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, who points out that: “Health authorities in the European Union and beyond are looking at ways to transform healthcare delivery through innovative and integrated healthcare models. This requires smart investment and creative approaches. Indeed, it may be difficult, but not impossible. From the Commission’s side, we will continue to promote the opportunities offered by the Investment Plan for Europe. As far as I am concerned, two key words are: “collaboration” and “partnerships”. I thus welcome this event and encourage a continuous engagement. If there is political will and if all stakeholders – politicians, care professionals, patients, technology providers and investors – are committed to working together, then we can make our healthcare systems effective, accessible, sustainable and resilient so they can face future societal challenges.”

Working together for innovation

This was also the core of the message of the event AER organised last December “E-health: Let’s find a common language” to bring together stakeholders who are not always used to work together for health innovation.

The report from the Commission’s seminar on EFSI for health will be available on DG Santé’s website shortly.

The EFSI Fact sheet on mobilising funds for the health sector provides a  series of tips and examples on how the European Investment Plan for Europe can be utilised for
• Medical research
• Innovative products, services and delivery solutions (including
by SMEs, mid-caps and start-ups)
• New models of health infrastructure especially for primary and
integrated forms of care
• New technologies and e-health
• Medical education and training

EFSI will also be discussed during the joint AER-LGIU conference “Mind the gap: Sustainable financing for the regions” which will feature speakers on long term investing and impact investing”.

Finally AER is also cooperating with the High Level task Force on financing social infrastructure and maximising public value at the European Commission. AER regions interested in shaping the next Investment Plan for Europe should contact AER Coordinator for Policy & Knowledge Transfer Johanna Pacevicius

Useful links

EFSI fact Sheet on mobilising funds for the health sector

DG Santé Website

AER Committee on Social Policy and Public Health

AER event “Investing in the future: new perspectives for the regions”

Related articles

Long term Investments, the EU and you

E-health: how to find a common language?

E-health, connect the dots: connect people

E-health: the future of healthcare!

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Investing for green projects

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While different solutions exist to reduce CO2 emissions, limit the scope and mitigate the impacts of climate change, most large-scale initiatives require substantial investments. The London plenary meetings of the AER Committees will shed some light on impact investing and in specific green investing, which is a topic on which AER has been working for several years new via the Regions4GreenGrowth INTERREG IVC project and the collaboration with the R20 in particular.

Where is the money?

Green impact investing refers to projects which aim to have a beneficial impact on the environment. This includes the development of renewable energy systems, building green infrastructure, reduction of climate change. Many initiatives address the need to improve the conditions of our society, for the present and future generations.

For instance, green bonds have been launched by banks or international institutions. These are used to invest in projects for clean air, clear water, green infrastructures, having thus an impact in terms of quality of life.

Meanwhile, alternative solutions as crowdfunding models have started to develop as well. There are platforms in which every citizen can contribute to finance sustainable projects, as in renewable energy projects, innovative energy conservation etc. In this way, citizens have the chance to get directly involved in more sustainable solutions, even with small contributions.

At regional and local level, these tools are often considered complicated to be used, both for the implementation process and for the large investment required. These problems have been addressed also at European level, as stated in the Position Paper of  The Citizenergy Project, a European project funded by the Intelligent Energy Europe Program that aims at creating an EU-wide platform for citizen participation in renewable energy projects. Because regional and local levels are the closest to citizens they are the best level to implement energy transition projects. Strengthening the processes for implementing crowdfunding and cooperative models will, for instance channel new funds for such projects at community level. Crowdfunding & cooperative models typically help reduce the procurement barriers and offer citizens an opportunity to invest in local renewable energy projects across Europe.

Supporting regions on the road to green investing

AER regions were invited last Summer to submit projects for the “100 Solutions Projects Campaign” launched by R20 and the Leonardo Di Caprio Foundation. R20 is implementing a technical and financial ecosystem able to cover the whole value chain of project development, financing and implementation. This campaign aimed at giving value to regional green projects by giving them visibility on the international stage and by helping regions finance their green projects, either directly or indirectly. The themes are waste management, renewable energy, and LED lighting. Projects submitted to this campaign demonstrate that the green transition to 100% clean and renewable energy can be addressed, starting from regional level. Worldwide the campaign attracted over 550 projects highlighting that the green market economy is maturing and regional authorities are in the front line.

Mutual learning on impact investing

The spring plenary meetings of the AER Committees on 21-23 march in London will be an opportunity to look more specifically at the diversification of funding and financing sources. While innovation in the public sector, cooperation & skills acquisition are some of the well-known elements which support sustainable financing (see AER conference on innovation in the public sector, November 2015), it is also vital for regions to channel new funds for mid-to-long term planning.

Experts and policy makers will discuss long-term investing, the Juncker Plan, impact investing in general and green investments in particular. Participants will gain new knowledge about funding & financing mechanisms, share challenges and evaluate opportunities for their regions.

Links

AER Spring 2017 plenary meetings

Related articles

Success of the “100 solutions project campaign”: more than 550 projects received!

No money for renewables?

 

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Long term Investments, the EU and you

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Are you the regional expert we need?

AER has been invited to name one or two experts for the work currently being carried out at European level on long term investments. Does your region want to be involved?

A High-Level Task Force on financing social infrastructure and maximising public value is being set up by the European Association of Long Term Investors and the Think Tank Integrate. This High-Level Task Force is supported by EC Vice President Jirki Katainen and the European Investment Bank. The Chair of the High-Level Task Force will be Romano Prodi and Deputy Chair Christian Sautter.

Direct impact on future funding for regions

The Task Force will look at long-term investments for health, education and housing in particular in order to complete current instruments. The conclusions of the Task Force will be the basis for a Juncker Plan 2 in these areas. Your involvement in this Task force will, therefore, have a substantial impact.

AER has been invited to contribute to this initiative to provide the regional perspective. An AER regional expert (civil servant) can be nominated to one of the below mentioned technical working groups. Political engagement will also be needed for the formal meetings and the lobbying actions.

Two working groups of 10 people will work on long-term investments in social infrastructure:

-The first group will meet 6 times in the 6 first months to look at investment patterns in the public sector by sector and by geography.

-The second group will meet 5 times in the following 6 months and should estimate what the future patterns will be, as a function of how public authorities and sector/geography-specific public services seek to adapt to macro trends e.g. changing demography, epidemiology, technology etc. – again, by sector and by geography.

 

If you are interested in participating in this initiative, please contact AER Coordinator for Policy & Knowledge transfer Johanna Pacevicius

 

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Impact investments: sustainable returns to society

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With the economic and financial crisis of the recent years, governments had to commit themselves to balance their budget and reduce public debt and deficit. These constraints have put limits to national expenditures, meaning that many social issues have been left aside because of a lack of funds.

However, youth education, social inclusion, healthcare, climate change all have a significant impact on economic development. In order to be addressed these issues need to attract investment.

What is social impact investing?

Finding innovative mechanisms to finance social improvements is not something new. Some countries have already been searching for new financial sources and for ways to better and more efficiently use tight public budgets. Many public-private partnerships have been developed in order to gather resources and improve some social conditions. Many banks helped the financing of social projects too.

Also at european level, in 2013 the EIB Group launched the first pan-European public-private partnership, the Social Impact Accelerator (SIA). It addressed the growing need for availability of equity finance to support social enterprises, promoting social inclusion, alternative sources of employment and contributing to growth. SIA reached its final closing in July 2015. More lately, the Juncker Plan and the EFSI are facilitating public-private partnerships, providing technical assistance and resources in favour of projects in specific sectors.

However, we have started to talk about impact investment. The need of greater availability of resources and better investing structures lead to think to new approaches. Companies, organisations or development funds have been attracted by impact investment, addressing social and environmental issues. According to the strategy  and the budget adopted, to the investor expectations, the project can also set a financial return below the market rate. From this idea of impact investment many initiatives and good practices have come out.

Alternative approaches and initiatives

A recent example is the Social Impact Bonds case. They are “payment by results” investments. In particular they are agreements involving public authority, investors, a service provider and an intermediary organisation. They allow to have a return to the investment only if the project developed delivers positive and measurable social outcomes.

United Kingdom has been one of the first country to use the tool of social impact bonds. Its pilot project at Peterborough Prison it’s the world’s first social impact bond used since 2010 to finance rehabilitation at work. In 2012, with the government assistance UK launched also the world’s first social investment bank, realizing projects in healthcare, education and many other social issues.

Ireland, in its Public Service Reform Plan 2014-2016, proposed Social Impact Investing (SII). This involved using private capital to fund initiatives addressing social problems, and funding is linked to results. The State agreed to repay the private investor only if the established outcomes were achieved. The project aim was searching for private sector investment partners in the housing sector in order to provide long-term, sustainable and stable homes for homeless families in the Dublin region.

Consortium for Development of Polesine (CONSVIPO), Italy. A Territorial Pact was developed to support and reinforce the local economy through information about the financial opportunities offered by regional, national and European actors, aimed at public and private initiatives. The main goals: development of the territory, establishment of a permanent local cooperation and partnership network, support sustainable development programmes and initiatives regarding the promotion of equal opportunities.

In support of the social impact investment sector, the Global Social Impact investment Steering Group (GSG) was established in 2015, as a successor of the SII Taskforce established by G8. It’s composed by members from 13 countries plus the EU and other government and network organisations. Its aim is to promote a unified view of impact investment, facilitating knowledge exchange and encouraging policy change in national markets.

AER activities in the field

Regions are exactly the places where the citizens’ needs are and also where often the gap between financial and social players needs to be fixed. This is why AER is addressing investment issues in particular via its Spring plenary meetings on 21-23 in London. Moreover, AER has been invited to participate in the Commission’s A High-Level Task Force on financing social infrastructure and maximising public in order to ensure the regional perspective is taken into account in what could become the drafting of the Juncker Plan II.

Links

AER Spring 2017 Plenary meetings

Related articles

Long term Investments, the EU and you

Investing for green projects

 

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A recognition of excellence

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The 2016 European Summit on Innovation for Active and Healthy Ageing was an opportunity to highlight the excellent initiatives from regions across Europe. The Summit brought together diverse stakeholders to boost Europe’s competitive advantage in the Silver Economy

The Silver what?

Europe is growing older and while this is a challenge because society has to adapt its strategies, products and services, it could also be an opportunity. Indeed in terms of world demographic trends, Europe will become older first. If Europe innovates first it will get a competitive advantage. If a large part of the population is getting older this means also a new market is being created, hence the reference to the Silver economy. the Silver Economy is believed to grow faster than the Green Economy, which says something about its potential.

The Silver Economy covers new market opportunities arising from public and consumer expenditure related to the rights, needs and demands of the (growing) population over 50.<br>Public spending on ageing in the EU accounts for 25% of GDP and 50% of general government expenditure and is projected to grow by 4% of GDP until 2060 (see the Commission’s 2015 Ageing report).

The European Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing

The Innovation Union strategy outlines the way the European Commission decided to support European competitiveness and tackle societal challenges. The focus is on research and innovation.

The European Commission has identified active and healthy ageing/ demographic change as a major societal challenge common to all European countries. It also presents considerable potential for Europe to lead the world in health innovation.

The Innovation Partnerships are one of the elements of the Innovation Union strategy. The Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP-AHA) brings together end users, public authorities, industry, all actors in the innovation cycle, and those engaged in standardisation and regulation.

The Partnership’s objective is to improve the framework conditions for uptake of innovation: Funding and investments in innovation need to be leveraged. But funding for research and innovation in European territories also needs to be more coherent and better coordinated.

Recognising excellent practices

Last year at the Conference of Partners of the EIP-AHA Günther Oettinger, EC Commissioner for the Digital Economy & Society announced a new Call for Reference sites. A total of 74 regional and local organisations have been awarded “Reference Site” status. The Reference Sites awards showcased the commitment of these local and regional organisations to invest over €4 billion in connected health and care for the ageing population until 2019 – an investment expected to benefit at least 4 million people across Europe.

8 AER member regions were among the winners: Catalonia (ES) ****, City of Zagreb (HR)*, East of France (FR)**, Friuli Venezia Giulia (IT)***, Ile de France (FR), Murcia (ES)**, Norrbotten (SE)***, Noord-Brabant Province (NL)***, Nouvelle-Aquitaine (FR)**.

Creating a shared vision

The European Innovation Partnership managed to engage stakeholders in the drafting of a shared vision on IT health innovation. This shared vision is known as the “Blueprint, digital transformation of health and care for the ageing society”. The Blueprint outlines how the journey of emerging digital “innovation to market” can be eased. It is also a manifesto for the alignment of innovation, economic and industrial policies with health and social care policies and with users’ and patients’ needs.  The Blueprint was handed over to Commissioner Oettinger by the Blueprint Champion and AER Member Encarna Guillen, Regional Health Minister from Murcia, ES.

This is also very much in line with the work AER carried out during its workshop on stakeholder engagement in health innovation ecosystems and the event it organised together with its partner networks “E-health: let’s find a common language”

Upcoming events

The ALEC 2017 event on 1-2 February will be an opportunity to further improve the dialogue between stakeholders. AER will, in particular, moderate a workshop on tapping into social capital and the engagement of carers and patients in integrated care systems.

 

ALEC 2017

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E-health: the future of healthcare!

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The new era of technology has opened a way to build an innovative system of healthcare, the so called e-health. It’s not only about technological improvements, the way of thinking is mainly changing. Many sectors are involved and the consequent shortcomings in communication and efficiency need to be addressed.

E-health and diversity

The healthcare system is now moving towards a new frontier. Open spaces for scientific information as online database for patients, forum for experience sharing and connections among stakeholders might be soon available. This new e-health environment is in fact bringing together stakeholders from very different sectors. Medical, business and technological companies need to work together. The diversity, however, is often generating communication problems which bring about not negligible consequences. Bad quality services, inefficiency, not rigorous scientific evaluations are outcomes which cannot be underestimated. For this reason stakeholders must gather and find a mutual understanding to overcome them.

Technology and patients

Creating digital platforms as well as data sharing need the intervention of technological companies. Dr. Bertalan Mesko, geek physician, explains on his blog The Medical Futurist, the great potentials of technological companies. They have a comparative advantage in developing new artificial intelligence. New tools for monitoring diseases, health services at your fingertips may really change people daily life. The main message however is that the creation of new products, of innovative ideas, must begin getting closer to the patients. Only understanding their needs we can think of how to make the difference. In the words of Dr. Mesko, “we need to embrace disruptive technologies, put patients in the center, shift from treatment to prevention and digitize the delivery of care“. It’s not just a matter of finding the right tech-device, but of understanding how to use it, who could benefits. The key challenge is to meet patient needs and technology, transforming the concept of healthcare.

E-health:let’s find a common language

Communication among stakeholders needs to be improved and they need opportunities to deepen cooperation. The AER’s Committee 1 & 2 are jointly organising the event “E-health:let’s find a common language” on 1 December in Brussels. The event will take place in the framework of the AER Regional Innovation Award ceremony, held on 30 November and it will give chances to boost engagements and develop a common understanding among stakeholders. Networking, sharing ideas and creating a global thinking are the commitments to change people attitudes. Let’s start from the local and regional level to build a future for digital healthcare.

 

Photo credits: Contrasto_gp @Flickr http://tinyurl.com/zffjr36Follow AER!

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EFSI: a concrete opportunity for regions

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The Investment Plan for Europe, also known as “Juncker Plan“, adapted in 2014, is built around three pillars:

  • the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI)
  • the European Investment Project Portal (EIPP) and the European Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH)
  • Improving Investment Environment.

The focus of the AER briefing seminar on 30 November with EC Vice president Jirki Katainen will be on EFSI, the main instrument for boosting investment, employment and economic growth in general. The total investment target is EUR 315 billion in additional to public and private investment over the next three years. EFSI has been launched together with the EIB Group – European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund – and the European Commission.

The activities on which EFSI focuses are strategic infrastructures; education, research, development and innovation; expansion of renewable energy and resource efficiency; support for smaller businesses and midcap companies.

The objective to support the recovering of the real economy after the economic and financial crisis. This is done by providing financial support to valuable projects, which can deliver investment opportunities in the local community, in a long-term perspective. Almost half of the target has already been mobilised (EUR 154 bn), covering a geographical area of 27 out of 28 EU countries. The main sectors involved are smaller companies, energy, RDI, digital and transport. A smaller percentage involves transport, environment and social infrastructures.

Challenges

As the EFSI has been integrated into the EIB Group, it is subject to its Project cycle and governance. Projects to be eligible must be economically and technically sound, in at least one of the EFSI eligible sectors, contributing to EU objectives, mature enough to be bankable and priced in a manner commensurate with the risk taken. These requirements can be difficult and demanding for regions or SMEs which may already experience difficulties in meeting their balance budget or in developing well-structured and long-term projects.

Therefore the challenges for the EFSI to become more attractive are the following:

  • improve accessibility, by information and promotion
  • provide instruments to overcome the financial gap: for instance adapting the requirements
  • provide instruments to overcome the capacity gap: facilitating the project structure, providing help to build good projects in the right sector
  • gain visibility at the very local level
  • gain credibility by the impact of the other projects implementation
  • overcome minimum requirements for the size of the projects: for instance for midcap companies the loan volume must be between 7.5 and 25mln. For projects under 25mln EIB provides intermediate loans to local, regional and national banks.
  • overcome the slow disbursement of the loan: in fact the project is signed subject to the fulfilment of pre-disbursement conditions and after signature the project remains under consideration for six months.

Pioneering regions

Here there are some good examples of projects, well developed and approved in the framework of Juncker Plan, coming from the following regions:

–Grand Est: QUAERO EUROPEAN INFRASTRUCTURE FUND (2016) France

EUR 40mln in equity participation will enable the Quaero European Infrastructure Fund to attract other investors. This Fund provides equity financing for projects in the fields of social infrastructure, transport, telecoms, energy and public or private amenities.

-Rhône-Alpes: LYCEES – REGION RHONE-ALPES (2014) France

EUR 500mln to renovate and upgrade upper secondary schools. Part of the project’s investment is targeted towards the Region’s contribution to health and medicine-related higher education. The aim of the project is to improve education infrastructure and to increase energy efficiency of educational buildings in the region.

-North Braband: EVIDES WATER SUPPLY (2014) Netherlands

EUR 175 mln to support Evides’ capital investment programme 2014-2018 aimed at maintaining the quality and functionality of its water and distribution pipelines, basins and production installations among others. The aim is to  secure a sustainable management of water supply and distribution, bringing about positive social and environmental impacts.

-Gelderland: DYKE STRENGTHENING GELDERLAND Netherlands

EUR 182 mln to raise and widen river dykes along various sections of Rhine, Waal, Ijssel and Meuse (Gelderland). The aim is to strengthen the dikes along these rivers to protect and improve citizen’s physical safety and their quality of life. 

 

On 30 November, in the framework of the AER series of events “Investing in the future: new perspectives for the regions“, the Vice President of the European Commission in charge of investments Jyrki Katainen will give clarifications about the implementation of the EFSI. Regions can share their questions in advance by contacting AER coordinator for Institutional Relations Alexandre Brecx ([email protected]).

 

Photo credits of featured picture: Benjamin Turquier @Flickr http://tinyurl.com/j9aw78z

Other related articles

EFSI & the Circular Economy

Closing the loop: funding opportunities for circular economy projects

AER meeting with Jirki Kattainen on EFSI

Getting the most out of the European Fund for Strategic Investments

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