SitesNet

Partners involvement

All four participants of the project are so called "intermediates" that have their tasks in the fields of business development and site development/ structural development. They have gained a lot of experiences in these fields in the last years. Every partner has chosen a special site with a long history as industrial site for the project. They see an opportunity in the cooperation because they are all addressing the same problems and interests.

Given this framework the individual partners worked out the content of their local contribution to the project activities and according to this their budget. Every partner made suggestions and they agreed on the contents after several discussions and finally the application was filled out in team work.

Key issues adressed

In regions outside the economic centres SMEs are the carrier of the economy. The SMEs are important because of their high innovation potential. This project covers four sites where SMEs are the main economic factors. These enterprises have mostly been producing for the niche market without a need for or possibility to expand their market position. In such a situation long-term planning and development of a site strategy is a necessary strategy which can not be carried out by the SMEs alone. There is a need to develop effective mechanisms for the further development of the sites and the SMEs at the site by the Development Corporations. Up to now the task of the Development Corporations is the site development which means the restructuring of the site and the upgrading of the existing infrastructure. But the term does not include approaches for the further stabilisation of the site in view of the local SMEs. So the question is: How can the Development Corporations improve its services and instruments to support the SMEs at the site?