Benchmarking tools presented to the Regional Development Agencies

ĐAKOVO, 21-22 February 2012 – A two-day seminar on the Benchmarking programme, which is implemented within the EU-IPA Project “Development of Investment Climate”, gathered 30 participants from eight counties participating in the Advanced ICPR Programme (Investment Certification Programme for Regions).

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Benchmarking is one of the key tools of modern management and in this Project it is used to benchmark the selected activities of the regional development agencies with best practice examples in Croatia and internationally. The regional agencies will be given an opportunity to assess their position, to compare their agency with other agencies in the region and hence upgrade their performance which is crucial for their work and competitiveness on the market.

The participants were presented the benchmarking methodology, an important management tool and a useful mean in improving the work of the RDAs, especially in the area of FDI attraction. The seminar involved interactive sessions, as identifying the “best practices using the Internet”, as well as selecting the most important activities and their ranking according to the quality of performance.

Everything of the above served as an introduction to the next stage of the programme in which the agencies, on the basis of a carefully designed questionnaire, will identify which of their activities require additional improvements through comparisons with best international practices.

The Regional Benchmarking component falls within the scope of the Advanced ICPR and focuses on benchmarking the competitive advantages of the Croatian counties, first of all between themselves, and then with the regions of the neighbouring countries. The Benchmarking process assists the RDAs in Croatia in defining the elements which are crucial for the successful attraction of foreign and local investments. 

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About ICPR3 proundefinedgramme:
EU project “Development of Investment Climate“ is implemented using the IPA III C pre-accession assistance and is the continuation of two previous stages of the Investment Certification Programme for Regions (ICPR). The Project is designed to provide strategic development and training to 20 Croatian counties, to help them be adequately prepared for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). The Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Crafts is the beneficiary of the Project and is responsible for its implementation. The Project is one of the most valuable services projects financed through EU funds currently implemented in Croatia. Following the extension granted in September 2011, the total value of the project amounts to €3.44 million. The project will be implemented over a period of 32 months, and it began on 1 February 2010.