Right vision can make regions thrive

 Comment Kevin ThompstoneBuilding competitiveness at enterprise, regional, and national levels has come under the microscope this week in the Shannon region.

While EU ministers and international business leaders discussed what Europe needs to do to stay competitive in a global market, decision-makers from both the public and private sectors, with the assistance of experts from the US and Europe, were assessing the value of building competitive regions at the "Dynamic Regions" conference organised by Shannon Development.

A timely interaction, given that we are coming through a recession that has lasted 24 months and which Prof Stephane Garelli, from the University of Lausanne, described as "shallow, awkward and long". He also warned that after the accession of 10 new countries to the EU, we will be facing a new economic landscape.

A timely interaction also, when we consider that, prior to accession, there were 213 official regions in Europe, and of these, eight, in the centre of Europe, account for a quarter of total research-and-development (R&D) expenditure - 4 per cent of European regions accounting for 25 per cent of European research and development. That puts the notion of building dynamic regions into perspective.

It brings home the message that if we want to strengthen European innovation and competitiveness, we must intensify the amount of R&D at regional levels. But R&D is the tangible element of competitiveness.

The intangibles - the capacity of regions to use, generate, and diffuse knowledge - are more difficult; they are grounded in the business culture that exists in a region. Issues as diverse as entrepreneurship development; co-operation networks; public-private partnerships; and clustering activities that reflect the region's strengths all come into play here.

These intangibles are embedded in the European goal, set out in the EU Lisbon Strategy, of developing Europe into the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world; and the national goal of building a sustainable and balanced knowledge economy in Ireland.

Shannon Development's experience shows that high-level policies such as the Lisbon Strategy can be translated into tangible actions at regional level; that regional responsibility and action can help to resolve national and European issues; and that regions can play a major role in making the vision a reality.

However, EU and Irish competitiveness goals require that the conditions for regional productivity growth be developed across all regions. This requires an agent for collaboration, to galvanize all stakeholders (public and private) under a common vision and framework for action, which will drive this vision forward.

In 2004, competitiveness is not about doing more of the same; it is about doing more, differently. The starting point is having a sharp vision. As Prof Garelli puts it, "There is no favourable wind for someone who does not know where he is going."

This thesis is borne out in the Shannon region, where cohesive regional development and a clearly defined framework for leadership and action are producing results.

All partners in the region have bought into the idea of developing the Shannon region into a world-class region. All have a clear view of the future. All are committed to implementing an integrated set of strategies to harness new opportunities. This is proving that cohesive thinking and action are central to developing a region capable of withstanding global competition - a new mindset for a new economic world.

The speed and complexity of change in the global economy means that competitiveness issues cannot be resolved through function-based organisation structures alone. Nowhere is this more evident than at regional level, where resolution of day-to-day business challenges and action on public policy requires interaction between public agencies and the private sector.

That is why Shannon Development has harnessed the support of key players in delivering projects of scale in the Shannon region. We have a clearly defined framework for regional competitiveness which includes key deliverables for connectivity (connecting the region to the world); building world-class places and products (generating reasons for investors to invest and visitors to visit); and enterprise enablers (creating an environment which supports competitive firms).

We have tangible evidence that collaboration pays optimal dividends. Collaboration has delivered products such as the Shannon Development Knowledge Network - a unique network of technology parks and incubators providing a managed interface between education and enterprise; the Atlantic Technology Corridor initiative and the initiation of the Limerick Riverside City project.

Collaboration is delivering connectivity to the region at all levels: it led to the debate for an independent Shannon Airport Authority; to the analysis of rail connectivity in and to the region and other infrastructure; and to the establishment of Shannon Broadband to guarantee competitive broadband availability.

Collaboration will deliver the Agile Logistics Hub, an integrated multi-modal transport hub for Shannon; e-Towns, a knowledge-economy solution for micro enterprises in small villages and towns.

To react faster and better at a global level, a nation requires diverse capabilities. Optimal regional development can be an enabler to this goal.

The potential of each region can be unlocked by strong, regional collaborative networks. This does not require change to administrative boundaries - the only boundaries requiring change are those of the mind.

Kevin Thompstone is chief executive of Shannon Development, Ireland's only dedicated regional-development company.