Tisa Catchment Area DevelopmentTICAD

Centre for Strategic Economic Studies “Vojvodina CESS” – selected projects

Valentina Ivanić

International conferenceTisza Hotel

Szeged24-25 March, 2011

www.southeast-europe.net/en/

Content

About CESS: mission vision

Activities: macreconomic research project management

Selected projects:Promoting Coherent Cross-Border Development of the Tisza River EconomyStudy: “Competitiveness of the Economy of Vojvodina”

Centre for Strategic Economic Studies “Vojvodina CESS”

An empirical and social research institute using quantitative and formal methods for solving policy and business related tasks.

Two sectors

Macroeconomic research:-Empirical research in the field of socio-economic development-Modeling of economic and regional development of the region-Forecasting instruments -Realization of sectoral and regional analysis-Evaluation of economic development in APV

Project management:-Generating project proposals for organs of the regional government and for own purposes-Implementation of EU projects-Trainings for municipalities on generating project proposals-Evaluation and impact assessment of EU funds for economic and regional development

Since 2007 CESS is one of the measures supported by the donation of ADA which resulted in cooperation with the Institute for Advanced Studies – IHS and the Vienna

Institute for International Economic Studies – WIIW

Macroeconomic research

- Updated ex-post analysis of IRDP- Analysis of the SME sector in APV- Analysis of large industrial systems

- CESS Magazine- Development strategies for Senta, Zitiste, Nova Crnja, Sid, Temerin

- Operative Programme for the Development strategy of Zitiste- Overview of EU programmes and funds for Serbia- Overview of the implementation of priority measures of the IRDP

- Study: Competitiveness of the economy of Vojvodina- Economic forecast for 2010/11- Guide for planning local development- Socio-economic profile of Vojvodina- Economic mirror

-Strategy of regional development- Strategy of business incubators of Vojvodina-Strategy of export of Vojvodina-Stabilization and association process- Labor market in Vojvodina- Business barometer-Guide for municipalities in the process of joining the EU- Economic forecast 2010/11

2005-2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Number of delivered documents: 3

Number of delivered documents: 5

Number of delivered documents: 3

Number of delivered documents: 5

Number of delivered documents: 8

Project management

Implemented projects:1. MATRIOSCA – in kind partner (2005-2007)Total budget: 854 000 EURProgramme: INTERREG IIIB

2. SMART Region – in kind partner (2005-2008)Total budget: 1 050 000 EURProgramme: INTERREG IIIB

3. Strategic partnership in support of the IRDP – beneficiary (2007-2012)Total budget :735 000 EURBilateral donation

Implemented projects:1. Promoting Coherent Cross-Border Development of the Tisza River Economy – project partner (2007-2008)Total Budget: 101 709 EURProgramme: CARDS

2. Health Insurance Without Borders – external management (2007-2008)Total budget: 44 452 EURProgramme: CARDS

3. Higher Education Learning Partnership – project partner (2009-2011)Total budget: 819 018 EURProgramme: TEMPUS

Projects under implementation:1. Absorption Capacities of Vojvodina for EU Funds – beneficiary (2010-2011)Total budget: 6 500 EURDonator: FOS2. Food Production and Renewable Energy Sectors Clustering Potentials in the Cross-Border Area – project partner (2010-2011)Total Budget: 127 804 EURProgramme: IPA CBC3. Through Training to Employment – project partner (2010-2012)Total Budget: 715 289 EURProgramme: IPA RSEDP II

Projects under evaluation: 1. Improving Trade Cooperation in the Cross-Border Area – project partner (2011-2012)Programme: IPA CBCTotal budget: 128 815 EURProgramme: IPA CBC2. Joint Urban and Agglomeration Network – project partner (2011-2012)Total budget: 99 565 EURProgramme: IPA CBC3. Coordinated Development and Knowledge Exchange on Spatial Planning Methodology – project partner (2011-2012)Total budget: 99 450 EUR Programme: IPA CBC

2005-2007 2008-2009 2010-2012

Total number of projects: 3Total budget of projects: 2 639 000

Total number of projects: 3Total budget of projects: 965 179 EUR

Total number of projects: 6Total budget of projects: 1 177 423

Activities in 2011

- Economic mirror (monthly)- CESS Magazine (5 issues)- Business barometer (quarterly)- Macroeconomic model (2 times per year)

- Strategy of rural development (occasionally) - Strategy of industrial development of Vojvodina (occasionally)

- Project: Absorption capacities of Vojvodina for EU funds- Project: Food Production and Renewable Energy Sectors Clustering Potentials in the Cross-Border Area- Project: Through Training to Employment

Project

Promoting Coherent Cross-Border Development of the Tisza River

Economy

Framework for the project

- The project has been approved in the framework of the Second Call for Proposals of the Hungary – Serbia Neighbourhood Programme 2004 – 2006.

- The Tisza catchment area is a specific European region with its northern part in Hungary and its southern part in Vojvodina.

- The need for the project has been identified according to the priorities of:

1. Integrated Regional Development Plan of Vojvodina2. Spatial Plan of the Republic of Serbia3. DKMT Strategy4. Local development strategies of municipalities along the Tisza5. Strategy of Development of the Tisza River Region in Hungary (Vásárhelyi-

terv)6. Strategy of Development of South Plain 2007 - 2013

Territory encompassed by the projectThe project was aimed at an integrated development of the Tisza catchment area, which incorporates four Counties in Hungary and ten municipalities in Vojvodina.

Encompassed municipalities in Vojvodina: Kanjiža, Novi Kneževac, Čoka, Senta, Ada, Bečej, Novi Bečej, Žabalj, Zrenjanin, Titel

Encompassed counties in Hungary: Bács-Kiskun, Csongrád, Hajdú-Bihar, Szobolcs-Szatmár-Bereg

Main idea of the project

Identifying priorities and possibilities for cross-border economic cooperation with the aim to enhance sustainable development of the Tisza region based on a Socio-economic Development Plan and an Action Plan for Tourism Development in the Tisza area.

Main target groups

1. SMEs in the Tisza region;2. Municipalities in the Tisza region;3. Business associations;4. Local non-profit organizations.

Project Partners

Partners in Serbia:

Applicant:Provincial Secretariat for Privatization, Business and SMEs

Partner:Centre for Strategic Economic Studies “Vojvodina-CESS”

In kind partner:Municipality of Kanjiža.

Partners in Hungary:

Applicant: Tessedik Sámuel College

Strengths Weaknesses- Developed regional cooperation-Multiculturalism and urban tradition-Good conditions for agricultural production- Rich water endowments

- Depopulation and ageing population- High unemployment- Frequent floods- Low entrepreneurial spirit- Old infrastructure- Absence of sustainable development

strategies- Insufficient exploitation of tourism

resources

Opportunities Threats - Available funds for the development of

SMEs- Development of a multifunctional production- Foreign investment into infrastructure,

agriculture and tourism- Better cooperation of universities and

business- Better cooperation between business and

non-government organizations

- Slow economic development, unstable political situation and poverty

- Lack of availability of Structural Funds- Lagging behind neighbouring regions in

Hungary and Romania

SWOT analysis of the Tisza region

Recomendations for the development of the Tisza river region

1. Development of the road infrastructure

2. Improved water management

3. Protection of nature and the environment in settlements

4. Development of agriculture – production of healthy foods

5. Development of touristic activities and receptive tourism

6. Cross-border cooperation and development of the SME sector

Areas of action for the sustainable development of tourism in the Tisza region

1. Regular monitoring of touristic heritage and environment

2. Defining touristic markets

3. Touristic content (accommodation, nautical tourism, hunting and fishing, manifestations, spas, rural tourism)

4. Local communities and citizens

5. Marketing approach and promotion

Results of the project

1. Socio-Economic Development Plan of the Tisza Region (500 copies in Hungarian and Serbian languages) distributed to municipalities, NGOs, regional governments

2. Action Plan for the Development of Tourism in the Tisza Region (500 copies in Hungarian and Serbian Languages) distributed to municipalities, tourist organizations, NGOs

3. Bilingual project web site project activities. The web site was transferred for administration by the ICR in Kanjiza

4. Centre for River Based Business Development in Kanjiza. The Centre functioned as part of the ICR in Kanjiza, financed be the local government, which later became the Centre for Information and Development of the Tisza Region (ICR Tisza Region).

Effects and sustainability of the project

ICR Tisza Region:

In harmony with the official development strategy of the municipality of Kanjiza and the overall development strategies of the region aims to help and facilitate the development of the municipality.

Services of ICR Tisza Region:

- Grant monitoring and information dispersal- Professional advisory services- Writing projects- Trainings, workshops and presentations- Translations (English, Serbian, Hungarian)- Other professional services (accountancy, writing business plans…)

Effects and sustainability of the project

ICR Tisza Region activities overview:

- Encompasses 7 municipalities (Kanjiža, Novi Kneževac, Senta, Ada, Čoka, Bečej, Novi Bečej representing more than 160.000 citizens)

- 5 full time employees and 14 external employees (2 from each municipality)- Financed by the Municipality of Kanjiza and from project activities- Over 607 partners from the region to whom it serves information about open

calls for proposals, EU funds, public procurements, national development programmes

- Organizing training for SMEs- Preparing and implementing IPA CBC projects- Organizing ECDL and EBCL training- Coordinating efforts of Kanjiza, Novi Knezevac and Coka regarding energy

efficiency- Coordinating a tourism development project of Kanjiza, Novi Knezevac,

Becej and Novi Becej

Study: Competitiveness of

Economy of Vojvodina

Structure of the Study

Investment

Foreign trade

Demography

Agriculture

Energy

Economic entities

Survey on competitiveness factors

Legal framework of APV

Findings and recommendations

The competitiveness of Vojvodina was analyzed both in relation to the economy of Serbia as a whole and in relation to other countries and certain regions up to

the extent possible in terms of available data.

Objectives and target groups

The objective of the Study was to determine cometitive advantagesof Vojvodina, its unused or insufficiently used potentials and production resources, as well as to determine measures of economic policy which

could influence an increase in competitiveness of the economy of Vojvodina.

Target groups

Policymakers on regional level

Policymakers on local level

Enterprises in Vojvodina

Most of the observed data covers the period from 1990 up until 2008, before the economic crisis. Official statistical data presented the basis for the analysis.

Foreign trade

Commodity exchange of AP Vojvodina with foreign countries

Import has been rising a lot faster than export after re-integration of the country into the international community.

Foreign trade

Smaller countries should have a lower level of import specialization and a higher level of export specialization.

Specialization index of import and export of APV

Foreign trade

The share of selected countries in foreign trade of APV in %

The EU is by far the most important market for conducting foreign trade exchange of Vojvodina

Degree of openness of the economies of Serbia and Vojvodina(import + export) / GDP

There is a noticeable increase in the openness of the economy after 2000 which represents a positive trend.

Foreign trade

Economic subjects

Medium Large

In the structure of enterprises according to their size, small companies dominate while there is a clear insufficiency of medium size enterprises.

Structure of enterprises in Vojvodina and Serbia according to size, 2007

Agriculture

Real potentials for accelerated development of agriculture in Vojvodina and strengthening of its competitive position are seen in the multifunctional development.

Multi-functionality denotes total non-conventional agriculture (manufacture of healthy food – organic production) and conventional agriculture (agriculture carried out in a traditional manner and for traditional purposes – manufacture of food and inputs for manufacturing sector), and non-conventional purposes (biomass for energy generation).

Different quantitative restrictions are more and more in use – in the form of technical barriers – implementation of ISO standards and HACCP methods for determining quality, quantitative and other restrictions as basic instruments of the agrarian protectionism measures.

Agriculture

trend line

Export of agricultural products from Vojvodina 2001-2005 in mil. USD

Average annual export in the period 2001-2005 reached 254.8 million USD, showing a positive trend, at an average rate of 36.8% per annum.

Agriculture

Comparative advantages of Vojvodina agro-industry must be fully utilized in the forthcoming period:-Favorable agro-ecological conditions for production of wheat, oilseed crops, fruit and vegetables-Available manufacturing sector capacities (edible oil plants, sugar plants, dairy plants, abattoir plants, industries for cereal grain, fruit and vegetable processing)-Skilled personnel in both production facilities and research institutions

Export potentials of Vojvodina agriculture include:-Sugar and confectionary products-Edible sunflower oil-Wheat and corn, mercantile and seed-Soya and sunflower seed-Quality fruit, raw and processed-Quality vegetable, mostly raw-Beef cattle for slaughter, beef meet, lambs for slaughter, lamb meet-Beer, non-alcoholic beverages, mineral water, wine

Factors of competitivenessThe analysis was conducted by a survey method on 301 companies from the entire territory of Vojvodina.

Entirely favourable 14.3%Entirely unfavourable 6% Unfavourable 6.6%

Partially unfavourable 20.6%

Partially favourable 27.6%

Most of the entrepreneurs consider the business climate in Vojvodina to be favourable.

Business climate in Vojvodina in 2009, based on the attitudes of entrepreneurs

Factors of competitivenessCompetitiveness factors of APV, based on the attitudes of entrepreneurs (%)

Entrepreneurs believe that geographical position of Vojvodina is the main competitive advantage, since 92.4% of entrepreneurs agree with that thesis.

Factors of competitivenessCompetitiveness factors at the company level (%)

The market of Vojvodina is at a low level of sophistication because quality is looked at as the main category that needs to be achieved and secured.

Factors of competitivenessCompetitiveness factors at a branch level (%)

Even at the branch level, we can see that the important factors are the ones that are self evident in developed national economies.

Thank you for the attention!

Centre for Strategic Economic Studies “Vojvodina CESS”

www.vojvodina-cess.orgoffice@vojvodina-cess.org

March 25, 2011.