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LARNACA DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

Formation and History

The establishment of Larnaca District Development Agency (ANETEL) was an initiative from the Union of Communities of Larnaca.

After years of involvement in European affairs and European programs, the Board of Director of the Union of Communities of Larnaca, with the strong support of the Municipalities of Larnaca and others institutions, felt that it was necessary to establish a flexible mechanism.

This mechanism would make possible the involvement of local authorities of Larnaca District into the procedures that pertaining the development in the European Union and particularly in absorbing European funds for realizing the vision of each community and municipality of the area.

Formation and History The Larnaca District Development Agency was established

according to the standards of development structures and mechanisms operating in the European Union.

ANETEL’s activities are focused mainly in Larnaca District. ANETEL is governed by the Law of Companies. It is a non-profit

organization and has been accredited as a public equivalent government body.

Formation and History ANETEL was founded on the 16 October 2003 and its stakeholders

are the 6 Municipalities and 42/45 of Larnaca Distict, the Larnaca Chamber of Commerce, the Larnaca Rural Women's Association, the Co-operative Bank of Rural Development and Vasililou-Pentashinos and the Cyprus Association of Professional Fishermen.

From the 1/1/2012 we expand to Famagusta District by the inclusion of Municipalities and Communities of the free District of Famagusta to our stakeholders (Municipalities of Agia Napa, Paralimni and Community of Liopetri).

Environmental Information Centre of Larnaca Mountainous Area: The main objective of the Center is to educate and inform the visitors about the important elements that comprise Larnaka’s mountainous area, as regards to the natural environment and the major cultural elements and to increase the awareness on the protection of the environment

Goals and Objectives Larnaca District Development Agency was founded by the local

government for the local government. The main objective of the agency is to provide support services to

its stakeholders for making use of European resources and participate in European programs in order to implement the goals and visions of its stakeholders.

The objectives of the company meet the following requirements: Giving information and learning about matters of the EU Support to the Local Self-Government Organizations in their

development role and planning. Development planning of the broader area of Larnaca

Goals and Objectives Exploitation of the available National and Communal funds,

through the participation and management of different programs

Technical support to the public and the authorities of the area, in the fields of education and preparation, improving the quality of life and generally the social-economic development.

Undertaking initiatives in subjects of protection of the environment, preservation of the cultural inheritance and development of its internal cohesion.

Development of the relations between the Local Self-Government of Cyprus and the Member-states of the European Union, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Balkan Countries.

Goals and Objectives Promotion of the possible collaboration of the Local Self-

Government with the Public and Semi-Public authorities and the Private sector, trying for the collaboration and the difference of each member.

Management and Implementation of E.U. Programmes

Structure and StaffANETEL has the following working teams:European Projects Team,Services Team,Leader Team,Co-funded Programs TeamEnvironmental Education Center of LarnacaAccounting DepartmentANETEL employs scientific personnel that have the appropriate expertise and experience to accomplish the difficult task of the agency. An important feature of the company's employees is the team spirit. Also, essential is the fact that the staff has different specialties in different sectors (economists, agriculturist, rural development experts, agro-economist, etc) and they can provide a different and wide range of services.

University of Cyprus Established in 1989. Despite being a fairly new University, it is

recognized as a centre of excellence in the Mediterranean region. Research is promoted and funded in all departments at both local

and international level. Currently more than 300 research projects funded by EU. Successful proposals under FP5, FP6, FP7, INCO, COST, Interreg, MEDA, etc.

University of Cyprus Dept. Of Computer Science: Among the first departments to assume

operation. In 2003: Moved to the new campus. Academic Staff (20+) and 13 active Research Laboratories in areas

such as software engineering and internet technologies, artificial intelligence, data management, etc.

In just the last 6 years, it was involved in more than 130 research projects funded from both the European Union and the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation with total funding of over 13 million euros.

University of Cyprus

University of Cyprus-Aims and Objectives• To become a leading educational and research institution that will

distinguish itself internationally through the promotion of scholarship and education through teaching and research.

• To be recognized as a centre of excellence in the Mediterranean region.

• To enhance the cultural, social and economic development of Cyprus.

• The University sets high standards for all branches of scholarship.• Research is promoted and funded in all departments for its

contribution to scholarship in general and for its local and international applications.

The Republic of Cyprus

The third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and Sardinia).

Population: 838,897 (2011 Census)

Area: 9,251 sq km (3,355 sq km are in the occupied area).

Cyprus is located in the northeast

corner of the Mediterranean.

Is the crossroads of Europe, Asia

and Africa.

The Republic of Cyprus

Cyprus has an open, free-market, serviced based economy with some light manufacturing.

The services sector is the fastest growing area and accounted for about 80,5% of GDP in 2011.

The secondary sector (manufacturing) accounted for around 17,1% of GDP in 2011.

The primary sector (agriculture and fishing) is continuously shrinking and only reached 2,4% of GDP in 2011.

The private sector is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Cyprus Innovation Policy

The accession to the EU and the Lisbon Agenda were the driving force behind the design and implementation of the Cyprus research and innovation policy.

The territory of the island is one single region, hence innovation policies are designed nationally and implemented by the central administration. Beneficiaries are spread all over the country.

Two organizations are the main beneficiaries:

Research Promotion Foundation: it promotes the development of scientific and technological research in Cyprus.

Ministry for Commerce, Industry and Tourism: it promotes entrepreneurship and competitive investments.

The Cyprus Innovation Policy

The EU sponsored “Regional Innovation Strategy in Cyprus” (RISK) in 2006 and that was the first features of the national innovation system, which were refined and reinforced in the first National Reform Programme (NRP) 2005-2008.

RTDI is among the key priorities of the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) 2007-2013 which among others gives guidelines for R&D and innovation policy.

The (NSDP) 2007-2013 includes actions and schemes proposed for co-funding by the Structural Funds and national interventions.

The Cyprus Innovation Policy

The NSDP defines the following strategic objectives for innovation:

Stimulating the business sector’s internal capability to develop innovation-related activities

• Bridging the gap between the business and the academic/research communities

• Developing funding mechanisms for innovative activities

• Developing an innovation culture and raising public awareness for R&D.

The Cyprus Innovation Policy

To meet these objectives, the government introduced a set of measures grouped under four main policy priority:

• Creating Innovation Poles and Business Incubators

• Providing Innovation Support Services

• Improving Access of Businesses to Financial Resources

• Creating an Innovation Culture

The Cyprus Innovation Policy

The innovation-related objectives and priorities set by the NSDP 2007-2013 are specified by the Operational Programme “Sustainable Development and Competitiveness 2007- 2013 co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund.

Promotion of the knowledge, society and innovation and improvement of the business environment is one of the three general objectives of the programme.

Operational Programme “Sustainable Development and Competitiveness” - Structure

Operational Programme “Sustainable Development and Competitiveness” - AXIS

Priority Axis “A Knowledge Society and Innovation”Specific Objectives

Priority Axis “A Knowledge Society and Innovation”Areas of Intervention

Priority Axis “A Knowledge Society and Innovation”Categories of Beneficieries

The Cyprus Innovation Policy - Limitations

RTDI funding increased and absorption is satisfactory; however, evidence on performance is limited and inconclusive.

National evaluations are practically absent and the recommendations of the EU funded Strategic Evaluation have only partly been followed.

There is little evidence concerning the performance of the measures funded: In Cyprus there is no evaluation culture and programmes are not evaluated.

Let‘s innovate the innovation funding