FOCUS Regional Development

Regional Development is a core focuswithin the EU whether this be throughEuropean Commission initiatives oron the initiative of the regions them-selves. How do you see the develop-ment of this over the last 20 years andby the various Member States?The reduction of regional disparitiesand the balanced development of theEuropean regions was - and stillremains nowadays - a key challenge forthe European Union. In the early ‘90s,the development of a common region-al policy understood that it couldimprove the economic and social cohe-sion of the Community. This evolved tothe Community’s new regional policybased on the coordination of financialresources at both the Community leveland the national level. Since then,regions have attracted significant assis-tance to initially develop their infra-structures and gradually focus on theirhuman capital, the later being the sin-gle most important asset of the EU tomy view. During these years we haveexperienced both regional “successes”and “failures” but overall the balance ispositive. The lesson learnt with respectto regional development policies is thateach region is unique, not simply dif-ferent, and therefore each regionrequires a specific development path-way suitable for its scale and produc-tion profile that focuses on its regionalresources e.g. biodiversity, industrialknow-how, culture, etc.

Could you describe for us the work ofa Regional Development Authoritysuch as yourself?Our organisation, the Municipality of

Athens Development Agency S.A. orAEDA in short, is the developmentalpower house of the capital of Greece,Athens. It was established in 1996 tobecome the technical advisor of theCity and to take advantage of thenumerous opportunities for the devel-opment of a better city. It employs alarge number of highly qualifiedexperts (more than 100 people), it isquality oriented (certified for ISO9001), and it is very active in nationaland international projects. AEDAimplements various projects in areassuch as sustainability, urban develop-ment, social services, tourism, culture,innovation and ICT. AEDA is currentlydeveloping as a service provider out-

side Greece as well. For example, lastsummer, we were selected to be aTechnical Advisor of the City of Sofia,Bulgaria in getting structural funds.

What would be any advice you wouldgive to other municipal developmentcompanies doing similar work inother European cities?To take some time at the beginning toformulate a clear vision, then articulatetheir strategy and invest in the rightpeople to do the work. People makethe difference at the end of the day,and we should work with the best.

What advice could you share onDevelopment fund efficiency?

There are certain levels to address thisissue, from the technical details tooperations, from management tostrategic priorities, etc. My view on thesubject would better be understood if Imention a general principle from thescience of ecology. In ecology, diversityis stability, and stable ecosystems enjoybetter development despite theirthreats. Likewise, more diversity isneeded in the systems and mecha-nisms used in EU for its developmentfunds. Ideas in that direction could bevarious local collaborative fundingschemes joining public and privatefunds adapted to local/regional condi-tions. Fortunately, we have seen somesteps in that direction from the Com-mission with the introduction of JESSI-CA, a “next-generation” funding instru-ment. Although JESSICA and the like asinitiatives are new and (as expected)there is some uncertainty about them,they are quite promising and Europeshould work more on these types offunding instruments. Creativity andimagination is urgently needed for find-ing new ways of developing Europe.

How would you say that Europe hasbest highlighted what it could dothrough regional development? Someprojects such as Cultural or others thatI see your agency has participated in -or others such as Ariadne shown inyour annual report for 2008 - can youdescribe for our readers how these aidthe expansion of regional develop-ment? Are there other examples bet-ter suited to explain the depth of aid?Each project we implement has a dif-ferent focus, logic and added value but

all of them together bring about thedesired change, the positive step for-ward for a better city/region. Forinstance, we train young people, wepilot new systems, we assist elderlypeople, we envision the future throughadvance ICT technologies for the citi-zens, we promote public dialogue, weseek to find new ways to diffuse cul-ture. All this work jointly creates thebottom-up endogenous change wewish to see in the future. Of course,there are no easy and fast solutions:time and serious effort is needed.

What is still lacking in the Develop-ment sector?There is a gap in quickly turning politi-cal decisions into concrete plans ofaction. There is also a gap in creatingsynergies which leads to multiplicityeffects and leads to inefficiency. Thesetwo factors are obviously missing to myview.

Do you often have the opportunity tospeak with your counterparts fromother cities in Europe?Rather often I must say, especially withcounterparts from South East Europe.Is that enough? Not really, but time isnot enough for any of us. On thatrespect, I would like to take the oppor-tunity that New Europe offers by thisinterview and invite any colleague -manager of city or regional develop-ment organisation that share the sameconcerns and is interested to exchang-ing ideas to contact me. I will be morethan happy to assist and develop newopportunities for collaboration. Peoplemake the difference!

Regional Development in Europe makes the regions and the citizens go round.This week we talk to the Municipality of Athens' Development Agency's ManagingDirector Christos Kissas for an inside look on what his agency does

Christos Kissas

What about the regions?The lesson learnt with respect to regional devel-opment policies is that each region is unique, notsimply different, and therefore each region

requires a specific development pathway suitable forits scale and production profile that focuses on itsregional resources

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June 7 - 13, 2009

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with Christos Kissas, The Municipality of Athens Development Agency Managing Director

T he Municipality of Athens Development AgencyManaging Director Christos Kissas, talked to AliaPapageorgiou about projects in development,

what regional stability and expansion means and howhe describes their challenges today.

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