STRENGTHENING ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN EASTERN GERMANY. Andrea Manuelli OECD Consultant

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1 STRENGTHENING ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN EASTERN GERMANY Andrea Manuelli OECD Consultant

2 MACROLOTTO 1 PRATO: N ADVANCED EXPERIENCE OF CONSORTIUM-MANAGED INDUSTRIAL AREA FOR msmes RUN BY

3 WHAT IS THE MACROLOTTO? Macrolotto I is an industrial area which is privately owned; Its property is distributed among hundreds of owners; The overall management of this area and of its services is private but associative (through consortia)

4 In terms of entreprises and employees: More than 300 micro, small and medium entreprises (msmes); About 3000 employees; Three directional centres beside the entreprises; In terms of surface: 150 he overall surface; 30 he roads; 25 he green areas, services, social structures; 95 he residential zoning; 55 he covered. SIZE OF MACROLOTTO

5 WHY THE MACROLOTTO I IS INTERESTING? The industrial area is well organised and it offers advanced and useful services which are particularly appropriate for msmes ; The excellent results achieved in Macrolotto derive from a specific approach to management and organisation which is based on consortia;

6 MACROLOTTO 1 1 : ORIGINAL ASPECTS IT IS AN INDUSTRIAL AREA ABLE TO PROVIDE STRATEGIC SERVICES TO msmes WHICH USUALLY ARE NOT OFFERED BY THE MARKET; IT IS A PIONEERING EXAMPLE (AS INDUSTRIAL AREA) FOR AN ENVIRONMENT- FRIENDLY MANAGEMENT AND FOR INITIATIVES AIMING AT IMPROVING THE LIFE QUALITY OF WORKERS

7 A NOTE ON THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSORTIA IN ITALY The Consortium is a legal form regulated in Italy by the civil code (from art to art. 2612); It represents the main instrument with which is possible to implement public support policies for msmes (i.e. Subsidies, export support initiatives, innovation, concertation, etc.)

8 HAS/HAD PUBLIC SECTOR NO ROLE IN MACROLOTTO I? No (Doch!), on the contrary, public sector had a fundamental role e in start-up phase by: Political willingness to have a big and modern industrial area; Its design in the overall urban setting, Land expropriation (if necessary); Some infrastructures (those external) Industrial plots assignment; And later it gives a support to area management when it addresses collective interest goals such as reducing the environmental impact and the pollution and improving the services offered both at the msmes and at the employees.

9 ORGANISATION AND CONSORTIA STRUCTURE All management and services are organised on the base of consortia. There is a sort of general management consortium, the CON.SER, and then there are consortia in charge of delivering specific services to a smaller target of msmes (i.e. IDRA, ENERGIA LIBERA,...)

10 CON.SER It is Consorzio Servizi (Società cooperativa consortile a responsabilità limitata,nonprofit); It represents all the msmes that work in the Macrolotto 1 ; 1 It gives at the msmes centralized services in respect of their entrepreneurial and decision-making autonomies.

11 CON.SER. ORGANIZATION ASSEMBLY (230 msmes) BOARD (9 members) READER BOARD ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION: msmes SERVICES CHAIRMAN TECHNICAL ORGANIZATION: ENVIRONMENTAL ENG. ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERT

12 CON.SER. GOALS Giving at the msmes specific strategic services at cost price (no mark-up); Creating scale economies for msmes as a whole (that is, exploiting the clustering and proximity advantages); Being financially sustainable (so that Con.ser represents an investment for msmes and not a cost!); Reducing local environmental and social impact;

13 WHAT IS I.D.R.A.? Interventi Di Riciclo Acqua Società Cooperativa Consortile a.r.l., nonprofit; 35 entreprises operating in Macrolotto 1 1 in the field of water more interested at the quality/price ratio of warmed over waters; Social goal: : re-treating the already purifyed waters by the Municipality treatment plant and subsequentaly using it in the textile industries field.

14 WHAT IS CON.SER. ENERGIA LIBERA? It is a Consortium for purchasing in centralized way the electric energy and methane; The partners are 22 entreprises in the field of energy; Social goal: purchasing electric energy and methane on free market to highly competitive prices.

15 MACROLOTTO 1 1 : SOME EXAMPLES OF ADVANCED INFRASTRUCTURES AND INNOVATIVE SERVICES The industrial area offers, beside the traditional and basic infrastructures, advanced ones and innovation services directed both to msmes and to employees. In particular, it provides to msmes : waste water treatment plant and connected water works (12 Km); Co-propagation plants aiming at -reducing electric and thermic energy expenses and gas carbon emissions and - maximizing henergetic efficiency; Methane centralized co-generation in all Macrolotto area; Mobility Manager Office for resolving traffic problems related to the idustrial area; Optic fibres network;

16 MACROLOTTO 1 1 : SOME EXAMPLES OF ADVANCED INFRASTRUCTURES AND INNOVATIVE SERVICES It provides to the employees: Car pooling and car sharing (15 vehicles methane and electric energy powered, free to be used inner the industrial area); Football field; Archery field; Reorganized a farmhouse as music place. Services to be completed: Inter-business nursery with total henergetic self- sufficiency; Centralized post office; Centralized grocery; Centralized laundry.

17 IMPACT - scale economies and concrete advantages for msmes and for their employees; - improved image of the area by improving environmental sustainability; - attraction of real estate investment that enrich that area with additional facilities and services resulting in economic savings,, as well as environmental and social advantages; - improved dialogue and cooperation among msmes and pool their efforts on common goals (i.e. Save on energy and water cost) ; - increased awareness of entreprises about social and environmental potential improvements; - a stronger relationship between msmes and local Institutions (by agreements, collaboration,...).

18 DECISIVE FACTORS SUCCESSFUL FACTORS: - Good promotion of the iniziatives that combine economic savings and environmental and social impact; - Involving of msmes; - Building infrastuctures and giving services in one centralized area; - Promotion and participation at several projects (regional, european, research, education ones); - Repeatability of the practice; - Direct involvement of msmes and workers;

19 DECISIVE FACTORS ROLE OF PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS: - a stable support from local government; i.e. Prato Municipality has: 1. supported the setting-up of the first sewage disposal plant; 2. funded 15 methane and electric vehicles; 3. freely granted the soil for the construction both of the sewage disposal plant and of the business nursery; - regional and national government support; Regione Toscana finances the establishment of a Kindergarten for the employees kids in Macrolotto, Ministry of Environment adopted a new rule encouraging the use of recycled sewage waters; - EU-funding (i.e. Life, Equal,etc.) for specific projects

20 DECISI V E FA CT O RS PROBLEMS AND OBSTACLES: -msmes (on average with 10 workers) are worried about their survival rather than about the environment, at the social or at the best practices; - msmes are willing to spend only if they recognise a concrete and relatively short-term return; -Some communication obstacles both among entreprises and between msmes and local Institutions; - a sort of unhealthy institutional competition among similar local stakeholders