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BANSKA BYSTRICA
GEOGRAPHY AND DEMOGRAPHY
Banská Bystrica region is located in the southern part of Middle Slovakia. The territory covered by the region of Banská Bystrica with the capital Banská Bystrica is one of the largest self-governing regions in Slovakia, spreading over an area of 90,455 km˛. The region provides space for 661,343 inhabitants, resulting in a population density of 7.297 persons per km˛. Banská Bystrica is divided into 13 districts, namely Banská Bystrica, Banská Štiavnica, Brezno, Detva, Krupina, Lucenec, Poltár, Revúca, Rimavská Sobota, Velký Krtíš, Zvolen, Žarnovica and Žiar nad Hronom which in turn comprehend 516 councils of which 24 are towns.

Banská Bystrica is very manifold both from the geological and the geomorphologic point of view. The northern part of the country is characterised by mountainous and foothills, whereas valleys and hills prevail in the southern part. The highest peak reaches 2,043 metres above sea-level and the lowest point is 130 metres above sea-level.

Banska Bystrica region offers all typical features of Slovakia - natural beauty, interesting history embodied in unique cultural monuments, richness and variety of art production and craft skills, plenty of opportunities for sport lovers and recreation, as well as interesting offers for potential investors. The region itself is located in the southern part of NUTS II - Central Slovakia. Regarding the qualities of the regional and natural environment, it belongs to the most important regions in Slovakia.

The total of its protected area concerning nature conservancy is the highest in Slovakia. Four national parks, four protected landscape areas and number of national natural reservations, protected areas, localities and objects with the lowest grade of protection reach territory of region.

INFRASTRUCTURE
Banská Bystrica region has strategic location just in the heart of Central Europe. There are reliable roads connecting Western and Eastern Europe as well as Northern and Southern Europe going directly through the region.
Route transport

The most important for the Banská Bystrica Region are the international transport routes:
· North - south: 2 routes - I / 66 and I / 59
· West - east: 2 routes - I / 50 and I / 65

Air transport
Regional airport Sliac (20 km from the capital Banska Bystrica) with direct connection to the international airport in Prague from where CSA airlines provide daily direct flights to different European and world destinations. The airport is an integral part of the region's traffic infrastructure. One of the airport's basic functions in the region is a support of passenger flights. In the summer months, the airport can be used to transport tourists to the sea resorts abroad and in winter for bringing foreign tourists to the ski resorts in the region.Two smaller air-ports are situated in Bolkovce (district Lucenec) and in Ocová (district Zvolen) and are utilized for sport purposes.

Railway - lines
Two railway lines with national and international importance cross the Region:
· Bratislava - Zvolen - Košice - Cierna nad Tisou - Ukrajina

· Žilina - Zvolen - Lucenec - Hungary

ECONOMY
The economic structure of Banská Bystrica has been following a steady shift from the industrial to the service sector during the past 15 years. Presently, the most relevant sectors in the region of Banská Bystrica are mining, engineering, food, pharmaceutical, wood-processing, the glass and ceramic industries.

Regarding industrial production, the region of Banská Bystrica can be divided into the more industrialised northern part (comprising the districts Banská Bystrica, Zvolen, Žiar nad Hronom and Detva), where engineering, wood-processing, chemical and pharmaceutical industries and mining prevail, and the agriculturally-focused southern part (the districts Rimavská Sobota, Lucenec, Velký Krtíš, Krupina and Revúca).

LABOUR MARKET
The labour-force consists of around 325,000 people in total. One third of them are working in the industrial, two thirds in the non-industrial sector.

Industry and construction: 33%
Services: 60%
Agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing: 7%

Structure of Industry:
SME ´s with less than 20 employees provide the jobs for two thirds of the whole labour-force, the rest falls to companies with more than 20 employees. The city of Banská Bystrica is the strongest region, in an economic sense, by accommodating 40 % of all companies in the region.
The unemployment rate currently stands at 16.83%.

THE SMEs SYSTEM
The main guarantee and coordinator at the creation of SME support programs and policy is Ministry of Economy of SR (ME SR). ME SR is formally entering into negotiations with other subjects, including international institutions, in order to ensure resources and likewise. ME SR ensures the support of SMEs through the National Agency for a Development of Small and Medium Enterprising (NADSME), which represents the main institution for SME support. NADSME remains the Implementation Agency of Phare for SME support programs.

In addition to the resources from Phare and the state budget the agency may also achieve its objectives from other resources. The NADSME is supervised by ME SR. The Slovak Guarantee and Development Bank (SGDB) also holds a special position in the SME support system. Currently plans point to a transformation of SGDB from a present state-run company to a joint stock company owned by Ministry of Finance of SR (which is planned to 30th of June, 2002). This would allow both a higher flexibility of management and (through present activities) the possibility to found a subsidiary, such as capital venture fund, which would operate in the area of investments to risk capital. SME policy created NADSME through a network of RPIC and BIC.

The objective of each RPIC is, besides providing support programs also collecting and providing information about all other SME support programs which other institutions offer. RPIC may also collect applications for these programs, by what they will serve as the places of first contact and as mediators, too.

Decentralisation of SME policy is ensured through the network of RPIC, which have to be accessible at least in every region and which have independent decision making powers. This cannot be achieved without a delegated responsibility to RPIC, especially in the case of decision making about risky forms of support such as direct loans.

This has to be solved by an appropriate control mechanism. The form of RPIC as an association of legal entities allows participation and also a supervisory role from a large spectrum of participating subjects: NADSME, SGDB, communities, regional self-governments, etc. The present dislocation of RPIC / BIC, or the detached offices of NADSME, is not convenient from the view of the regional development. Presently regions in which unemployment rate is over 25% make up about 1/3 of Slovakia but from the 12 RPIC (+NADSME centre + detached office of NADSME) only 3-4 RPIC are in the underdeveloped regions; from 4 BIC only 1-2 BIC accrue for the most backward regions. In regard of this it is necessary to revaluate the existing dislocation of RPIC/BIC networks according to special analyses.

This will be evaluated by ME SR in cooperation with Ministry of Construction and Regional Development (MCRD SR). In the case of SGDB and its branches, the aspect of decentralisation is not inevitable due to the ascendant orientation of this institution - providing of loans and guarantees. The activity of SGDB will be exclusively cross-sectional. From the regional point of view SGDB will, like other institutions, use the RPIC network for a publicity of their products or for initial contact with potential clients from the regions. Other institutions which offer state aid (SARIO, EXIMBANKA, National Labor Office, CEPAC, funds of Ministry of Agriculture and other.) assisting organisations of a resort character. In the case of their programs being intended for the support of SMEs, the must coordinate activities NADSME, so the RPIC can at least provide current inf

ormation about these programs, and also to serve as place of first contact. It is useful for all ministries who provide SME support programs to make contact with NADSME (or SGDB if necessary).

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
The Region spends 0,51% of its gross domestic product in R&D.
REGIONAL PROGRAMME OF INNOVATIVE ACTIONS (RPIA)
The Regional Innovation Strategy projects pioneered an approach to the development of regional innovation support system which has now become an integral part of policy in many European regions. Following this trend, the Banská Bystrica Self governing region submitted within the “6th Framework Programme” a project proposal on Regional Innovation strategy named BABY RIS which has been favourably evaluated by European Commission.

The overall goal of the BABY RIS is the creation of an environment that is fruitful for innovation and entrepreneurship in order to provide the region with sustainable economic growth to raise welfare. To achieve this Environment, all regional innovation key institutions and organisations involved in the process are going to be integrated in a collaborative network to reduce redundancies and make extensive use of synergy effects.

The project will contribute to a more intensive use of state of the art technology in the development of new products by the enhanced diffusion of know-how. It will lead to an increase in competitiveness and better success on the market. The RIS of Banská Bystrica region will help to develop the infrastructure facilitating innovative companies through the foundation of Centre for Innovation Development Support that will demonstrate new ways of SME´s innovation and growth direction and to the use of existing knowledge, known rules and techniques in new and improved products, processes and services for the needs and to the benefit of a man and society development.

BABY RIS will develop a framework for the cross fertilisation of ideas and transfer of strategies and models of good practice to Banská Bystrica region from EU Partner regions of Abruzzo, South Estonia and Nitra region and from other specifically selected EU experts who will bring a wider experience of RIS best practice. One of the main pillars of BABY RIS is an establishment of Centre for Innovation Development Support that will be built up in course of following two years from the EU structural funds. The main activities after building up of the centre:

Provision of science and technological services
­ science and technological information
­ consultations regarding to observing of valid standards and specifications
­ counselling in the area of intellectual property protection
­ elaboration of studies, technical & technological assessments, prognosis, forecasts and trends of the world markets

Providing of services in the field of industrial research & development
­ Laying out of new designs
­ Development of new products and innovation of existing ones
­ Stress analysis of steel structures
­ Operation testing, testing of safety and reliability of products
­ Laboratory tests of materials

Support during planning and starting - up of developing activities of SMEs

Further professional education of managers/technological staff of R&D

Creation of a database of technical, economical and legal experts

Preparation and organisation of specialised conferences, seminars

Development of international cooperation