Regional Development Toolkit Goes Online

Edited by the Buildingtalk editorial team Oct 6, 2003

A toolkit designed mainly for regional decision-makers and other people with responsibility for drawing up and implementing development plans within regions is now available online.

The toolkit is part of the EMERGENCE (Estimation and Mapping of Employment Relocation in a Global Economy in the New Communications) project which has benefited from core funding of EUR2.1 million from the Information Society Technology (IST) Programme of the European Union's Fifth Framework Programme (FP5).

www.emergence.nu/toolkit/index.php is expected to be of particular help to regional developers, businesses and other people within regions with responsibility for drawing up and implementing development plans.

It provides lessons, guidance and practical help on how to use the opportunities opened up by the new global communications environment for the preparation and implementation of regional development policies.

The online toolkit, developed from research generated by EMERGENCE includes: * guidance on finding and using the key statistics and research results * profiling the local economy and identifying its strengths and weakness * analysing local labour markets * developing and implementing regional economic development strategies *identifying sources of funding for regional development initiatives.

Divided into two parts, the focus of the toolkit is on the role and impacts of different types of eWork as work enabled or managed using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).

This is presented within the wider context of regional economic development in an information society and knowledge economy context.

The reference part is made up of structured overviews of the experience and processes of eWork and regional development, as well as the main research trends, including evidence from EMERGENCE.

These pages can be accessed for summary explanations of the main issues involved.

The practical part is a structured guide to preparing and implementing a regional development strategy based upon eWork.

It is designed to provide a step-by-step demonstration of how regional decision makers can design and put into practice a strategy aimed at developing employment in the region based on eWork.

Such a strategy can be strengthened by the development of a regional statistical profile based upon existing statistical data, plus evidence collected by EMERGENCE.

Links to the reference part are provided so that users can access explanations where they need these without disrupting the flow of the guide.

The practical part also explains how to find out what others have done through the relocation of eWork, provides a guide to funding sources, and links to a glossary of the main terms used in the toolkit.

It will also be useful to businesses concerned with locational decision-making, for example where to locate a call centre or to outsource IT software development.

On the supply side, it can be of use to SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) and Development Agencies seeking information useful in developing a business and marketing plan for a telecentre or in finding a niche market for a new business service.

Others who will have interest in using the toolkit include academic researchers, students and consultants, plus civil servants at national and regional levels, training agencies, enterprise support agencies, business associations, trade unions, women's groups and European Commission staff.