This document discusses policies to support the development of industrial districts. It recommends a three level approach: 1) general support for SMEs, 2) sector-specific actions to increase competitiveness of clusters, and 3) strengthening the institutional environment. The key policies include promoting private enterprise, infrastructure development, education, financing, networking, research collaboration, and international cooperation. The goal is to involve local actors and institutions to guide development in a coordinated manner.

1. Industrial districts
3) Policies to development

2. a) Policies of : development / emersion
maintenance of competitive advantage
revitalisation ( strategic repositioning)
b) Public Policies as support to development and
cooperation among local energies and competencies
and not as substitute
Industrial politicies for districtsIndustrial politicies for districts

3. Experience teachesExperience teaches
- districts are not created by a law
- districts are a complex organization phenomenon
which comes from the interaction of social-cultural
and economical aspects
- it is necessary to act on every environment aspects

4. Who does what?
Districts projects and problemsDistricts projects and problems
creation of a network which involves all
important local actors in order to avoid
resources waste and to increase intervention
efficiency and integration of different
components of the internal local system
economy
to make local public bodies to be guides,
able to act as catalysers and able to
strenghthen development strategies for
districts

5. Policy suggestions to createPolicy suggestions to create
environments conducive to SMEsenvironments conducive to SMEs
1st
level aims at promoting the private SME
sector in general
2nd
level consists in sectorial -specific actions,
aimed at increasing the competitiveness of
clusters
3rd
level reinforcement of a positive
institutional environment
3 LEVELS OF ACTION3 LEVELS OF ACTION

6. actions for reducing bureaucratic costs and
complexity of bureaucratic procedures for
enterprises;
actions for providing information about incentive
laws for the creation of new enterprises and for
investment;
actions for supporting existing or potential
enterprises in presenting application models for
incentive laws;
actions for providing micro-credits for enterprises
and to design guarantee schemes;
11stst
level - (a)level - (a)

7. actions for building up basic infrastructure on the
local level, consisting in industrial areas, roads, water
electricity, telecommunications;
actions for promoting entrepreneurship from a
cultural point of view, and for educating existing or
potential entrepreneurs in basic managerial
techniques;
actions for providing services to micro-enterprises
of the informal sector.
11stst
level - (b)level - (b)

8. actions for promoting local products on foreign
markets;
actions for providing local enterprises with
information about technology and markets;
actions for training specific strategic human
resources for production and business processes;
22ndnd
level - (a)level - (a)

9. actions for promoting networks of SMEs and for
setting up collective service activities;
actions for providing temporary management
and mentoring for local SMEs;
actions for providing adequate medium-long
term financial support, in order to facilitate
enterprises to buy new technical equipment,
consultancies, etc.;
22ndnd
level - (b)level - (b)

10. actions for increasing the quantity and quality
of infrastructure;
actions for creating international linkages for
local enterprises, and possibly, joint-ventures;
actions for the attraction of foreign investment
in innovative and complementary activities;
22ndnd
level - (c)level - (c)

11. actions for connecting local enterprises to
university and research centres and for
transferring the results of scientific and
experimental research;
actions to reinforce local identity and to
stimulate the circulation of information;
actions for promoting international cooperation
between institutions and for creating
institutional networks at the international level,
in order to exchange experiences and to create
regional networks.
22ndnd
level - (d)level - (d)

12. the networking of all relevant actors at the local
level to avoid dispersion of resources and
increase the effectiveness of interventions and
the integration of different components of the
local economy within the system
generating local leading institutions, which act
as "catalysers", able to develop strategic
development guidelines for the cluster by
involving and coordinating different local actors
in policy initiatives to fulfil common objectives.
33rdrd
levellevel