Čedomir Živković, Mayor of Vršac Municipality, and Sergiu Balaša, Director of ADETIM agency (Economic Development Agency of Timis County), signed the contract on the implementation of the project "SMEs support by developing an E-business infrastructure in Timis County and in the neighboring Serbian district” on 26th April 2013.

The contract was signed in the Joint Technical Secretariat of the Regional Office for Cross Border Cooperation Romania - Republic of Serbia in Timisoara. The signing ceremony was attended by Vesna Brankov, member of the Municipal Council, Dejan Pantović, Assistant Mayor of the Municipality, Anka Lolesku, Executive Director of the Regional Office for Cross Border Cooperation Romania - Republic of Serbia, Elizabeta Stanimirov , Head of JTS Antenna Office in Vrsac and Dejan Mak and Aleksandar Ćirin from the Office for the local economic development of Vrsac Municipality.

Project is implemented within IPA Program of Cross Border Cooperation Romania - Republic of Serbia. Project value is 1.791.152 EUR, of which Municipality of Vršac participates with 107.827,30 EUR, Romanian Government participates with 139.400,30 EUR and ADETIM with 21.446,20 EUR. The project will last for 18 months.

GENERAL OBJECTIVE: SUPPORT TO DEVELOPMENT OF BUSINESS ACTIVITIES IN BORDER REGION

Due to generally poor opportunities for economic development in past two decades, SME from the border region were unable to invest in new knowledge, skills and technologies which resulted in lower competitiveness level especially related to strong EU Companies.

SME from Romania have similar challenges irrespective of their country is part of the EU from 2007. Lack of conditions for adoption and implementation of quality skills, knowledge and technologies and inability of potential entrepreneurs to access nonfinancial services such are business incubation services and e-business infrastructure affected in recession of economic activities of the border region.

Problems that will be solved through the realization of this project are:

1. Lack of knowledge, skills about actual way of SME management and marketing in accordance to EU standards;
2. Inability to adopt new technologies in their production processes;
3. Lack of initiative of SMEs to present their products and services abroad;
4. No presence of the SMEs on the EU market.

There is an obvious need to expand possibilities for offering products and services on the new markets. Furthermore, if the SMEs want to conquer the fresh, new markets in the European Union, there are some new business levels to be met.

This project will offer an answer to the following question - what are the EU standards and procedures need to be followed and will make those rules clear and understandable to the SME owners? In this way, many companies from the region will get a chance to increase their market share and to develop more their businesses. Consequently, new working places will be established and unemployment will be decreased.

Furthermore, SMEs from the border region will adopt new skills, knowledge and technologies in order to decrease their production costs and thus increase competitiveness level of their own companies and entirely border region. That will help in creation of environment favourable for SMEs from the border region and increase their opportunities to sell their products on targeted EU Market.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE 1: ESTABLISHING A SUITABLE MODEL OF BUSINESS INCUBATOR CENTRE IN VRSAC

Realization of this Project will help potential entrepreneurs to start and manage their business and achieve sustainability of their companies. Main idea is to reconstruct 1000m2 of old storage owned by Municipality of Vrsac, create 8 production modules (60-150 m2) in aim to support establishing and development of new companies in Vrsac and thus job generation.

Potential BIC staff will be trained by experts in order to gain appropriate knowledge regarding following topics: improving managerial, marketing, financial, innovation skills and skills related to establishing and organization of new companies.

This will enable future BIC staff to support future tenants to doing business in accordance with best EU practice.

The education of BIC management (staff) will increase their capacities in providing all necessary services and consultancies to their clients.

In addition this project will create opportunity for other Municipalities and development bodies from border region to use lessons learned and practice in establishing of BIC through usage of Vrsac incubator model and service package Guide.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE 2:ESTABLISHING AN INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR PROMOTING THE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CROSS-BORDER AREA

The system will be used to create an interactive platform for promoting business opportunities in the cross border region.

The platform will include a database with information on population, localities, education facilities, business facilities, economy.

The database will include GIS information and GIS maps will be designed to show up information on agriculture, protected areas, available infrastructure and business infrastructure. The maps will be incorporated into a web portal to facilitate easy internet access to the interested persons.

Also the platform will include software for the modeling of data, in order to facilitate to the potential investors to look into various business opportunities scenarios. Data modeling will include software for exploring various business investment projects and their expected results (financial management for projects).

As direct benefits for the public will be developed:

1. Electronic services for business support,
2. E-business applications that will be designed to facilitate interactions of business in the cross border area,
3. Applications Business to Business and Business to Consumer.

The information provided by the system could be used also by Serbian potential companies and represent an excellent platform of promoting general economic interest in the Romanian-Serbian cross-border

area.

PROJECT CONTEXT

Project partners recognize the importance of Entrepreneurship and SMEs and their contribution to economic growth, social cohesion and employment, regional and local development.

Encouraging entrepreneurship is high on the agenda of it, as entrepreneurs are the catalysts of growth, combining capital, innovation and skills.

Beside the traditional problems facing entrepreneurship and SMEs — lack of financing, difficulties in introduction of new technologies, constrained managerial capabilities, low productivity and regulatory burdens, Project partners are aware of the new challenge stands in front of Entrepreneurs and SMEs – securing the production space for new companies through business incubation model based on Private Public Partnership and access to e-business infrastructure in the border region.

If our Entrepreneurs and SMEs want to offer their products and services on the regional market they need to be skilled and organized through adequate trainings and workshops and to use business incubation and e-business infrastructure according the European principle.

The concept of business incubation and education of Entrepreneurs based on long term experience was used to capture the success of local economic development in that country. That experience gave impulsion to research on this topic in a number of advanced country regions. We would like to use this valuable experience to establish and further on to develop synergetic dialogue between professional organizations from both our countries, first of all future Vrsac Business Incubator Centre, Vrsac Technology Park and ADETIM in order to achieve sustainable experience exchange, but also between SMEs from Serbia and Romania.

CROSS-BORDER IMPACT OF THE PROJECT

Development of economic activities in border regions is confronted with the specific problem that particularly small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are often active only within their country of origin. SMEs are often reluctant to develop their business across the border because of language and regulatory barriers.

Considering SMEs from both sides of the border are dealing with the same problems, implementation of joint actions in order to overbid the problems shows the obvious cross border effect. Some of the project activities (trainings, experience exchange, meetings, and common promotion) are also to transfer awareness of each other’s situation and problems to stimulate a climate of good neighbourliness. Main part of activities will be implemented jointly, and it will have impact on both sides of the border. Development of SME in the border region, both Romanian and Serbian part, is extremely significant for development of the whole area.

The information platform developed by the Romanian Partner has the role to promote the business opportunities both for Romanian and Serbian entrepreneurs from the cross-border area and to give useful information in almost all domains of interest, such as: infrastructure, business centres, industrial parks, business incubators, agricultural potential, renewable energy resources, occupation degree in the working field, and others.

PROJECT ACTIVITIES

1. Renovation of space for BIC establishment

Renovation of 1000m2 space for BIC will be done through following set of works:

• Construction works,
• Water supplying and sewage installation works,
• Electric installation works and
• Machine installation works.

It is predicted that BIC has 8 modules. 2 modules will have surface of 60m2, 2modules will have surface of 90m2 and 4 modules will have surface of 150m2. Municipality of Vrsac prepared feasibility study and bill of quantities for renovation of space for BIC and those documents are attached to this project. Renovation of space and supervision will be fully subcontracted according to the PRAG rules. Construction coordinator, as a team member, will be responsible for internal evaluation of all works that should be done.

Business Incubator Centre BIC Vrsac will be a business support process that shall accelerate the successful development of start-up and already established companies as future service users by providing entrepreneurs with an array of targeted resources and services. These services will be developed by incubator management and offered both in the business incubator and through its network of contacts.

A BIC main goal is to produce successful firms that will leave the program financially viable and freestanding but also to be a home for interested tenants with the intention to further develop their business.

These BIC tenants will also have the potential to create jobs, revitalize neighborhoods, commercialize new technologies, and strengthen local and national economies. This project will also create opportunity for continuous non financial support for new companies in the field of management, marketing, law consulting, promotion, book keeping etc.

2. Conducting the trainings for future BIC staff

In order to achieve expected results of the project set of trainings for future BIC staff will be organized. The participants will be trained in marketing and SME competitiveness, SME establishment and management, technological and business incubation, innovation business services and training. Also there will be organized workshops for potential entrepreneurs, future tenants of BIC in order to educate them regarding management, marketing, finance, promotion, distribution, networking etc. 10 2-day workshops will be organized with total 300 participants.

3. Preparation, editing and printing of Vrsac Incubator model and service package Guide

This activity is one of the key project activities related to establishment suitable BIC Vrsac which will be in position to deliver quality services to future tenants. Also as a multiplier effect project team will share model and guide information to all interested institutions in Serbia.

This document will be important model for all Serbian Municipalities and development institutions who will work on establishment of business incubators. It will be distributed to all Serbian Municipalities, but also to development institutions.

4. Analysis of data base information and identification of selection criteria for SMEs provided by Agency for Business Registers and National Employment Agency of Serbia

Agency for Business Registers and National Employment Agency of Serbia already established data base with all relevant information considering companies and unemployed persons. Analysis of available data will be the first step in process of choosing training participants. Project manager and Project administrator will be responsible for this activity.

5. Exchange of experience session in Serbia

The purpose of this activity is to capitalize the Serbian experience in the field of business incubators, industrial parks, network agencies and all kind of business platforms aimed to promote the business opportunities in our county and region.

6. Purchasing the information system for promoting the business opportunities in the cross-border area

Following the public procurement procedures, company that will provide the operation of the information system with all its components and applications will be contracted.

In the first stage, they will install the hardware equipment and the base software for Data Center. The hardware equipment consists of : GIS Server (1), Database Server (2), Back-Up Server (1), WEB Server (2), BI Server (1), Active Directory Server (1), Switches (2), SAN, Rack, UPS (2), Back-up tape library (1), Electrical power generator (1), color multiplier (1), tablet PCs (5), digital photo cameras (2).

At the same time two specific analyses will take place, as follows:

1. A specific analysis of input data for Data Base (socio-economic indicators) having as goal a field research in order to identify the most relevant socio-economic indicators
2. A specific analysis for implementing software components (Business processes), focused on:

• identifying System specifications and flow drafting, for collecting data, and socio economic analysis;
• identifying domains and work processes that require modeling and optimization;
• evaluating the functionality and complexity of the process organization as well as the structure of business processes in a work breakdown structure diagram;
• setting detailed equipment requirements for the software applications that will be purchased within the project.

7. System software implementation

This activity consists in activating the information system, by the following operations:

a. Implementing and filling in the Database:

• database design according to necessities for data simulation;
• drafting the logical management application specifications,developing the database, drafting and testing work scenarios;
• collecting data in the field – assigning coordinates for each objective that will find itself on the GIS map.

b. Portal implementation:

Bilingual web portal with two components (internal and external), containing useful information for the authorities in the region (Internal component) and the general public in the Timis – South Banat counties (External component).

GIS application: will combine geographical information from multiple sources, and geographical information with attached documents: images, text documents, drawings, photos, audio, video, etc. Geographic information managed by the GIS application will be stored in a geographic database and will have a graphical interface for analysis, presentation, editing, attaching additional information, etc. As final results we expected to achieve several types of maps: maps of the biodiversity and protected areas from the region; map of soil; agricultural map; map of renewable biotic resources, areas with potential for placement of wind turbines for wind energy production, locations with solar panels, eco-diesel producers; infrastructure map of transport areas and business infrastructure.

This portal component will allow geographical representation of information for communication and understanding of the region situation from a socio-economic standpoint. All GIS reports are extremely intuitive and they represent an excellent support regarding the implementation of specific social and economic decisions, both local and regional.

c. Implementing an E-business infrastructure (B2B and B2C applications):

As direct benefits for the public will be developed electronic services for business support (integrated in the portal Danube’s Cross-Border Business Centre); e-business applications that will be designed to facilitate interactions (meeting between demand and supply) of businesses (SMEs) in both areas - applications of B2B (Business to Business ) and B2C (Business to Consumer); an online information network for the promotion and communication of the Timis – South Banat area's image, linked to European websites and an online forum for searching partners. This component will present an increased interest for the companies within the area, in order to obtain statistical information and socio-economic analysis data. Hence it will be useful for economic exchanges and commercial activities in general.

We also mention the following modules of the system, each with their specific role:

1. Data and document workflows module;
2. Benchmarking module;
3. Module for simulation of stochastic processes;
4. Administration module;
5. Business Process Modeling module.

The activities also include training for all the system users from ADETIM, taking place after the implementation of the system. The training will be organized in Timisoara, and will last for 10 days.

8. Exchange of experience session in Romania

The purpose of this activity is to capitalize the Romanian experience in the field of business incubators, industrial parks, network agencies and all kind of business platforms aimed to promote the business opportunities in our county and region.