Interreg Central Europe

The City of Bratislava participates in the European CERIecon project concept (Central Europe Regional Innovation Ecosystems Network).

The pilot activity of the CERIecon project is to establish a Playpark in Bratislava, as well as in other partner regions in Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia, and Germany, and to boost close cooperation between them. Major success factors of the CERIecon project are the networking of the international partners, closer communications, transfer of know-how, mutual experience and, last but not least, the taking into account of regional specifications and needs.

The City of Bratislava considers support for businesses and innovations as one of its key areas of support. In the past, the city supported the programme of SMART point Bratislava, which was available to the young and starting entrepreneurs on Obchodná Street and its vicinity in 2017.

The Playpark establishes the conditions for the development of businesses, focusing on innovations and design thinking. In the Playpark, there will be a coordinator in charge of effective training sessions and counselling, supported by professional trainers.

By the end of 2018, the project supported a change in the way that entrepreneurs are inspired, trained and supported by a balanced set of strategies, action plans, pilot events, training sessions and tools to establish a new type of complex regional innovation ecosystems in seven Central European regions. The procedure includes three logical steps of the project (Development – Execution – Improvement) and it aims to help entrepreneurs and small and middle-sized companies to get the most out of the initiative. The regions will also profit, as the smart regional strategies will actually be used to develop new technologies and brilliant products and services for economic and social innovations. The joint development of all outputs and the international network of the system interconnecting regional ecosystems in order to improve the international skills underscore the international nature of the project. There is currently no similar innovative support scheme in Central Europe. This is also why all the activities of the project executed will be transferable to benefit others.

The project is in line with the vision and concept of the city and is based on a number of documents used to establish the vision and concept (in particular, taking into account the PHSR). CERIecon will help in fulfilling a number of relevant strategies and policies on the EU, national, and regional level, e.g.:

1. Programme for New Skills and Jobs, underlining the importance of equipping people with the right skills for the jobs of today and tomorrow.
2. Strategy Europe 2020, focusing on future smart and inclusive growth and competitiveness.
3. Strategy OECD Innovation, establishing innovation-driven regional growth.
4. Entrepreneurship Action Plan, focusing on the need for decisive steps to develop the entrepreneurship potential of Europe, needed to overcome the current obstacles and initiate the reform of business culture in Europe.
5. Vienna Strategy of Smart Specialisation, focusing on the development of highly qualified start-ups in the areas of economic and social innovation and the potential of the innovation triangle of Vienna, Bratislava and Brno.
6. According to the Innovation Union (EC initiative), Europe must create job opportunities for all, especially young people, and ensure that its small and middle-sized businesses are competitive on the global market. The future of Europe depends on its ability to innovate.
7. The project will also support macroregional strategies, such as EUSDR – Priority Area 9 “To Invest in People and Skills”. By stimulating the enhancement of skills and business competence, CERIecon will support the strategies and policies and assist in re-starting the entrepreneurial spirit of Central Europe.

The project is in line with the concept and vision of the City of Bratislava, the PHSR, and the work programme of the mayor of “111 Steps”. It will help finance and develop the activities of the city: analysis of the needs of entrepreneurs at regional and national (as well as international) levels, developing the trainers of small- and medium-sized companies and the companies themselves on an international level.

Duration of project: 36 months

Period of project execution: June 2016 – December 2018

Indicative project budget: 3 112 975€

Budget of the City of Bratislava: 172 780€

• ERDF (85%): 146 863€
• Co-financing by the city (15%): 25 917€