OECD Local Entrepreneurship Reviews Entrepreneurship in the Districts Uckermark in Brandenburg, and Parchim in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Discussion Paper Prepared by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development October 2006 This local case study on entrepreneurship and local economic development in the districts Uckermark (Brandenburg) and Parchim (Mecklenburg-Western-Pomerania) would not have been possible without the contributions provided by the project partners at Land level. Ms Dr Ursula Bretschneider, Ms Ingrid Kube and Mr Georg Dybe from the Ministry of Economy supported the process in Brandenburg. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has been represented by Ms Dr Marianne Rautenberg and Mr Gerhard Reichert, Ministry of Economy, and Mr Kai Breithaupt, previously Ministry of Labour, Infrastructure and Regional Development. The authors are also grateful to the local authorities at district and municipal levels for their interest in the review and their engagement in the organisation of the study visit and the regional workshop. The latter would not have been possible without the time and commitment of all interview partners and workshop participants, as well as the organisational support provided by Regionomica, Berlin. Special thanks are extended to the translators and interpreters that made this work happening. Authors' note AUTHORS' NOTE This discussion paper on "Entrepreneurship in the Districts Uckermark (Brandenburg) and Parchim (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania)" is part of a series of discussion papers resulting from the OECD review on "Strengthening Entrepreneurship and Local Economic Development in East Germany". The review, a co-operative project between the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs and the OECD, is being implemented by the action programme on Local Employment and Economic Development (LEED), within the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development. The review includes, in addition to a global assessment of needs and opportunities for entrepreneurship policy in East Germany as a whole, the examination of six local case study areas. The following areas have been proposed by the participating East German Länder ministries: the districts of Mittweida (Saxony); Altenburger Land (Thuringia) (case study areas 1 and 2); the districts of Uckermark (Brandenburg); Parchim (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) (case study areas 3 and 4); the university context in the City of Halle (Saxony-Anhalt); and the borough of Marzahn-Hellersdorf in Berlin (case study areas 5 and 6). For the local case study in the districts of Uckermark (Brandenburg) and Parchim (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) the OECD recruited an international review team. Brian Dabson (USA), Jarna Heinonen (Finland), Robert Pollock (UK) and Holger Kuhle (Germany) accompanied the OECD Secretariat in a review panel visit, undertaken from 16 to 20 January 2005, to the two districts. Brian O'Kane (Ireland) and Hannu Vesa (Finland) contributed to a regional workshop on 5 April 2006 in Berlin, Germany and presented good practice initiatives in entrepreneurship development. Jonathan Potter is managing the review and supervised the fieldwork which has been co-ordinated by Andrea R. Hofer. Wolfgang Helmstädter represented the Federal Ministry for Transport, Building and Urban Affairs, 'Aufbau Ost' and chaired the regional workshop. Manuela Wehrle from Regionomica/Berlin managed all preparatory works related to the field visit and the regional workshop. This discussion paper is based on: (i) information from a local diagnostic report prepared by Regionomica/Berlin, (ii) the findings of an international review panel visit, and (iii) the discussion of a draft summary report in a regional workshop. 3 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS AUTHORS' NOTE..........................................................................................................................3 INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................7 ENTREPRENEURIAL CULTURE, AND ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS THROUGH TRAINING FOR SME MANAGERS AND EMPLOYEES .....................................................9 Introduction .................................................................................................................................9 Strengths and weaknesses..........................................................................................................13 Good practice in Uckermark and Parchim.................................................................................21 Recommendations .....................................................................................................................22 International learning models ....................................................................................................28 "Determined to Succeed" – Making a Smarter Scotland, UK................................................29 "Go! To School", North-Rhine Westfalia, Germany .............................................................30 "Take-Over Programme" (ViestinVaihto-ohjelma) for Existing SME Managers, Finland ...32 FINANCING ENTREPRENEURSHIP ....................................................................................35 Introduction ...............................................................................................................................35 Strengths and weaknesses..........................................................................................................35 Good practice in Uckermark and Parchim.................................................................................37 Recommendations .....................................................................................................................39 International learning models ....................................................................................................41 FILTARN, France..................................................................................................................41 Artigianfidi Ferrara, Italy.......................................................................................................44 ADIE, France .........................................................................................................................47 ACCESSING EXTERNAL MARKETS, PROMOTING INNOVATION AND DEVELOPING BUSINESS NETWORKS ...............................................................................51 Introduction ...............................................................................................................................51 Strengths and Weaknesses.........................................................................................................53 Good practice in Uckermark and Parchim.................................................................................56 Recommendations .....................................................................................................................59 International learning models ....................................................................................................62 Building on Existing Competitive Advantage, Auvergne, France.........................................62 Talent Attraction, Scotland, UK ............................................................................................63 Rethinking Innovation and the Tradable Sector, Ireland .......................................................65 PROMOTING RURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP...................................................................67 Introduction ...............................................................................................................................67 Strengths and weaknesses..........................................................................................................68 Recommendations .....................................................................................................................73 International learning models ....................................................................................................76 Strategies for Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Appalachia, USA .........................................76 Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Rural Kentucky, USA...................................................78 Entrepreneurship Development Systems in Rural America, USA.........................................81 4 Table of Contents Entrepreneurship Education in Rural North Carolina,USA...................................................83 Enterprise Facilitation® in Rural Kansas, USA.....................................................................85 THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP POLICY DELIVERY FRAMEWORK................................89 Introduction ...............................................................................................................................89 Strengths and Weaknesses.........................................................................................................90 Good practice in Uckermark and Parchim.................................................................................92 Recommendations .....................................................................................................................95 International learning model......................................................................................................97 Enterprise Estonia, Estonia ....................................................................................................97