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Regional Research Projects
In the context of its Regional Private Sector Development (PSD) project in the Western Balkans, SPARK finances small-scale and regional research projects. The implementation of such regional researches provides opportunities for PSD actors in the region, including Universities, Chambers of Commerce, and SME development agencies, to build their capacities, and work together to promote Private Sector Development.
Areas of research include regional economic collaboration, small- and sedium enterprise (SME's) development, entrepreneurship development and training, higher education and labour market needs, obstacles to doing and/or starting-up businesses, trade (intra-regional or with the EU), etc. In order to be financed by the project, all research should:
- Be practice-oriented and relevant to Private Sector Development in the Western Balkans;
- Be regional in scope, i.e. include at least three countries from the Western Balkans (covering B&H, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia);
- Have been developed and are implemented through regional collaboration between different partners (independent researchers, research institutes, Universities, etc.);
- Demonstrate originality (i.e. cover topics that have not yet been widely researched in the region and/or provide new perspectives);
- Contain clear ideas about the dissemination of the findings and recommendations to a relevant audience (eg from business, academic and/or government backgrounds);
- Contain a clear budget, proportional to the project scope, activities, and objectives.
Research projects:
The following research proposals were selected by an independent International Research Selection Committee in January 2007, to be financed under the PSD project:
1. Skills needs analyses in the Western Balkans implemented by the Institute of European Studies in Podgorica (Montenegro), the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Bijeljina Region (Bosnia & Herzegovina), the Center for Human Resources Development and Management, Belgrade (Serbia), and the Regional Agency for Economic Development of Sumadija and Pomoravlje, Kragujevac (Serbia). The aim of this project is to promote partnership between educational institutions and private sector as an instrument for achieving a developed system of continuous vocational training at regional and national levels. This research will focus on the first step in achieving this goal: skills needs analyses (SNA) in different sectors of the national and regional economy. The results of such analyses are more clearly defined work competences, which include vocational (technical) and generic or key competences and attitudes which are demanded by employers in different sectors. As such the results will indicate the kind of training programs which should be designed in order to equip the labour force with the desirable work competencies (knowledge, skills and attitudes), necessary for the employment in the private sector.
2. From welfare to workfare states on the Balkans, implemented by academic staff from the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of St Cyril and Methodius, Skopje (Macedonia), the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Belgrade (Serbia), and the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Sarajevo (Bosnia & Herzegovina). The overall objective of this research is to analyze and promote the role of the private sector in the provision of employment opportunities to welfare recipients in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Serbia, in partnership with the relevant state and high-education institutions. The specific objectives of the research are to analyze the current legislation and practice; to promote the role of the private sector in the implementation of workfare programmes on a regional level (through information delivery to policy makers and stimulation of the enactment of legislation as a prerequisite for the reform process); as well as to enable the process of mutual exchange of experiences and learning based on case studies of concrete employment initiatives on a regional and international level.
3. HACCP standard implementation in the Western Balkan, implemented by the Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, Podgorica (Montenegro), the European Business Association (EBA), Skopje (Macedonia), and academic staff of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Tuzla (Bosnia & Herzegovina). The main goal of this research is to analyze the food producers in Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia that introduced HACCP standards with respect to the benefits and obstacles that they had from this, as well as to promote these standards as a step forward to EU markets.
The initiative for this kind of research came from the previous research project titled "EU standards-awareness and benefits" implemented by the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CEED) in cooperation with partner organizations and financed by SPARK. Presentation of research outputs was organised by CEED in Podgorica on 20th June 2008. Research results and outputs were presented during the press conference attended by 7 media representatives (newspapers and TV stations) and 2 companies (Pirella and Plantaza) that already introduced HACCP standards in their production.
Three researches were published and presented at conferences. You can find more about the presentations here.
Previously implemented research projects:
1. Regional SME databases, implemented by the Agency for Promotion of Entrepreneurship of the Republic of Macedonia (APPRM), the Directorate for Development of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Podgorica (Montenegro), the Serbian Agency for the Development of SMEs and Entrepreneurship
2. EU standards, Awareness and Benefits, implemented by CEED, Montenegro
3. Internet usage by SMEs, implemented by Faculty of Economics of the
University of
Tuzla
4. The Entrepreneurial (Manager's) profile, implemented by the Pristina Regional Enterprise Agency (REA)
5. Checking Interest of SME in the Western Balkans for the FIATA School of Freight Forwarders, implemented by ECOS-The Institute for Education of the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina
6. Grey Economy Report, implemented by CEED, Montenegro
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