The document summarizes Switzerland's New Regional Policy (NRP), which shifted in 2008 from focusing on reducing inter-regional disparities to promoting competitiveness and innovation. Key changes included directing support towards innovation processes rather than infrastructure, intensifying network promotion, and taking a bottom-up rather than top-down developmental approach. Over four years of implementation, the NRP funded over 1,200 projects across cantons with a focus on entrepreneurship, competitiveness, employment, and knowledge sharing. While progress has been made, ongoing challenges include further benefiting SMEs and maintaining flexible cooperation between government levels.

1. Eidgenössisches Volkswirtschaftsdepartement EVD
Staatssekretariat für Wirtschaft SECO
Direktion für Standortförderung
AlpWeek Valposchiavo 2012
September 7th 2012
Session 26
Regional managers – architects of the regions
The New Regional Policy (NRP)
in Switzerland
Rudolf Schiess, a.i. Head of the Directorate for
Promotional Activities SECO

2. Inter-regional disparities: Example employment trend
Employment trend in Swiss regions 2001-2008
(Source: BFS, statistischer Atlas)
+
-
AlpWeek 2012 – New Regional Policy Switzerland
EVD/SECO/Directorate for Promotional Activities – Rudolf Schiess 2

3. Paradigm shift in Regional Policy since 2008
Previous Regional Policy New Regional Policy
Overall aim Reduction of inter-regional Competitiveness of regions through
disparities (balance between growth and innovation
regions)
Direction of • Promotion of infrastructure • Promotion of innovation processes
impact • Individual business promotion (Value creation systems and clusters,
• Promotion of networks access to know-how, use of impulses
from centres)
• Intensified promotion of networks
• Coordination of sectoral policies
• Know-how-network regional
development
Territorial • Mountain areas • Nationwide, whole of Switzerland and
qualification • Structurally weak regions border regions as reference frames for
criteria • Small-scale regions spatially the development of programmes and
limited projects
• Large-scale functional
interdependencies, variable geometry
AlpWeek 2012 – New Regional Policy Switzerland
EVD/SECO/Directorate for Promotional Activities – Rudolf Schiess 3

4. Paradigm shift in Regional Policy since 2008
Previous Regional Policy New Regional Policy
Starting points • Improvement of locational factor • Value creation + innovation
infrastructure • Adherence to sustainable
• Creation of employment development
(Diversification)
Development Top-down Bottom-up (entrepreneurs, innovators)
impulses
Function of the • Co-financing of regional • Promotion of clusters and networks
Federal development concepts • Support of pilot projects
Government • Co-financing of individual • Support of self-organisation
projects • Setting up rules
• Monitoring and evaluation
Financing • Project financing from funds • General contributions to (large-scale-)
instruments • Annual credits for specific regions for innovative concepts
regional promotional
programmes
AlpWeek 2012 – New Regional Policy Switzerland
EVD/SECO/Directorate for Promotional Activities – Rudolf Schiess 4

5. New Regional Policy: Objectives and strategies
Federal law from October 6th 2006 on Regional Policy
The Regional Policy of the Federeal Government supports mountain
areas, other rural regions and border regions in implementing
programmes, initiatives and projects
Promoting Improving Creating Reducing
Entrepreneurship Competitive Inter-
Innovation Employment regional
ness
Value creation disparities
AlpWeek 2012 – New Regional Policy Switzerland
EVD/SECO/Directorate for Promotional Activities – Rudolf Schiess 5

6. New Regional Policy: Objectives and strategies
Three focuses
3 Knowledge
system
1 Direct promotion of regions for the regional
strenghtening of innovation, development
value creation and competitiveness -----
Qualification
Stakeholders: Cantons and regions, Federal Government regional
management
-----
Controlling,
evaluation
Stakeholders:
2 Cooperation / synergies between regional policy and
Federal
sectoral policies (impact in target regions) Government/
Stakeholder: Federal Government Cantons
AlpWeek 2012 – New Regional Policy Switzerland
EVD/SECO/Directorate for Promotional Activities – Rudolf Schiess 6

7. New Regional Policy: promotional approaches
Contents of regional development
 Innovative programmes, projects and initiatives
…national and cross-border (Interreg)
 Economically oriented infrastructure
 Tax breaks
 Synergies with sectoral policies
Governance of regional development
Federal  Regional organisations
Government  Regional management
Canton
Region
AlpWeek 2012 – New Regional Policy Switzerland
EVD/SECO/Directorate for Promotional Activities – Rudolf Schiess 7

8. New Regional Policy: Conclusions after 4 years and
outlook
Distribution of promoted projects by Cantons (total 1200
projects, 2008-11)
AlpWeek 2012 – New Regional Policy Switzerland
EVD/SECO/Directorate for Promotional Activities – Rudolf Schiess 8

9. New Regional Policy: Conclusions after 4 years and
outlook
Federal funds by promotional priority (according to the Federal
Enactment for the specification of the Perennial Programme of the
Federal Government 2008-2015 for the implementation of the NRP),
2008-11
AlpWeek 2012 – New Regional Policy Switzerland
EVD/SECO/Directorate for Promotional Activities – Rudolf Schiess 9

10. New Regional Policy: Conclusions after 4 years and
outlook
Qualitative considerations
Positive
-Positive conclusions after 4 years of performance (impact assessment yet to come)
-Partners are implementing NRP-ideas consistently and nationwide
-Task sharing Federal Government – Cantons, mutual trust, management of programme
agreements on the right track, but …
Challenges
-Initiation of NRP-ideas and projects benefitting SME
-No going back to obsolete approaches
-Task sharing, handling of programme agreements
-Balancing act between trustful and flexible cooperation and regulatory-technocratic
approaches (guidelines, controls, etc.)
-Allocation of funds must be goal- and impact-oriented as well as according to the needs
AlpWeek 2012 – New Regional Policy Switzerland
EVD/SECO/Directorate for Promotional Activities – Rudolf Schiess 10

11. New Regional Policy: Conclusions after 4 years and
outlook
We are on target,
let‘s go ahead with
conviction and
vigour!
Target Performance Design of Key projects
achievement processes
Overview of key
Overview of the Overview of success Overview of key
performance
implementation in factors in the activities of the
indicators
the Cantons implementation SECO
process
AlpWeek 2012 – New Regional Policy Switzerland
EVD/SECO/Directorate for Promotional Activities – Rudolf Schiess 11

12. Thank you!
AlpWeek 2012 – New Regional Policy Switzerland
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