7TH MAZOVIA DEVELOPMENT FORUM

7th Forum for Mazovia Development

How to create intelligent Mazovia? That was the topic under discussion during the 7th Forum for Mazovia Development which was held on 16-17 of November, 2016 at Legia Stadium in Warsaw. There were over 2200 participants on spot and on live broadcast during the event organized by the Mazovian Unit for EU Programs Implementation. There were over 30 debates on 3 stages during which over 160 experts representing governmental and self-governmental administrations alike, business and from non-governmental organizations shared their experiences. The event took place under honorary patronage of the Marshall of Mazowieckie Voivodship, Ministry of Development, Ministry of Digitization and Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy.

Mazovia belongs to the most rapidly developing regions in the European Union. In accordance with Eurostat analyses for years 2008-2014, the voivodship was situated on 1st place amongst 276 European regions concerning GDP per habitant. Participation in this success was also held by EU funds, from which in 2007-2013 prospect PLN 14 billion were invested in the region’s development.

There are 5.3 million habitants in Mazovia, nearly 750,000 enterprises –  from micro and small companies to one of the largest in Europe. There are also several hundreds of universities and scientific institutions. Mazovia is the leader regarding national GDP and the leader in development on the European arena. More than 22 percent of GDP is produced in our voivodship. During the Forum we talk about how to build competitive Mazovia but also such a place where people live worthily and conveniently. Only this year nearly PLN 2.5 billion were contracted from the EU funds and over PLN 1 billion is planned for the upcoming year under 42 competitions. It is worth using this money for the region’s development – said Adam Struzik, the Marshall of Mazowieckie Voivodship.

Mazovia has over PLN 8 billion at its disposal under the Regional Operational Program of Mazowieckie Voivodship 2014-2020. Vast majority of the funds is to be placed for implementing the smart city idea and empowering innovativeness and enterprise in the region. Participants of the 7th Forum for Mazovia Development had two days full of inspiration and experiences exchange, both in terms of previous achievements as well as for future plans.

The very idea of the Forum is discussion and experiences exchange, as well as establishment of cooperation for implementation of joint, interdisciplinary projects. We put particular emphasis upon it in the view of the Union’s current prospect. In present year, we decided to split this event into 3 topic fields – Smart City, Smart Business and Smart People, and there were over 70 partners from self-governments, business, science or non-governmental organizations involved in its organization – said Mariusz Frankowski, Director of the Mazovian Unit for EU Programs Implementation.

Discussions on development directions of cities in terms of governmental Strategies for Responsible Development were held under Smart City Zone with governmental and self-governmental administrations and business representatives. City investments financing and projects implementation in a public-private partnership formula were discussed. One of the key fields of smart cities creation is digitization and assurance of habitants’ data safety, which was taken into consideration in the first day of the event. The issue of effective use of natural environment resources in order to attenuate and adapt to the climate changes was also mentioned. The second day began with talks on Responsible Development. Next discussions concerned city communication matching to the needs of habitants and effective energy management. An important aspect for social-economic revival is revitalization of marginalized areas which became one of items of the agenda. At the end of the talks, the issue of services for intelligent cities development was mentioned under Smart City Zone. Płock City was the strategical partner of the zone.

Discussions on Smart Business stage began on science and business cooperation to increase innovative solutions transfer on the market. The topic of Strategies for Responsible Development was discussed in order to establish directions for business development in upcoming years. In the current Union prospect, it is relevant to increase involvement of entrepreneurs in the fields of research and development and that is why one of the debates was devoted to strategies, tools and methods used under R&D companies divisions. More and more emphasis is put on the increase of Mazovian products export which was also discussed during the panel on how to enter foreign markets and achieve business success. Cooperation is a word particularly highlighted while applying for EU grants, that is why talks on clusters’ initiatives could not be omitted during the 7th Forum for Mazovia Development. Creation of innovative products or services is a process requiring involvement of recipients in order to meet their needs in the best possible way. One of the solutions in this matter is Living Lab formula allowing for elaboration and testing of solutions in real surrounding of the user, which was discussed in the second day of the event. Implementation of activities is, apart from clearly commercial zone, is also an aspect of creation of added value for consumers and local community alike. This field is also a matter of discussion under Smart Business zone. The issue of combining young enterprises with large corporations in the context of ScaleUP competition organized under a governmental program called Start in Poland was also mentioned. During the event, discussions on cooperation of business-related institutions with entrepreneurs were also held.
Under Smart People zone, there was a number of discussions held especially with non-governmental organizations, education institutions and representatives of self-governmental institutions. It was wondered whether and how to support the creation of social innovations and how to identify real needs of habitants. The manner of implementation of partnership projects beneficial for all of the involved parties was also taken under consideration. The issue of innovative solutions in education, the matter of potential existence of educational R&D and how products & services market might use it and co-create it at the same time. The participants were taken to the world of games and after that, they were acquainted with the applications of gamification in business and science. They also discussed about challenges for social economy development and the offer of support for entities from this field on Smart People stage. The talks considered good practices in terms of EU projects implementation and opportunities of financing activities from regional program funds. Development of labour market, seigniorial policy and whether the funds support human capital development were also mentioned. At the end of day two, the issue of effective training-advisory projects implementation rules was also raised.

7th Forum for Mazovia Development also included a number of workshops, presentations, consultancies and networking organized by over 70 partners of the event. In Smart City zone, participants have discovered f. in. what are the opportunities for obtaining EU grants for city projects, how to support creation of innovative, safe and environment-friendly cities as well as they learned the secrets of geo-informational technologies application. In Smart Business zone, it was possible to acquaint with f. ex. investments and innovative business solutions financing sources, principles of creation of export division and effective internationalization strategies, innovations knowledge and culture management in organizations. The participants learned about the method called design thinking which enables creation of innovations basing on better understanding of a user’s needs. In Smart People zone, for one, the interested people familiarized with f. in. the use of robots and innovative technologies for educational purposes, as well as they also made use of professional consultancies in terms of style, image and visage.

Forum for Mazovia Development is organized for seven years and is a place for debates on the most important challenges which stand against the region in terms of increase of its competitiveness in the country and Europe. The event’s formula is a unique opportunity for a dialogue between all participants of division and EU funds implementation processes. Read more about the Forum at: www.forumrozwojumazowsza.pl.

Organizer of the event:

Mazovian Unit for EU Programs Implementation

Honorary patronage:

The Marshall of Mazovian Voivodship, Ministry of Development, Ministry of Digitization, Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy.

Partners:

Płock, Centre for Innovations Management and Technology Transfer of Warsaw University of Technology, CEZAMAT, THINKTANK Warsaw, techBrainers, Kampus +, BioTechMed Cluster, URSUS BUS, Copernicus Science Centre, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Regional Development and EU Funds Department of the Marshall’s Office of Mazovian Voivodeship in Warsaw, Industrial-Technology Park in Płock, Comarch Healthcare, Mazovian Chemical Cluster, Voivodship Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management in Warsaw, Faculty of Geodesy and Cartography of Warsaw University of Technology, Cities of Siedlce, Radom and Szydłowiec, Cooperation Fund Foundation, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, Association of Employees – Polish Clusters, UNIMOS, Employees of the Republic of Poland, Koźmiński University, National Centre for Nuclear Research in Swierk, Institute of Applied Technologies Development, National Contact Point for Research Programs of the European Union, Institute of Electronic Materials Technologies, Emirates & Europe Business Development Cluster, EY Academy of Business, Voltra, Invetta, Investment Service Center, Fibrain, Hexagon, STAR ITS, Qumak, Institute of Aviation, Cieślak & Kordasiewicz Economic Advisory Office, Institute of Intelligent Cities Safety, National Contact Point for Financial Instruments of the European Union Programs, Siemens, Europe Direct, Social-Economic Initiatives Foundation, EuroInversia, Voivodship Labour Office in Warsaw, Smartta, Foundation for Informational Community Development, Resourceful Women Network Foundation, MyCompany, Small and Medium Enterprises Foundation, Mazovian Chamber of Craftsmanship and Enterprise, Pracownia Gier Szkoleniowych, Competence Game, Janusz Korczak Pedagogical University in Warsaw, City Culture Centre in Płońsk, Research and Development Center of Technology for Industry, Institute for Sustainable Technologies of National Research Institute in Radom, Fundacja Ogólnopolskie Porozumienie Uniwersytetów Trzeciego Wieku, Ernst&Young Academy of Business, Polish Association of Retirees, Pensioners and Invalids, Growing Institute, Helena Chodkowska University of Technology and Economics, Sharpeo, Akademia Szybkiej Nauki, Museum of Romanticism in Opinogóra, Inwenta, Realia Kariery Foundation.

Media patronage:

InteligentneMiastaiRegiony.pl, Infor Biznes, Infor Sektor Publiczny, Portal Komunalny, iOZE.pl, WysokieNapiecie.pl, MyCompany, Wspólnota, Przegląd Komunalny, Czysta Energia

Logistic partner:

Warszawskie Koleje Dojazdowe