Globalgarve is the Algarve’s Regional Development Agency. Its role is to promote projects that will be of strategic value for the region’s development. Its legal structure is that of a limited company and its shareholders include various municipalities and firms both regional and national in scale.

Over the last two years, one of Globalgarve’s activities was the operational management of the Digital Algarve Programme, which is vital for the region’s integration in the Information Society. The globalising vision of its undertaking also includes participation in projects that are intimately linked to the attributes of the inland Algarve and the region’s traditions, of which the RITA Project and the Project “Initiatives to Promote the Rural World of the Algarve” (Projecto Iniciativas de Promoção do Mundo Rural do Algarve – IPMRA) are examples.

"The objectives of a Regional Development Agency will normally be to encourage partnerships and promote projects where the importance lies in inter-sectoral coordination and the undertaking of initiatives that are transversal in nature."

Our current framework of shareholders means that Globalgarve finds itself in an unrivalled situation not only in the region, but also in the country as a whole, as regards the ease with which open discussions can be held about opportunities and interests in the pursuit of initiatives that transverse a variety of sectors, not to mention cooperation, liaison or simply complementarity between the public and private sectors. As such, unique settings can be created in which to prepare, organise and contract initiatives.

Our skilled cadres also constitute a guarantee as to the conditions under which we act, particularly with regard to initiatives in territorial marketing and the provision of support for Algarvean firms seeking to diversify and increase their competitiveness, which only make sense if they meet the needs and interests of the public bodies and business associations represented in our shareholder structure.

Whilst not discarding our responsibilities in the ongoing effort to attract “clients and businesses” to reinforce our standards of service provision, we are nevertheless sure that those who have the greatest responsibility in the development of an integrated policy for the sustainable development of the Algarve are to be found among the shareholders of this Regional Development Agency, a situation that bestows upon them increased decision-making responsibility as to the role that Globalgarve could and should play in this process and, consequently, in the advantageousness of this structure as regards the development of new and increasing numbers of projects.

Within the scope of our performance as the Regional Development Agency presiding over the National Association of Regional Development Agencies, we defend that there should be “a more affirmative and clarifying position on the part of those in charge as to the existence and scope of performance of the Regional Development Agencies. In our opinion, Territorial Pacts should be established whereby the Regional Development Agencies would exist in every one of the encompassing administrative regions. The projects to be undertaken would arise not only from individual expressions of interest and opinion, but above all from the effective contracting of their role before the Government (and not merely the ministry to which they answer), Decentralised Bodies from the Central Government (and, once again, not just the Regional Coordination Committees), and their shareholders and members”.

Goals

Mission and Strategic Action Plan

Maintaining a philosophy of strengthening the role it should play in stimulating desire and interest in projects requiring the establishment of partnerships, and seeking a high degree of availability to carry out structuring action to change the current framework in which the Algarve lies at both national and international level, Globalgarve defines its mission as follows:

"To mobilise inter-institutional interests by promoting initiatives and undertaking structuring, innovative projects in partnership with the widest range of regional bodies”, with a view to:

Developing activities that will be a turning point in promoting the competitiveness of the region’s economic activities, taking responsibility for the quality and excellence of services provided through our participation in the main studies and innovative projects of a structuring nature for the Algarve, in addition to ensuring the reinforcement of our internal competencies.
The main points of our Strategic Action Plan would be as follows:
• To undertake projects that combine public and private interests, while always ensuring that it contributes to a more sustainable development of the Algarve;
• To intervene in the key areas of competitive change in the Algarve’s main economic sectors and, in particular in tourism and services, by introducing Systems of Quality and by investing in innovation;
• To identify and guarantee mentoring by the Regional Development Agency for projects that combine inter-sectoral interests, preferably in the fields of territorial marketing and support for the productive business fabric;
• To establish partnerships for cooperation and technical assistance though contracts with its shareholders and other regional bodies as a means of guaranteeing its financial self-sufficiency;

Territorial Marketing

Benefiting from the fact that some of the most important public and private bodies involved in the promotion of tourism are shareholders, the Regional Development Agency is undoubtedly in a excellent position to negotiate and work towards the development of innovative projects and studies by establishing partnerships between the public and private sectors.
Based on the experience garnered from the projects in which it has already been involved, Globalgarve considers itself to be qualified and capable of organising projects to promote the territory, particularly initiatives of a more specialised or themed nature, such as the project to promote the rural world of the Algarve.
Our intention, therefore, is to act in a number of different areas, from drawing up projects to enhance and strengthen the image of very specific geographical areas by undertaking advertising and marketing campaigns to project their worth, to putting together new projects that will help introduce measures to encourage quality in sectoral facilities and activities, particularly in the tourism industry.

Support for the Productive Business Fabric

We have already obtained some experience in initiatives intended to help reinforce the competitive position of firms in the Algarve, through viability studies for business parks, and through the mentoring of projects dedicated to encouraging innovative businesses and the expansion of firms overseas.
At this moment, we are developing a pilot project for the financing of small local businesses, a public-private partnership whose goal is to finance economically viable projects encompassed in the municipal development strategy. These methods of financing small and medium sized enterprises, particularly in rural areas and less developed parts of the region, constitute an alternative to the traditional POE systems, with their extended decision-making deadlines, and the difficulties they face in meeting the needs of either the investors or the localities.
We, therefore seek to provide technical assistance to the region’s productive business fabric, whether by supporting public investment or by providing the region’s entrepreneurs with specialised consultancy services.