We would like to share another impression from the study trip to Romania from UCORD project, where we got to know the experience of the regional development agency of the largest North-Eastern region in Romania, ARD Nord-Est.
We’ve got impressed by the fact that ARD Nord-Est agency has its own training center – the North-East Regional Studies Center. It was founded back in 2010 in response to the rapid development of the Romanian economic environment and the desire to meet the needs of personnel training for organizations and partners with which the agency cooperates.
The training center conducts CNFPA (National Council for Professional Education of Adults) certified courses and specialized training in the field of regional development. There are courses on leadership, project, strategic, financial management, human resources management, EU fund management skills, etc. You can study both online and offline. The center engages regional development agency employees for being trainers, because they have practical experience and relevant expertise, not just theoretical knowledge.
At the beginning of the existence of the training center, the agency supported it financially, but later the organization began to earn money by providing paid services and attracting funding from international funds.
In addition to training, the Regional Training Center promotes tourism. And in 2016, the Center together with other partners founded the European Digital Education Association, which unites 45 members from 20 countries – universities, training centers, non-governmental organizations, etc. Considerable attention is paid to smart specializations. These and other projects are implemented by a team of 7 employees.
On the example of ARD Nord-Est, we can see how regional development agencies at the request of their target audiences can create and develop unique projects that gradually turn into successful autonomous institutions and become full partners of agencies in regional development.
We consider this is a great example to follow!
The study visit to Romania, which took place on November 18-22, 2024, was organized by the UCORD project in partnership with the Romanian agency ARD Nord-Est and the European Association of Development Agencies (EURADA). The Ukrainian delegation included representatives of the Ministry of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, Regional Development Agencies and their supervisory boards from all over Ukraine.