Good practice:

Business and Shared Services Center of Fundão

The Business and Shared Services Centre of Fundão – Centro de Negócios e Serviços Partilhados (CNSP) in Portuguese – won a RegioStars 2018 award in Category 1 – «Supporting smart industrial transition.», and was developed as part of the response to the exodus of young people from city of Fundão due to the lack of job prospects and high unemployment.
The project aims to combat the demographic and economic decline by supplying IT and infrastructural competences to enterprises and start-ups.
CNSP project began in 2013 as part of an innovation plan in its wider area. Led by Fundáo municipality, the project consortium included government organisations, universities, schools, civic associations, businesses, financial institutions and other innovation centres.
A 15-year old pavilion was the first home for the centre, which soon expanded to other renovated buildings. This project contributed significantly to the decline in unemployment , attracting qualified work force to the region, creating demand for new housing and rental homes. Fundão is also now home to several EU innovation projects. The centre has attracted specialist companies to the region, while a support programme is developing local IT skills for the new work. IT skills development extends to the whole population. All children in Fundão’s schools follow computer programming classes from age 6 to 12, a first in Portugal. Other actions engage older people as IT mentors or encourage women to choose high-tech careers.

Total investment: 2. 473. 667 € with ERDF contributing 2.102.617 € through Operational Programme “Centro” for the 2007-2013 programming period.

In the first four years, the project boosted the development of an integrated ecosystem that has generated 68 start-ups and supported over 200 private funding projects, investing in R&D, pioneering initiatives of professional retraining and digital skills.The centre now hosts 14 TICE (information and communication technologies for education) businesses, including 4 multinationals, which have created over 500 highly-qualified jobs.

Factors to take into account for a transfer of the good practice:
Financing - 85% of the total investment of the project was funded by the EU.
Strategy – a clearly defined strategy is an essential criterion for success in establishing a Business and Shared Services Center.
Physical Facilities - it is important to carefully plan and work on a physical space that sustains the strategy and sustainability of the Centre.
Governance and organization - for a BSSC to be both efficient and effective, it is necessary to develop a governance framework that provides detailed directions which are aligned with customer needs.
Technology- In order to remain competitive, a BSSC must adopt new technologies and needs to make use of advanced IT solutions.
People – for a BSSC, one of the most valuable and important resource is their human capital.