On 06.07.2021, Polish START EASY project consortium met virtually (ZOOM platform) with their stakeholders to debate on the topic of the meeting titled:
”Directions for the development of regional one-stop shops (OSS) as a complementary entrepreneurship support system with services offered by business.gov.pl"
The event was organized by two polish project partners: Mazovia Development Agency and Lublin Science and Technology Park. The purpose of the meeting was to develop potential directions for the development of regional one-stop shops (OSS), where budding entrepreneurs, especially start-ups, could receive a comprehensive offer of services corresponding to their business needs.
The first part of the meeting focused on the substantive aspects of the regional one-stop shop (OSS). Karolina Ivaldi - Director of the Investor and Exporter Assistance Centre and coordinator of the START EASY project (Interreg Europe) from the Mazovia Development Agency, provided an overview of the project detailing its objectives and directions of development. Good practices of OSS were also presented with the example of the Warsaw Centre "Smolna" and the Catalonian OSS.
Also introduced was the OSS (Interreg Europe) project, which was presented by Marek Duda - Director of National and International Projects and Programs Department in Rzeszow Regional Development Agency. Mr. Duda described the goals of the project, the problems it addresses, and the anticipated future actions. The meeting participants were familiarized with good practices with one example from the Norwegian partner - Hoppid.no, which has the aim to support local entrepreneurs.
Information about the biznes.gov.pl portal and its services was presented by Marianna Sidoroff - Deputy Director of the Digital Economy Department at the Ministry of Labour and Technology Development. Ms. Sidoroff described the history and development of the service and statistics on its operation. Currently, the service is focused on providing comprehensive support for entrepreneurs in setting up their businesses.
The second part of the meeting was an open discussion with representatives of public administration at national, regional and local levels, Business Environment Institutions and centers of innovation and technology transfer. Topics discussed during the conversation, among others, included the issues of complementarity of local OSS with the governmental platform business.gov.pl, models of creating OSS in European countries, sources of financing and the vision of regions for building and developing OSS services.
In conclusion it was resolved that comprehensive support services should be adjusted to the needs of local entrepreneurs. The meeting participants recognized the importance of deploying innovative solutions in cooperation with local governments, Business Environment Institutions and entrepreneurs. Participants of the meeting also pointed out that development of OSS is possible not only through EU funds, but also through implementation of innovative business models ensuring sustainable operation of such solution.
The event was chaired and summarized by Andrii Myrovych - START EASY project coordinator from Lublin Science and Technology Park.
The online meeting of START EASY project stakeholders highlighted, among other things, the national and regional perspectives on the development of one-stop shops for entrepreneurs, and provided a platform to exchange valuable experiences and good practices in the industry coming from Poland and countries participating in the START EASY project.
