National
Development Agency

Although the Pole Programme was not set up as a response to the emerging crisis, it has now come to a key turning point. Following the establishment of clusters, assistance contracts will be concluded over the upcoming period with clusters approved funding within the framework of calls targeting these types of cooperation. The Hungarian Pellet Association, a cluster engaging in renewable energy, signed the first assistance contract with the aim of supporting its activities and promoting this source of energy. Members taking part in the cluster initiative will be capable of engaging in market processes more effectively and will become more competitive within the framework of the contract worth 23.6 million HUF. Concurrently to the endeavours of the Government, the National Development Agency is also attempting to re-allocate funding for economic development and job creation in the highest possible number of areas. Among others, re-allocation of funds between programmes, simplifying and speeding up the tendering system and transferring a higher rate of advance payment also underpin this aim.     

The Pole Programme is the most relevant economic development programme of the New Hungary Development Plan encompassing each individual operational programme. The Programme aims to attain targets set in part by developing the business environment of the pole cities in wider context and in part by developing clusters organised on a business basis. Through these means, Hungary may be capable of partially softening the negative impacts of the global economic crisis, creating several tens of thousands of jobs and – coupled by further reforms - establishing the grounds for the long-term development of the country.

It is a well-known fact that there are only a handful of successful real forms of cooperation operating on a market-basis; moreover, only very few economic organisations have organised themselves into networks, which means that the competitiveness will lack impetus. Isolated companies are no longer the basic units of the new division of labour in today’s modern era; clusters have come to assume this pioneering role.    
Self-organising company networks taking a bottom-up approach and training and R+D institutions that are capable of exploiting the advantages of uniting their knowledge are eligible to receive funding within the framework of the Pole Programme. The priority objectives of these formations are introducing new innovative products on the market and increasing confidence among cluster members by supporting joint investments. The following are eligible for support within the framework of the calls for applications targeting clusters: cluster management activity (locating new cluster members and developing new solutions), project generation, organising joint R+D activities, setting up databases, provision of information, consultancy, marketing and organising training courses.
A total of 169 applications submitted in response to the cluster calls announced within the framework of the regional operational programmes satisfied formal assessment criteria. Approximately 6.2 billion HUF has been made available for ROP cluster calls and applicants applied for funding amounting to a total of approximately 5.6 billion HUF within the framework of the applications submitted. Decisions are expected to be announced on an ongoing basis from now on.      

The Hungarian Pellet Association is the first cluster to be contracted by signing an assistance contract worth 23.6 million HUF on 19 February. Their project aims to promote the development of the environmental industry building on the use of solid biomass, more specifically the pellet sector. Cluster members expect this new sector to be promoted in Hungary, contacts within the sector and international relations to strengthen and knowledge of pellet manufactured in Hungary to be made generally known to the public. This is a type of renewable energy that produces products suitable for energy use by means of burning characteristically by recycling energy plantations and timber industry waste (residual waste from sawmills, wood waste, sawdust), and therefore contributes to climate protection by replacing fossil energy resources. The cluster is comprised of 22 members, most of whom are companies that operate in the Western Transdanubian region.   

Consequently, thanks to a series of other cluster cooperation initiatives, the focus of attention of the Hungarian economy will further shift towards activities representing higher added-value to the ones promoted so far; individual companies will operate at a higher efficiency, more successfully and in an increasingly competitive manner.