Center for development of Pelagonija region
Центар за развој на Пелагониски регион
Business center information
The establishment of the Regional business centers in the eight planning regions is based upon a decision of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia from the eight ( subject) session held on the 29th of august 2011. In the process of decision making used were comparison analysis from GIZ RED for the existing condition of the services for support of the private sector in the planning regions in Macedonia. By the relevant stakeholders, and especially by the private sector, the Regional business centers in the framework of the Centers for development of the planning regions are sought as a attempt for expansion of the public institutions on a local level. Also all relevant stakeholders are precise and clear that it is more than necessary the new functions to be focused on the e3stablishment of efficient and effective institutional ambient on a scale of a planning region for support of the private sector.
The detailed insight into the current situation shows that the needs of the private sector at local and regional level are not completely satisfied and thus establishing imposed priority of the new services to those services that will address perceived bottlenecks such as lack of proper coordination of the activities supported by public resources, the effectiveness of access to information and increase the level of participation of the private sector in making appropriate decisions at local and regional level. Because of their strengths and the opportunities at disposal to the regional business centers in the envisaged institutional form (within CRPR) logically imposed is the role of coordinator of the activities that are implemented by national institutions and organizations and their networks local and regional level, also a role that they will perform is to speed / ease of communication with national institutions and local organizations and the private sector.
Regional business centers within the Centers for Regional Development are naturally more suitable for inclusion in planning and monitoring of the level of the equal economic development, especially in communication with the business sector, but also in the planning and monitoring of regional indicators of economic development and entrepreneurship and economic sectors.
For the implementation of the functions and services of the Business Centers necessary is strategic and comprehensive approach and primarily strategic definition of the mandate, scope, role and competences of the Business Centers. In defining their role as the main bodies of regional planning, coordination, monitoring, synchronization of activities and information – educating and supporting private sector development at the regional level, should be taken into account the many strategic issues, factors and policies whose definition will provide a basis for systematic sustainable regional development.
The position of the Centers for Regional Development in terms of services offered to the business sector is shown in the following chart.
Geographic and demographic information
The Pelagonija planning region comprises the basins of the Pelagonija and Prespa valleys. It spreads over a 4717 km2 area, or 19% of the territory of the Republic of Macedonia which makes it the largest planning region in the country. This region contains 9 municipalities and 343 located settlements, out of which 338 are rural settlements. Four out of the nine municipalities are rural. There is a high population concentration in the urban areas of this region (around 68%). The population density amounts to 50 citizens/km2 and is significantly higher than the country’s average.
In 2002, the Pelagonija planning region had 238,136 citizens with a decreasing natality rate, except for the municipalities of Prilep and Dolneni. Since 1994, 22.5% of the total population of the Pelagonija region lives abroad. Yet returning flows have been noticed during the last decade, mostly in the municipalities of Bitola, Resen and Dolneni.
In terms of the gender structure of the population there is an evident trend of decrease in the part of the male population on a regional level, and in most of the municipalities. This region has a three times smaller growth of households’ number than that of the country. The educational structure of the population in the Pelagonija planning region has a complete use of quality human resources, besides the disadvantageous demographic trends.