‘Regional Development with Stronger Business Networks’ Project helped develop organisational capacities and project development skills of member federations of Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation (TÜRKONFED), raising awareness on civil society along its journey.
For Feyyaz Ünal, Vice Chairman of TÜRKONFED, “Regional Development with Stronger Business Networks” Project will provide immense contribution on local, regional and national levels, following on the mottos “Strong Organisation, Strong Region” and “Strong Region, Strong Civil Society”. Ünal said that local and regional potentials should be mobilised for sustainable development and robust competitive power, and that this can be achieved through establishment of participatory and inclusive cooperation among economic actors, CSOs, business organisations, public and local administrations, as well as academia operating in that region.
The twelve-month project was coordinated by TÜRKONFED and implemented under the Third Phase of the Civil Society Support Programme in three phases. Thrace Industry and Business Federation (TRAKYASİFED), Mevlâna Industry and Business Federation (MEVLANASIFED), Eastern Mediterranean Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Associations Federation (DASİFED), Eastern Industry and Business Federation (DOĞUSİFED), Silk Road Industry and Business Federation (IPEKYOLUSİFED) were the co-beneficiaries of the project.
Project in three phases
The objectives of the project were to increase the organisational capacities and project management skills of the 30 federations under the umbrella of TÜRKONFED. The activities were carried out in three phases. In the first phase, a training programme was developed for the full-time staff of the member federations to improve their professional skills and competencies and to facilitate cooperation within the network.
In the second phase of the project, idea competitions were organised to raise awareness on the concept of “open innovation” in regional development. Creative and innovative ideas in the competitions were awarded by selection committees from member federations along with TÜRKONFED. The objectives were capacity building of regional CSOs, increasing cooperation, creating projects for regional development through shared wisdom and inclusion of citizens in the development of projects designed for regional development.
These competitions were hosted by İPEKYOLUSİFED (Erzurum, Erzincan, Bayburt), DOĞUSİFED (Van, Bitlis, Hakkari, Muş, Bitlis), DASİFED (Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Osmaniye), MEVLANASIFED (Konya, Karaman), and TRAKYASİFED (Tekirdağ, Kırklareli, Edirne).
In the third phase of the project, a digital platform was established to facilitate TÜRKONFED member federations, associations, and members to connect with each other. According to Feyyaz Ünal, the digital platform will increase the synergy among members while creating a common ground for the development of regional and local projects focusing on development. Ünal said that including all local stakeholders into the process will further the achievements through a multiplier effect.
The Regional Business Networks platform, established to increase communication among federations, associations, and their members, to facilitate potential collaborations through strengthening business networks, and to support development of organisational capacity, can be accessed via https://bia.turkonfed.org/ .