Scandinavian towns are among the most attractive in terms of economic development and entrepreneurship in Europe. That is what emerges from a telephone survey, published on 31 March by the ECER (European Cities Entrepreneurship Ranking) foundation, asking 2,400 company heads how satisfied they are with local development policies in 37 European towns. Helsinki tops the ranking, followed by Cologne and Stockholm. A large number of Scandinavian and German towns at the top is not in itself a great surprise. But the survey, which was also carried out in 2007, is noteworthy in that it focuses on development policies on a regional scale and not a national one. This allows the growing importance of local and regional authorities, in terms of creating enterprises, to be taken into account, according to the study’s scientific coordinator, Olivier Torrès. In addition to the rankings, the study also found that one of the general trends is a global rise in satisfaction ratings compared with 2007. English towns are the notable exception to this, with the economic crisis having a major impact, particularly on the morale of entrepreneurs. Perhaps even more important, according to Torrès, is that the survey shows a strong correlation between the satisfaction ratings and the overall development policy, integrating all aspects of the entrepreneurial process, not just financing: accessibility and promoting entrepreneurship, support before and after its creation (project diagnostics, followup) as well as the environment (real estate, life quality).
Brussel op de 20ste plaats. België in het midden van het peloton.
Meer info op: http://www.ecer.fr/presentation_en.html
