The Ahead Plan

By project DIALOG

Published on 18 July 2021

Spain

Castilla-La Mancha

About this good practice

Castilla-La Mancha works to improve the innovation and competitiveness of its businesses, since there are significant weaknesses that must be compensated by coordinating actions to support innovation and creating a favourable environment to attract new investments.
Likewise, it is necessary to strengthen collaboration networks to promote the dynamism and competitiveness of the territories. Another fundamental aspect is the access of companies to financing. It is necessary to develop other forms of regional public funding that are adapted to the needs of businesses. Finally, Castilla-La Mancha supports the capacity of companies to grow in international markets.
To achieve these objectives, various lines of financial support have been created and Ahead Offices have been set up to advise companies.
The stakeholders accompanying the regional government in this project are the main economic agents of the region. The initiative is aimed at SMEs and entrepreneurs.

Expert opinion

Dear Victor,

Thank you for the submission of your practice to the Policy Learning Platform Good Practice Database!

Although of the ahead plan is an interesting initiative, we feel that this practice is not distinctive enough policies to qualify for inclusion in the Policy Learning Platform Good Practice Database.

Please note that your good practice will still be available on your project website, and counts towards your project’s target figure of good practices.

We thank you for your interest and for your understanding.

Best regards,

Arnault Morisson

Works at Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform

Resources needed

To implement the Plan, a financial path was estimated for the period 2016-19, for each of 6 strategic axes, which was reflected in the regional budgets. The financial path of the Plan Adelante amounted to 260.12 million euros, with a distribution by 6 different lines.

Evidence of success

The Ahead Plan for the period 2016-2019 has, in general terms, achieved the objectives set out in its design, with the backing of the results obtained, which are summarised in the support received by 21,766 companies (almost all of them SMEs) and has served to consolidate or create more than 44,000 jobs. More than 314 million euros have been made available to companies in Castilla-La Mancha.

Potential for learning or transfer

The Ahead Plan has proved to be a valuable instrument in the strategy to achieve the strengthening of businesses in Castilla-La Mancha.
Its nature and its open and flexible character mean that it has potential for emulation in other territories.
As with all planned actions, it is necessary to have a deep knowledge of the business reality of the territory in order to identify the potential of the companies (weaknesses and strengths) and the challenges they have to face.
The collaboration of stakeholders must be taken into account in the design stage of the strategic plan. This participation can be encouraged through online resources (when the number of participants is very high, using forms) or offline (through face-to-face meetings when the number of stakeholders is lower). In the case of the business sector, the offline route seems more appropriate, with the participation of the most representative economic and social agents in the territory.