Critical success factors

Through mapping inspiring examples of public authority work across regions, we have drawn some of the critical success factors that will help to turn your activities into success.

• Understand the region. Energy Valley is based upon a strong energy cluster that has developed over the past 40 years. Through Energy Valley, new market opportunities have been exploited that fit within this regional structure. It would not be possible to start an energy cluster from scratch.
• Know your strengths. The importance of energy from an economic and societal point of view is essential to our success. Security of supply and environmental considerations make energy a ‘hot’ topic, and this makes it possible to get public and private organisations involved.

• Be effective at partnerships. BEP works as a partnership and we are good at involving economic development bodies, environmental regulators and businesses.
• Avoid recommendations that are too ambitious for the businesses that you work with. Instead, we go for advice that is cost-effective, practical and relevant.

• Build confidence amongst advisors and agents. If you operate openly as we do, it’s possible to move from a theoretical debate to practical action in simple steps.
• Develop economic and human resources.
• Encourage leadership from your regional government - we have enjoyed leadership by the Biscay Provincial Government and its representatives. Link CSR work to the Region’s strategic plan.

• Don’t address companies directly because they are often cynical about government. Instead, work with employees, employers’ federations and so on. In other words: facilitate, don’t dictate.
• Build the project up in an organic way. We started as something very small, not with a big bang, as I don’t think this works.
• It is very important to think in the long term. Try to develop lasting engagement with the government and from the partners you work with, and try to create some financial resources to generate critical mass. These will give you a better chance of getting high visibility and attracting other companies to pick up CSR.

• Work progressively and in close cooperation with the users to guarantee the simplicity and usefulness of the manuals and tools, and keep the processes as straightforward as possible.
• It is crucial to get public authorities closely involved in the early stages to ensure acceptance and to keep processes running smoothly.

• Lead by example: incorporate CSR criteria into public sector organisations and activities.
• Show flexibility when promoting partnerships. As a public authority, reduce barriers by minimising documentation and process requirements at the beginning of new relationships or projects.
• Engage companies by explaining the direct benefits of CSR to them.
• Become a good translator: demonstrate the relevance of public issues and social needs to the sphere of the workplace and business benefit.

• Personal effort and dedication. “I’m a committed person, I’m a doer.”
• The receptiveness of local business and of local charities. They’ve got to work with you
• The commitment of the local Council and the Council for voluntary service who took on Connect Dacorum initially and then made sure it was sustained when they could no longer run it.

• Develop an integrated CSR strategy to co-ordinate departments in the public authority. Try to group small CSR projects and recognise that it is a cross-cutting discipline requiring linkages across areas.

• In our view, the participation of all relevant stakeholders is essential. For this reason we have created a multistakeholder commission, the Commissione Etica Regionale per la Responsabilità Sociale delle Imprese (CER).

• A good way to involve all partners and get them to show real commitment is to ask them to provide 50% of their own costs.
• Lead by example. We have developed a self-diagnosis CSR tool for companies, but if we want to promote CSR in companies we should lead by example ourselves, by being the first ones to use the tools.