Changes in the city life necessitated the development of a new integrated urban development strategy relying on various research activities for the period of 2017 and 2023 to increase the demographic as well as the social, economic, and environmental impacts of urban development projects. The strategy appoints action areas assisting the integration of projects. Thanks to these action areas the city is supposed to realize its middle and long-term aims.

The long-term aim is to be among the ten best-known and most popular bathing resorts in Europe by 2030 which consists of providing high quality and exclusive services in Hévíz. In order to reach this goal, three mid-term strategic plans are evolved such as follows:

• Strengthening of spa tourism,
  • Formation of a green city which helps to protect the lake (climate protection, energy efficient solutions, environment sustainability),
  • Development of the quality and quantity of public services to make Hévíz an attractive city.

The development plan emphasizes that the number of touristical opportunities in the region is high. However, these values, such as the natural environment or bathing areas, could be better utilized. There is also a lack of coordinated, complex tourism supply and self-image. The few number of accommodations cause further problems.

One of the main development goals of the tourism development strategy is to improve the situation of family farms. These farms are supposed to strengthen regional tourism by distributing local products and offering accommodations.

The development strategy prepared by HETFA was reported in more detail by Zaols, Népújság and RTV 4.

Károly Mike, Gábor Kiss (2017): Beyond the Informal/Formal Divide: How do Firms Combine Contract-enforcement Institutions? ISSN 2062-378X

In this paper Károly Mike and Gábor Kiss explore how a broad range of contract-enforcement institutions are combined in interfirm relationships under a developed legal system.

They analyse managerial survey data to identify ideal-types of governance strategies that rely on distinct combinations of institutions. They find three ideal-types: (1) bilateral governance, using morality and self-enforcement; (2) third-party governance, leaning on a mix of courts, reputation and community norms; and (3) comprehensive governance, relying heavily on all institutions.

Thus they realize that real choice at the level of governance is not between informal and formal institutions but between bilateral and third-party solutions on the one hand, and partial or comprehensive use of institutions, on the other. The number of relationships that use comprehensive governance is highest among the three groups, which means that institutions often serve as complements rather than substitutes.

The decision-making body composed of the delegates of the Mayor of Budapest and the mayors of the 13 districts adopted the Budapest Economic Stimulus and Job Creation Thematic Development Programme (TDP) long- and medium-term target system. HETFA led the professional coordination of document’s development that required the harmonisation of many points of view and interests.

 The long-term aim of the economic stimulus programme is that Budapest becomes the leading economic region of Central Europe in 15 years. To reach the target, it is possible by being based on four pillars of the strategy, as follows:

• Budapest becomes the city, where the business environment is supportive and it is worth to start a business;
• Budapest becomes a well-organised economic space, where the economic development and the labour market policy are coordinated;
• Budapest should be the city of ideas, which attracts the creative and innovative thinkers with its liveability and dynamics;
• Budapest should be the place, where it is good to work, because it is the renewable, flexible and inclusive labour market.

The decision-making body, in order to reach the long-term goals, set seven medium-term development targets for the 5 following years:

• To decrease of the regulatory burdens that harden the functioning of businesses,
• To build a harmonised network of institutions for economic development based on effective function distribution,
• To create active SME policy,
• To develop the quality and efficiency of public services,
• To increase the flexibility of the labour market,
• To stimulate the low-skilled labour demand

The preparation of the Economic Stimulus and Job Creation Thematic Development Programme (TDP) is a part of a comprehensive strategy development process. In the focus of the TDPs prepared last year, stood the social urban rehabilitation, the usage of brownfields and the development of territories by the Danube riverside.

From 2014, in the new financial period of the EU, the Integrated Urban Development Strategy id change to Integrated Sustainable Urban Development Strategy. The Ministry for Home Affairs made it possible to write the strategies of small and medium sized cities and districts of Budapest: for those municipalities, who needed, the Ministry for Home Affairs issued a tender for it. In the Central Hungarian region, the Pest-Budapest Consortium won, where HETFA leads the preparation of the 8th and the 17th districts’ Strategies.

After the preparatory work for several months, on 20 February, together with the Municipality of Józsefváros (8th District), we invited numerous representatives of important institutions for the district and of other civil and economic organisations to a consultation in order to form the basis of the strategy building in the partnership process. The approximately 80 invitees were presented by the relevance and the role of the Integrated Sustainable Urban Development Strategy and then we opened four thematic tables according to issues related to the district’s economy, society, built and natural environment and its structural parts. We focused on identifying the main problems, capacities, strong points and potential places for development.

The answers of the representatives form an important part of the Strategy’s analysis of the current situation and in setting the main future goals. Two further workshops are foreseen, where with a similar circle of invitees, we collect the main development goal and project ideas.

The evaluation was carried out by the consortium of Pannon.Analysing Office (Pannon Elemző Iroda), HETFA Center for Analyses (HÉTFA Elemző Központ) and Városkutatás (Metropolitan Research Institute) and commissioned by the National Development Agency. The evaluation was conducted in the second half of 2011.

Summary of the Research Report is available in English

The evaluation seeks to provide recommendations for the preparation of the 2014-2020 programming period. The four main themes of the evaluation include:

• the correlation of SROP 5 strategies with national and EU objectives;
• development results;
• recommendations for the 2014-20 programming period;
• results of the EQUAL and HRDOP projects (2004-06).

Summary of the Research Report in English

HETFA (2010): International Routines to Smaller Bureaucracy. ISSN 2062-3798

The aim of this paper is to review foreign experience of good practices with reference to the relieving of administrative burdens. In this study we introduce the recommendations of OECD, EU and World Bank, the simplification strategies referring to small and middle enterprises, the factors, putting back the lowering of the burdens, and the forms of cooperation between state institutes and civil society.

Available in Hungarian including a short English abstract

Fruzsina Bognár (2011): Chambers of Commerce, Entrepreneur Associations and Advocacy Groups. ISBN 978-963-89112-2-3

Our essay is based on the case studies of the research with the title „Chambers of Commerce, Entrepreneur Associations and Advocacy Groups”. The research focused on pressure and advocacy groups, and commercial chambers of entrepreneurs. The case studies were built on interviews with executive managers, press and document analysis. The aim of the study is to identify the strategies that these organizations apply to reduce the effect of free rider problem. We analyze what typical answers are elaborated to the problem of low attendance by endogenous and exogenous groups. The organizations maintain their operation by offering selective incentives or exploiting alternative financial resources (e.g. European Union and state funds). The choice between or the combination of this two strategies are determined by the group identity and the characteristics of the membership. The free rider problem was successfully handled by exogenous groups who state purposive incentives. While big, endogenous groups tend to solve the financial problem that free-riding can mean with getting privileges and providing public services that are financed by local and EU fund sources.

Available in Hungarian including an English abstract

Melinda Császár – Gergely Krisztián Horváth: Soul, value, and strategy. About the basic dimensions of the entrepreneurial existence. ISBN 978-963-89112-0-9

In the economic research community there are discussions about what kind of skills an entrepreneur possesses that enables him/her to recognize the situation and to make appropriate strategic decisions. So far two approaches have become dominant: one concentrates on the psychological dimension of the entrepreneurial personality, whereas the other propagates the priority of cultural patterns of the examined society. This paper explores the main statements of the international literature of the past few decades, paying attention to the main findings of both directions.

Available in Hungarian including an English abstract