The Production Transformation Policy Review (PTPR): Spotlight on the Azores’ Internationalisation is one of the key outcomes of the Global Outermost Regions EU-OECD Project “Transforming Economies in EU ORs: fostering learning, making the most of interconnectedness‘
The report was produced by the OECD Development Centre under the responsibility of Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir, Director, OECD Development Centre. The PTPR process and the report have come together under the co-ordination of Annalisa Primi, Head of the Economic Transformation and Development Division, who provided strategic guidance and oversaw the entire project implementation. Manuel Toselli co-co-ordinated the project and was the lead economist in the report’s elaboration. Daniel Gay, Vasiliki Mavroeidi and Antonio Vicencio contributed to the drafting and research. The report benefited from comments and contributions from several colleagues. From the OECD: Nadim Ahmad, Dorothée Allain-Dupre, Claire Charbit, Stefano Barbieri, Peter Haxton, Michael Flood and Aline Matta from the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE), Claire Jolly from the Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), Piera Tortora from the Development Co-operation Directorate (DCD) and Koen Deconinck from the Trade and Agriculture Directorate (TAD). From the European Commission Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy: Paula Duarte Gaspar (Head), Germán Esteban (Deputy Head) and Katherine Fournier-Leroux (Policy Coordinator) of the Outermost Regions Unit, Catherine Wendt (Head) Smart and Sustainable Growth Unit and Tomas Salazar Brier (Programme Manager) Regio G2 Unit Portugal and Spain.
We are grateful to Nicola De Michelis, Director of Smart & Sustainable Growth & Programmes Implementation, DG for Regional and Urban Policy and Peter Berkovitz, Director of Policy, DG for Regional and Urban Policy for their strategic guidance during project implementation. We are grateful to the Regional Government and the legislative assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores (Portugal) for their contributions and support and information gathering. The authors are grateful to Pedro de Faria e Castro, Regional Under Secretary of the Presidency, Duarte de Freitas, Regional Secretary for Finance, Planning and Public Administration, Manuel São João, Regional Secretary for the Sea and Fisheries and Luis Garcia, President of the Regional Assembly of Azores. In particular we are grateful to the Regional Directorate for European Affairs and External Cooperation led by Carlos E. Pacheco Amaral, (Director), and Paula Leal and Paulo Pacheco.
Peer learning and knowledge sharing lie at the heart of the PTPR process. This report has been shaped and enriched by the contributions of domestic and international peers who actively participated in PTPR activities and contributed ideas to the review.
Valuable input emerged from the three Peer Learning Group (PLG) meetings that took place during 2021 and counted with the participation of more than 90 high-level participants from 25 countries and regions, four international organisations and four OECD Directorates. We are especially thankful to (in alphabetical order): Mariane Crespolini, Director of the Department of Sustainable Production and Irrigation, Secretariat for Innovation, Rural Development and Irrigation, Ministry of Agriculture, Brazil; Karl-Christian Göthner, Senior Expert, German National Metrology Institute (PTB), Germany; Michael Jones, President, TMA BlueTech, San Diego California, United States; Ikram Malan Sangadji, Deputy Director, Capture Fisheries Management, Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Indonesia; Thor Sigfusson, Founder, Iceland Ocean Cluster, Iceland; Max Teplitski, Chief Science Officer, International Fresh Produce Association, United States; Drishty Ramdenee, Head of Department Ocean & BIO Economy, Economic Development Board (EDB), Mauritius and Jónas Viðarsson, Director of Division of Value Creation at Matis, Iceland
Semi-structured interviews with experts from business and government in the Azores were extremely relevant in shaping the report. In addition to the people mentioned above, we acknowledge the time and contributions of (in alphabetical order): Nuno Alves, Regional Director for Planning and Cohesion Policy Funds; Helga Barcelos, Quinta dos Açores; Miguel Bello, AIR Centre – TERINOV; Mário Fortuna, Chairman, Chamber of Commerce of Ponta Delgada; Maria Madalena Motta, Gorreana; Gabriela Queiroz, Rector, University of Azores; Joana Rita, Regional Directorate for Energy; Emiliana Silva, Regional Director for Rural Development; Francisco Tavares and Francisco Wallenstein, Azores Mission for Space.
The report was produced and published with the financial contribution of the European Commission Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy.