This review was undertaken by the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE) led by Lamia Kamal-Chaoui, Director, at the request of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Slovak Republic and in co-operation with the Ministry of Economy of the Government of the Slovak Republic.
The study was managed and supervised by Jonathan Potter (OECD CFE) and coordinated by Kris Boschmans (OECD CFE), under the supervision of Céline Kauffmann (Head of the Entrepreneurship, SME and Tourism Division, CFE). The report was drafted by a team involving Jonathan Potter (OECD, CFE), Chapter 1; Lenka Wildnerova (OECD CFE), Chapters 2 and 3; Lois Stevenson (independent consultant), Chapter 4; Alasdair Reid (European Future Innovation System Centre), Chapter 5; Robert Huggins (Cardiff University), Chapter 6; Kris Boschmans (OECD CFE), Chapter 7; and Thomas Cooney (Technological University Dublin) and David Halabisky (OECD CFE), Chapter 8. The report was edited by Kris Boschmans and Jonathan Potter. Heather Mortimer Charoy, Assistant, CFE, provided project support.
Members of the OECD Working Party on SMEs and Entrepreneurship Steering Group for this review provided valuable input: Kármen Billo, Ministry for Innovation and Technology, Hungary; Ciarán McLoughlin, Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Ireland; Mr. Murat Şükrü Soykan and Mr. Necati Günaydin, KOSGEB (Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organisation), Turkey; and Christopher Athey, Anders Jonsson, and Lyudmyla Tautiyeva, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.
This report could not have been drafted without the support and continued engagement of key stakeholders from the Slovak Republic. Numerous individuals from government ministries and agencies, associations, universities, think thanks and other institutions provided vital information and feedback throughout the consultation and drafting process. Their assistance during the kick-off mission and study mission, the detailed information submitted through the government completed fact-finding questionnaire, and constructive comments on earlier draft versions of this report were crucial. Special thanks are reserved for Veronika Michalkova, Monika Maruniakova, and Vladimir Tanistrak of the Ministry of Economy, Slovak Republic. The authors are also grateful for the comments received from the OECD Secretariat, including from staff of the OECD Regulatory Policy Division.