Since its establishment in 1999, the ROD Agency for Development has been the key supportive environment in the field of informingand counselling on the co-financing of projects with EU funds for target groups within the area of the municipalities Ajdovščina, Komen and Vipava. The agency also prepares and conducts various projects on behalf of individual target groups and local communities.

The content of the agency’s operation falls primarily within the following fields:
–    development of the rural area;
(assistance to municipalities, local and rural communities in the preparation of applications to national and European public tenders and assistance in the implementation of projects; coordination and co-organization of the event The Flavours of the Vipava Valley (“Okusi Vipavske”), expert and administrative support to the Local Action Group of the Upper Vipava Valley and the Komen Karst (LAG) and the role of the LAG’s financial body, coordination of the Project Council of the Vipava Wine Route),
–    development of entrepreneurship;
(implementation of national programmes: voucher system of consulting, VEM all-in-one access point for entrepreneurs, assistance to entrepreneurs in the preparation of applications to public tenders.)
–    development of human resources;
(partner in the regional scholarship scheme of the Goriška statistical region, promotion of technical and other deficit vocations in the final grades of elementary schools, counselling regarding the obtainment of the National Vocational Qualification certificate)
–    regional development.
On the national level, Slovenia is divided into 12 statistical regions (these are not administrative regions). Regional agencies for development operate within each one of these regions and represent an important supportive environment for individual regions or the municipalities of individual regions. In the Goriška statistical region, the regional agency for development is organized in a distinct manner. Namely, it operates as a joint network of four local agencies for development, which incorporates the following agencies:
–    ROD Agency for Development
–    The RRA Agency for Development of Northern Primorska d.o.o. Nova Gorica,
–    The Posočje Development Centre,
–    The Idrija and Cerkljansko Agency for Development d.o.o.
The agencies are equal in stature and operate on the principle of project cooperation and shared management, which means they take turns leading the network every two years.In addition, each agency has a standing responsibility of coordinating one of the areas of the implementation of the regional development programme. The ROD Agency for Development constantly coordinates the rural area, while its status during the two-year period 2008–2009 was also that of the regional development agency. 

Contact person
Suzana Žvokelj Ferjančič

Web
www.ra-rod.si

e-mail
ra.rod@siol.net