Regional Development Association SOUTH – RDA SOUTH was established in August, 2009, as a company with limited liability (ltd). The founding contract was signed by the representatives from the City of Niš, eleven (11) municipalities from the districts of Nišava, Pirot and Toplica, three (3) companies and seven (7) civil sector organisations.

RDA SOUTH is established out of need of all actors to participate actively in solving the local problems and promoting the regional development. Taking into consideration the RDA SOUTH constituents, the agency comprises all the relevant factors which can influence greatly and contribute to, from the aspects of the local self governments which are directly responsible or from the aspect of the business community and civil society organizations through their activities, the socio-economic development of the region.

All the founders are unanimous in their intention and set goal to make RDA SOUTH one of the leading factors in long term socio-economic development of the districts of Nišava, Pirot and Toplica.

RDA SOUTH will strive to have direct impact on the development of the region through establishment of the partnerships, through planning and developing strategies for the regional sustainable development, through cooperation with national government institutions and the donors from the country and abroad, through inter-sectoral linking, providing support to local self governments and the organizations of the civil sector, through education and direct project implementation.

The basic competences of the RDA South are the following:
Project development and project management

  • Collection, analysis and representation of data
  • Promotion and advocacy
  • Strategic planning
  • Knowledge of regional economy and relations with private sector
  • Networking at local, regional and national level

RDA SOUTH has been conceptualized as a tool for solving the inequalities and imbalances existing between the area covered by the association activities (the districts of Nišava, Pirot and Toplica ) and other areas of the country.

RDA South Sectoral focus is as follows:
1. The Economy as a whole: RDA will seek to provide sophisticated macro level analysis at the regional level and act as an agent that develops policy advice aimed at all levels. There will also be a specific focus on particular sectors including:

  • development and exploitation of renewable energy resources
  • development of the IT sector and software development sector seeking to facilitate this sector becoming a growth hub for the region.

2. Sustainable Development: this will involve ensuring that the natural potentials and resources of the region are developed in a sustainable manner. Particular attention will be given to the natural exploitation of resources such as Stara Planina.
3. Human Resource Development: here the focus will be on monitoring the human capital of the region and ensuring that it is developed to its full potential. Furthermore steps will be taken to ensure that the labour force develops the necessary skills and knowledge to attract investment to the region.
4. Agriculture/Rural Development: RDA will support the development of the whole rural sector in the region specifically focusing on agriculture and small scale tourism initiatives in rural areas.
5. Infrastructure: RDA will not play a role in actual implementation of large scale infrastructure projects; however it will play a brokering role in identifying priority projects, bringing joint actors together and identifying possible funding sources