The pole programme for competitiveness is a local way of economic development within the frame of European and local development strategies.

The trends:

• Structural change of competitiveness in Europe (and on the global market): the cheapness of production or services (i.e. minimization of costs) is substituted by the application of knowledge or at more developed levels by the production of knowledge (maximization of income);
• change in the structure of economic development by focusing on value-added products and services representing knowledge and intellectual value, innovative local economic development;
• increasing importance of cities in the economic and general development, the polycentric territorial model;
• the development need of regional economic cohesion, strengthening the relationships between city centres and peripheral territories within different regions;
• the spot-like economic organizational operation and development is getting substituted by integrated (industrial, territorial) networks, clusters, co-operations and partnerships.

The economic performance of the South Transdanubian region was on a breaking point of Hungarian regional differences, far behind the dynamic regions and getting closer to the lagging eastern regions.

Every single aspect in the region defining the direction and dynamics of territorial development was characterized by regression and negative signs:

• the employment rate as well as the gross domestic product per employee have decreased relatively;
• the presence of foreign working capital in the region is very poor;
• the economic structure is obsolete and there were no perceivable sign of modernization;
• furthermore, the poor processing industry was mainly producing for the domestic and local market, with a poor exportability and without a single branch or company the regional development could have been based on, e.g. in a form of an industrial cluster.

The acceleration of economic development is basically a structural matter. The structural modernization has to be based on the internal capabilities of the region by also satisfying the needs for sustainable global competitiveness.

It was possible to define the regional economic development possibilities by examining and reallocating the internal aspects and compare these to the clear European economic development directions:

The industrial structure of the region was characterized by a growing proportion of the mechanical engineering industry as well as the relatively stable percentage of the power, light and food industry. None of these four branches is able to play a driving role of structural art in the region. The industrial-organizational system of the region was characterized by small and medium enterprises unable to achieve a break-through on the market, while the complete lack of integrative bigger companies. Due to the described structural and organisational system the existing regional industry had no capital attraction and absorption capabilities. Traditional economic development techniques have not brought take-off opportunities either.

The take-off opportunity, the reindustrialization (meaning the reorganization of the local economy) was only possible using a development strategy that is based on a wider fundament taking into account the current and future directions of competitiveness. This could only mean the „Pole strategy” based on the capabilities and opportunities of the centre of the region by also considering the potentials of the whole region. The strategy is based on the thought that in a world of globalizing economy changes should not be treated but initiated.

The strategic goal is to guide developments into the same direction and into an integrated system,

• based on the abilities of the city and its surroundings,
• through a complex utilization of the available natural, technical, technological, infrastructural and intellectual capacities,
• by focusing on small and medium enterprises, education, research and cultural institutions, authorities and civil organizations typical for the regional economy,
• initiating such a development (using European and national, local, own and private resources) that creates a new, attractive and innovative offer in the city and its surroundings, also „visible” from an international point of view; this offer has to be attractive and rational enough, enabling the long-term competitiveness and permanent development of the pole.

In the frame of the strategy, according to the priorities defined in the general development policy the city and the county seeks to achieve following goals:

• becoming a national and international pole of knowledge based economic development,
• construction of an effective infrastructure supporting competitiveness,
• playing a role of regional centre respecting the principles of partnership,
• reaching a role of a city with a well-organized administration, securing a high quality of life,
• appearing on the creative industry, education and science market as internationally renowned city.