Poland

This report presents evidence-based analysis on Poland’s higher education transformation process towards an innovative, interconnected and multidisciplinary entrepreneurial system, designed to empower its students and staff to demonstrate enterprise, innovation and creativity in teaching, research and societal engagement. Using the OECD-European Commission HEInnovate guidance for the entrepreneurial and innovative higher education institution, the report assesses strategies and practices for entrepreneurship and innovation in Poland’s higher education institutions and the systemic support provided by government. Higher education institutions play a critical role in Poland’s economy and innovation system, which is based on a strong and growing engagement agenda with industry and local communities, the emergence of new learning environments and strong multidisciplinary research teams. This report offers practical recommendations on how Poland can enhance and sustain the outcomes.

Lodz – the third largest city in Poland – is undertaking several major projects that have the potential to significantly reinvigorate the economy. Following the collapse of its traditional manufacturing industries in the late 1990s, Lodz went through a period of economic decline. A series of infrastructure investments and new developments are presently transforming its city centre and increasing its transportation connectivity. Coherent land-use practices across the areas where people live and work will be critical for the city and its surrounding communities to develop in a socially, environmentally, and fiscally sustainable way. This case study of the governance of land use in Lodz illustrates many promising practices and offers guidance on how to make the governance structure and planning system more coherent and robust both in Lodz, and in Poland more generally. This is the first in a series of five case studies on the governance of land use, which will culminate in a synthesis report to be published in 2017.

With the rising economic importance of human resources and skills, employment and training agencies are often expected to play a more important role in local strategies to support new job creation, facilitate restructuring and increase productivity. The OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Programme has developed a series of reviews on Local Job Creation to examine the contribution of local labour market policy to boosting quality employment and enhancing productivity. For Poland, the review has looked at the range of institutions and bodies involved in employment and skills policies, focusing on local strategies in the city of Poznań and the Radomski sub-region.

The rapid growth of entrepreneurship and small firms has been one of the greatest successes in post-Communist transformation in Poland.  SMEs have greatly contributed to employment, investment and value added in the Polish economy.  However, key barriers to further growth remain in the business environment for SMEs and entrepreneurs.  This book sets out the current SME and entrepreneurship climate, reviews SME and entrepreneurship issues and policies at national and local levels, and provides observations and recommendations for improving and supporting entrepreneurship and SMEs in Poland.