Appointed to the Economy and Innovation department, SEVILLA GLOBAL is the Urban Agency for Economic Development of Seville City Council, established at the end of 2000 as a municipal public limited company. Its goal is to develop a new local public strategy in urban economy and business development.

SEVILLA GLOBAL's plan of action includes programmes, services and initiatives for economic development and business promotion. Its agenda is organised into five working areas: Business Information and Inward Investment, Business Incubation, the Revitalization of Industrial Land, Innovation and Business and Support to Local Clusters.

The principles upon which the agency is governed by are:

Institutional Coordination: During 2006 13 new institutional collaborative agreements were formalised in an effort to drive SEVILLA GLOBAL'S plan of action.

Public-private partnership, adapted individually to each project: technical assistance, sponsorship and other collaborative agreements, consensus building, etc.

Knowledge capital in relation to physical capital. The Agency tries to minimise immobilised and fixed structural costs in favour of its specific flow of services. During 2006, 70% of SEVILLA GLOBAL's total current expenses were directly attributed to projects.

Leveraging of local public resources. In 2006, the finance coming from sources  not related to Seville's City Council count for 20% of the total budget executed by SEVILLA GLOBAL.

Metropolitan range, as a reference to the actions in the areas of business information and inward investment.

Good governance. The Council offers an internal regimen of regulations which they use as a reference, the Code of Good Governance,  in an effort to transfer the guidelines of good governance to a non-commercial public company.

Project management. A system of analytical accounting, based on the project as a basic unit for cost apportionment, allows for detailed budgetary control and management on a project-by-project basis by the Agency.

Organisation and personnel. The flexibility and interaction between the five areas of operative work that shape SEVILLA GLOBAL's organisational chart are one of its main values.

Relationship with third parties. In compliance with those provisions stated in Organic Law 15/1999 on 13 December, for the protection of information of a personal data,
 SEVILLA GLOBAL is registered in the General  Protection Registry of Information, a  protocol  to adapt their information and communication systems to the aforementioned norm.

Knowledge management. SEVILLA GLOBAL has its own tool for day to day management of its project portfolio, also including the management of its  partnership network as well as collaborators: the Project Reporting System (SRP).

Throughout the year the agency has worked on the updating and production of economic informational tools from a metropolitan standpoint: the European information point Europa Direct; the so-called Urban Economy Barometer as a report on economic trends in the metropolitan area; the Sevillian company's economic-financial report, which follows the balance sheet database model;, or SEVILLA GLOBAL's business directory.

Furthermore, a new element has been implemented: the Indicator's Scorecard, a panel with indicators for Seville and its metropolitan area which are constantly updated, adding to this, an executive summary.

Urban Economy Barometer, short-term metropolitan economic report. The monograph included in number 9 within the Barometer over demographics and immigration in Seville stands out, and is undoubtedly an extremely important topic due to the drive that the foreign population has shown in the demographic dynamic movement over the last few years.

Indicator's Scorecard. Since its appearance and distribution as a newsletter in February 2006, it has been updated 19 times. The Sevillian economy's indicator's scorecard is made up of 25 indicators grouped by categories. For 2007 we foresee the importance of adapting it to a format compatible with the website, for it to be able to be diffused  via www.sevillaglobal.es.

Sevillian Business 2006: Economic-Financial Report for the Metropolitan Area. In 2006 the fifth edition of this report was drawn up, adding another addition to an already extensive selection of reports and allowing for the accurate analysis of the results and the financing of Sevillian businesses in the metropolitan area, with a homogenous sample for the temporary analysis of 5,000 businesses. This annual report has been elaborated since 2001, following the Company Database, a CD-ROM with the basic information  rounding 10,000 companies.

Europa Direct. The desk for European information in Seville from the Europa Directa network, "'Europa Directa Sevilla", was set up in September 2006,  dedicated to supporting businesses and citizens in Naves del Barranco. This service, which has financing capabilities of up to 24,000 euros per year on behalf of the European Union, offers information resources for questions and topics related to the EU: community information for citizens and counselling services on legislation, politics, programmes and possibilities for community financing.

New Countries for a New Europe. During 2006 the activities for this project came to an end, consisting  in the design and production of a travelling exposition focused on the effects of the last European enlargement on the urban and regional economies of the Atlantic axis. In Seville the exposition took place in Naves del Barranco, from 8 to 19 May, where a multilingual DVD was also produced, complete with information over the European enlargement process.

I2C Innovation, Competitiveness and Connectivity of the Mediterranean Metropolises. After the collaborative experience from the principal cities in the western Mediterranean axis in the project C2M, Seville, Málaga, Valencia, Barcelona (head of the activity), Marseille, Turin and Genoa once again joined together in a joint venture for the analysis and reflection on the attributes of the western Mediterranean's new metropolis. This is the objective of the I2C project "Innovation, Competitiveness and Connectivity in Mediterranean Metropolises", equally welcomed by the Community Initiative Interreg III-B MEDOCC. SEVILLA GLOBAL, together with Genoa, will develop a pilot action on city marketing strategy as a new model of action to improve the visibility and communication of many urban cities in the Mediterranean.

The communicative actions that have been being carried out within Seville's flagship for the promotion abroad as a business site are of a very diverse nature: international conferences and detailed presentations in specialised forums (London School of Economics, OCDE), missions abroad (Tokyo), the elaboration of monographs about Seville in financial media, the strengthening of ties with foreign businesses established in Seville and the presence and distribution of promotional material at business-related events.

Among SEVILLA GLOBAL's promotional material, the trimmed version of the manual, Seville, your place in the business world (a visual and aesthetically pleasing informational brochure which summarises the city's main elements of attraction as a business site) has also been produced in French and Portuguese. Likewise a document has been written entitled Seville Aeronautical District / Seville Aerospace Cluster, which is an industrial map-catalogue of the metropolitan area. Along the same line, a series of fifteen extra-large posters have been designed and produced with the slogan "Seville, your place in the business world": eight cover the city clusters with the greatest appeal and growth potential and another eight covering the main reasons to set up business in Seville.

In 2006 SEVILLE GLOBAL took on the project of restoring the Naves del Barranco building to set up a permanent exposition on economy, business and flagship projects in the city, offering bilingual Spanish-English informational panels and audiovisual media outlets, models and pieces. The objective is to offer, both for the citizen as well as for the visitor, an interactive centre on Seville, economically speaking, which offers information about which sectors are driving the regional capital's economic dynamism today and which are the emerging clusters.

Mission in Tokyo. During the month of May, SEVILLA GLOBAL, in collaboration with EXTENDA's (Trade Promotion Agency of Andalusia) office in Japan, schedules a series of bilateral meetings with Japanese institutions related to investment promotion and economic cooperation, with the objective of presenting the opportunities Seville offers as a business destination.

VIII Meeting of Authorities from the Latin American Institute for the Securities Market. By the Spanish CNMV's initiative, the Board of the Latin American Institute for the Securities Market met in Seville on 20 November. There were twelve countries represented at this annual meeting, to which managers and directors from the stock exchange and regulatory organisations from member countries attended. Enrique Iglesias, Latin American Secretary General was also present. The session on 21 November was dedicated to the industrial analysis of the collective investment in Spain and Latin America. SEVILLA GLOBAL took part in the organisation of this event, sending invitations to more than 200 professional Sevillians linked to the financial sector.

The World Bank, through its Cities Alliance programme, entrusted SEVILLA GLOBAL with the organisation of an international encounter in Alexandria (Egypt) as part of the local development process driven by the multilateral entity. The conference "Alexandria City Development Strategy: Creating Tools for Local Development" took place on 20 and 21 March 2006. This seminar was designed as an international gathering about experiences in urban economic development (at SEVILLA GLOBAL's request, Barcelona, Lyon, Turin and the local authorities in Alexandria were also invited.)

On 31 January 2006, CREA, the Centre for Advanced Business Resources, was inaugurated. The new facility, with financing from the European Union and Seville's City Council, has as its mission to develop the first business incubation programme in Seville and at the same time act as an integration facility to work with associations and local entities to give orientation, information and training tasks to the enterprises.

This new public facility for the entrepreneur, with a 3,000 m2 usable area above grade, offers 21 modules which are completely furnished and equipped, ranging from 30 to 60 m2, advanced Internet services, 24-hour maintenance and security, four meeting rooms each with a capacity for 12 people, 46 parking spaces, two classrooms for training programmes (one with a capacity for 35 people and the other with computer equipment for a total of 18 people), reprographics services, a centre for documental resources and a fully-equipped auditorium with a capacity for an audience of  178 persons, including two interpretation booths for simultaneous translation equipped to work in four different languages at the same time.

In accordance with the strategic and operative management models established, CREA offers pre-incubation services, such as consulting for business proposals including  the necessary help for elaboration of a business plans, incubation, which, together with the temporary housing of new and recently created businesses, offers consulting, training and mediation; and post-incubation services.

During these first eleven months of the activity's launching, the incubation service has served 48 housing requests in the Centre, and the pre-incubation service has offered information and consulting to more than one hundred businesses ideas, with an average of 15 users a day utilising this services' resources: business posts composed of a computer and telephone; a space for meetings and documental resources. At 31/12 the module area for the temporary housing of new business projects has a 72% occupancy rate, housing 12 businesses with a total of 58 employees.

With respect to the Department of Entrepreneurs and the New Economy at the University of Seville, in its fourth year running it has joined SEVILLA GLOBAL as a sponsor for the aeronautical group EADS-CASA, the science and technology park Cartuja 93 and the financial entity Caja Madrid. During 2006 the Department has strengthened its presence throughout the various campuses within the Seville University, with the goal of providing students with the basic knowledge which allows them to take on the start-up of their business projects. This programme had a participation of  225 pupils.

SEVILLA GLOBAL took part in the Day of the Entrepreneur on 3 and 4 May, an event organised by the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Enterprise, held in the Exhibitions and Conventions Centre, where CREA, the Centre for Advanced Business Resources offered its services. This same objective entrusted the presence of SEVILLA GLOBAL at the Provincial Exhibition (Muestra de la Provincia) that is organised annually by Seville's Provincial Council. This edition had entrepreneurs as its central theme.

On the other hand, in July of 2006 the Seville Entrepreneur Forum took place (Foro Sevilla Emprende). It is an initiative from SEVILLA GLOBAL, the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Enterprise and the Autonomous Government of Andalusia, Caja San Fernando and the Antares Club, whose goal is to stimulate a public debate about Seville as an urban, industrial and innovative economy.

During 2006 SEVILLA GLOBAL has continued to develop the revitalization of Industrial Land, a strategy set to address the obsolescence problem which affects more than ten business parks in the city. It was in 2006 that the greatest budgetary execution took place in the recovery of industrial spaces, with an investment of 3,628,578.86 euros.

During the year, the Technical Office for Revitalising Industrial Land has continued working on the identification of new projects as well as on the writing and execution of already existing projects.

As a result, in 2006 this Technical Office, and starting with the Comprehensive Reurbanisation Projects for the Aeropuerto's Industrial Park and La Chaparilla, drafted during 2005, begins contracting for these projects in January 2006.

In the La Chaparrilla business park these improvements consist of providing some sections of the development with streets composed of carriageways, car parks and sidewalks; furthermore, with the aim of providing the area with the highest intensity and the most aesthetic street lighting, the current system is going to be torn down and plans call for the placement of 10 or 12 metre-high poles on the new pavements. During the second phase, to be carried out in the future, plans call for the opening of a new street with the aim of connecting the area with the banks of the Lower Guadalquivir canal.

The actions being carried out in the Aeropuerto's industrial park also include the complete repaving of public roads, the renovation of supply networks, the enlargement and improvement of the storm sewer system, the improvement of public street light installations (with the installation of new points of light in areas effected by the intersections reform and the substitution of electric infrastructure), the configuration and the formalisation of new intersections. There are also plans to increase the number of parking spaces, as well as to adapt the pavements and pedestrian crossing to the norms of architectonic barriers.

Also within the restoration of industrial areas strategy framework, both in the La Chaparrilla area as well as at the Aeropuerto, SEVILLA GLOBAL is supporting the creation of communities of owners and town-planning conservation entities, and the work that they are carrying out. A rough copy of the constitutional statutes of Town Planning Conservation Entities has been written up and put at the disposition of the business communities and associations. At the same time, the draft has been approved by the Town Planning's Management.

On 18 September 2006, contracting began for the drafting of the Store Industrial Area's Reurbanisation Projects, Phases 1 and 2 and the Calonge Industrial Area, Phases 1 and 2, with a bidding price of 60,000 euros each. On 31 October the aforementioned projects were sold to BC Estudio Bernal Callier, S.L. for the price of 50,400 euros and to Inserco Engineers S.L. for 51,600 euros, respectively. The project's plans are set to be drawn up in the first trimester of 2007.

The project for the comprehensive signposting of Seville's network of industrial areas considers the installation of approximately 300 components (various signs, business directories, information points, emblematic milestones and exterior signposting from accesses to urban avenues) whose design had been previously agreed upon by the industrial area's association. The final objective is to rectify the lack of adequate signposting in the city's industrial areas, consolidate and promote awareness of the businesses established there and respond to users demands.

SEVILLA GLOBAL and LIPASAM, conscious of the existence of an important common work area dealing with the collection of waste and within the field of action of the Revitalization Plan, signed a Partnership Agreement, the result of which was a bid in December 2005, as a pilot experience, for the building site of two recycling points for wood and cardboard in the "Store" and Carretera Amarilla industrial areas. The budget for this action's sale was 403,416 euros for the sites.

Activity in the area of Innovation and Business during 2006 has been focused on supporting the rapid and adequate adoption of new information and communication technologies (ICT) by Sevillian enterprises. This ICT focus has been translated into circulation actions, incentive programmes and the development of technological projects.

The e-business analysis programme was launched by SEVILLA GLOBAL as a pilot project with the aim of facilitating the adoption, on behalf of the small and medium-sized businesses, of the new Internet-based management systems. Following this pilot initiative, which was identified as a best-practice by the Managing Director of Business and Industry from the European Commission, Seville's Open Technology programme was developed during 2006. This programme covers not only the analytical phase but also the implementation of e-business solutions specifically for SMEs. Through this programme, assistance has been provided to a total of 34 projects, which implies a investment subject to grant of 403,453 euros. These projects have received aid reaching a total of 262,245 euros, 65% of the investment made by the businesses.

In Seville's Open Technology framework, the Serving Businesses with e-Business Solutions meeting was held on 29 and 30 June at the Centre for Advanced Business Resources CREA. Five roundtable discussions took place and more than 35 outstanding speakers participated, ranging from supplier representatives and e-business consultants to Sevillian businessmen from different sectors of activities that exhibited their experience in the effective introduction of ICT into their management plans. In addition, a Technological Council was held in which individualised demonstrations of solutions for SMEs were carried out and in which bilateral meetings with businesses in the sector took place.

In 2006 a new edition of Innovaempresa was developed, the postgraduate programme created thanks to collaboration between SEVILLA GLOBAL and the EOI Business School. The objective is to train and advise researchers and entrepreneurs who want to start up a business project or businesspeople who want to develop new lines of innovative or technology-based activities. The 2006 edition, which has been offered for the first time at the Centre of Advanced Business Resources CREA, has finished with a total of nine new business projects, located in diverse activity fields: advanced business services, ITC services, audiovisual, etc.

The year 2006 was the year the transnational ATLANTIC.NET project was closed, developed within the framework of the Atlantic Perimeter Conference of Cities and with Interreg-IIIB Atlantic financing. The project's objective has been to establish itself as a forum for the analysis, circulation and exchange of experiences on the use of new information technologies among small and medium-sized businesses.

On 2 June 2006 the specific agreement for the development of the MINERVA project "Mobility Services Platform-Cartuja '93" was undersigned by the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Enterprise, the University of Seville, the Science and Technology Park Cartuja 93, the Association for Industrial Research and Cooperation in Andalusia (AICIA), the Association of Businesspeople using Information and Communication Technologies in Andalusia (ETICOM), VODAFONE and SEVILLA GLOBAL.

In terms of promotion, during 2006 SEVILLA GLOBAL has organised diverse gatherings and sessions. Among those that stand out; would be the seminar CRM and Relationship Marketing: How to develop the best relationship with your clients, held on 18 and 19 December at the Centre for Advanced Business Resources.

During 2006 the third annual incentives call was carried out within the Comprehensive Programme for the Development of Retail in Seville, focused on collective projects coming from business associations and merchant organisations. Within this framework 18 projects from other retailer's associations have been provided with assistance, with a total public expenditure of 515,000 euros, which covered 70% of the total approved investments. Among the projects for collective improvement a few stand out, such as the establishment of POSs (Points of Sale) and electronic commerce platforms, websites, specialised training, promotional campaigns and diverse communication actions and activities and the implementation of plans for quality improvement service.

During the reference year, the development of the Open Trade Frontier project has begun, through which an analysis of the small and medium-sized business situation in Andalusia and the Algarve has been carried out, and a telematics system has been designed which will be home to the cross-border shopping centre, as well as the virtual shopping head office.

With regard to the aeronautical sector, in October 2005 a joint action programme was agreed upon in the field of aeronautical development between Seville's City Council, through SEVILLA GLOBAL, Caja Rural San Fernando (a regional Savings Bank), the EOI School of Business and EADS-CASA. The programme is called Torreblanca 2010  and during 2006 it effectively developed its three lines of action: the launching of a course on aeronautical business management, the hosting of forums and conferences and the elaboration of a pilot report on Seville's aeronautical district in 2010.

Course for Aeronautical Business Management, designed to accommodate 30 participants, all holding management positions and the top management belonging to subcontracted enterprices. Its first edition was held on 24 January and has been developed throughout 2006. With a wonderful staff of professors, the majority coming from EADS-CASA, its format is that of an executive programme, lasting a total of 500 hours, 160 of which are teaching hours and the rest are dedicated to project consulting. While 58 candidates applied, 30 were eventually selected from a range of businesses.

Aeronautical Forums, in January 2006 Francisca Rodríguez Prieto, director of operations of EADS-CASA participated in "Andalusia's aeronautical business: the truth and the future". Later, in October, Mariano Alonso, the vice president of human resources and quality at EADS-CASA, participated in the conference-debate "Adapting human resources to the aerospace sector's new demands".

International Aerospace Quality Group - IAQG -  World Conference, held in Seville from 4 to 6 October 2006, was attended by 500 representatives. Up until now it is the largest aeronautical summit in Spain and has further strengthened the role of Seville as an aeronautical district.

Complementary Industry Fair. In 2006 SEVILLA GLOBAL attended the fair, held in Seville's Exhibitions and Conventions Centre from 3 to 5 October. Within the Complementary Industrial Fair framework, SEVILLA GLOBAL presented a compilatory, descriptive catalogue of Seville's aeronautical industry that included the specific resources which currently exist in the city, displayed quite originally with an industrial map of Seville's aeronautical district.

SEVILLA GLOBAL also implements the promotion of a sacred art and related creative activities park with the objective of guaranteeing the workshops held the best conditions in which to develop their future activities. During 2006 the development of this project has advanced greatly. In September Seville's Official School of Architects approved the permit for the project to build the aforementioned complex. In October the work license was granted and in November it published official bulletins corresponding to the tender for the Park's construction, with bidding at 17,720,382 euros. Likewise, the timeframe for receiving offers was finalised on 21 December, having 22 businesses and Temporary Business Unions (UTEs) applying.

On 22 December 2006, in action held at Seville's City Council, Seville's City Council's Town Planning's Management handed over land to SEVILLA GLOBAL. At this time the Deeds for the land grant where the Sacred Art Park will be located were signed, along with the developer's loan from Caja San Fernando for a total of 15 million euros aimed to finance the construction of the new activities complex.