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LIAA among Best - Performing Business Promotion Agencies Worldwide
The Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) has recently been announced as one of the top 10 performing national Investment Promotion Intermediaries (IPI’s) in the World according to the Global Investment Promotion Benchmarking published in May this year by the World Bank. Coming up 7th in the fierce competition of 213 national and sub-national IPI’s Latvia has outperformed most of the ones in high-income countries and some of the traditional good performers such as Australia, United States, Ireland, Finland, Spain and Czech Republic.
Source: Global Investment Promotion benchmarking. 2009: Summary report
Between March and September 2008 the capabilities of 181 national IPIs and 32 subnational IPIs were assessed, making this the most comprehensive IPI benchmarking exercise ever undertaken. Using a peer-reviewed methodology replicating actual projects and the decision-making criteria and location selection behaviours of direct investors in the early stages of a location–selection process, independent consultants have assessed IPI Web sites and the ability of IPIs to manage and respond to investment inquiries. The results give direct insight into information provision capacity around the world, along with indirect insight into the organizational effectiveness of each IPI, its management efficiency, and its understanding of the foreign direct investment marketplace.
The report, prepared by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, assesses the response of the national business promotion agencies to two potential projects — inquiries by a software developer seeking to expand operations in each country (25%) and a beverage manufacturing company (25%), as well as online information provision (50%).
The report finds that over 70 % of government investment promotion intermediaries out of 181 investigated miss out on investment and job-creating opportunities by failing to provide accurate and timely information to potential investors.
Source: Global Investment Promotion benchmarking. 2009: Summary report
Assessing IPI Web sites
To assess the extent to which IPI Web sites credibly promote a location and provide foreign companies a gateway to more information or IPI support, GIPB used four indicators: information architecture, design, content, and promotional effectiveness.
Best-practice sites clearly show the advantages of an investment location. They also convey the IPI’s professional competence: its understanding of the target customer, of the factors influencing the decision on an investment location, and how the IPI can influence selection of an investment site.
Source: Global Investment Promotion benchmarking. 2009: Summary report
Assessing IPI inquiry handling
To provide a balanced view of the real abilities of each IPI, GIPB evaluated each agency twice—first via a manufacturing research and development inquiry and then with a software engineering inquiry.
The surveys assessed the IPIs’ ability to respond to requests for information in a professional and appropriate manner—and in a way that would likely increase the investor’s motivation to engage further with the IPI and ultimately invest in the location.
An assessment of an IPI’s ability to manage investment inquiries also provides an insight into many of its core functions. Inquiry handling is not only about how an IPI interacts with an investor but also the extent to which an IPI understands its market, does research into its own location so it can respond to investors, and ensures its staff has project management skills, knowledge, training, and marketing capability.
Source: Global Investment Promotion benchmarking. 2009: Summary report
Assessing National and Subnational IPIs
When companies are seeking information about a location, they may approach the national or subnational IPI. Over recent years a large number of subnational agencies have appeared at the regional, provincial or city level.
It is clear that many of the world’s most innovative and customer-focused IPIs are subnational. Subnationals may perform better than national IPIs because their often more-focused mandates on Investment promotion allow them to become leading experts on their local economies and to generate detailed information about the area’s assets and advantages.
In many cases, subnational IPIs outperformed their national counterparts, particularly because they do well in customer service. IPIs seeking best-practice lessons in sales skills and customer care may want to address their attention to subnational agencies.
Source: Global Investment Promotion benchmarking. 2009: Summary report
Source: Global Investment Promotion benchmarking. 2009: Summary report
Source: Global Investment Promotion benchmarking. 2009: Summary report
For further reading please click here:
http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/fias.nsf/AttachmentsByTitle/GIPB2009/$FILE/GIPB2009.SummaryReport.pdf
