The contents related to collaboration and business partnerships constitute one of ours main consulting areas. Therefore, a lot of attention is given to this topic in the “Development Navigator”. Companies and individuals come across collaboration and partnership in all of their development phases and all sectors regardless of company size. There are, however, several differences in the understanding of collaboration and partnership, namely in the reasons as well as approaches for the connection. Companies, and also individual regions, can achieve great competitive advantages using collaboration and partnership approaches, but we need to know that it takes at least some knowledge about partnership strategies and the management of such connections in order to achieve optimal and long-term effects. Knowledge about strategic thinking and modern business models is helpful as well. Many questions arise during the collaboration and partnership development process, e.g. what benefits will I get from collaboration and partnership, how do companies reach global visions, can (and how) do companies make use of partnerships and in what form, how to maintain partnership to make and keep it successful in a long run, and how to prepare for the possible termination of a partnership?

Our articles are aimed at addressing the issue of collaboration and partnership from various perspectives and for various development and business circumstances. We would like our articles to help improve the understanding of this area and consequently to help entities enter various partnerships more boldly and frequently, and increase the collaboration and partnership culture in general.

Every company wants to sell its products and services on foreign markets, but only a few of them manage to succeed on foreign markets, and even fewer on remote markets. What are the factors delivering success on foreign markets? Is it enough to have an excellent product or service at a favourable price or do we need more?

This topic is devoted to the internationalisation process of businesses, more specifically the good and bad experience and practices of companies, business-support organisations and networks, consulting firms and others who are in any way and any function included in the internationalisation process. We also write about the internationalisation strategies from various points of view. The topic “Collaboration & Partnership” talks about all perspectives of collaboration and partnership, whereas this topic focuses on partnership strategies that can contribute most to the successful operation on foreign markets, i.e. the collaboration and partnership from the business internationalisation perspective. Moreover, we provide information about the specifics of individual international markets, and under the sub-category “Business Opportunities” also about the business opportunities that circulate within the network of our clients, partners and associates.

In our work we come into contact with numerous companies offering various semi-products, products and services that are intended for sale to commercial entities, the public sector through public procurement and/or final consumers. Many of these companies’ products and services are not ready in the shape or form that is suitable or appropriate for marketing abroad, namely due to a lack of certificates, unfulfillment of standards, unsuitable price policies, unsuitable packaging, competitiveness regarding the design and functionality of the product or service, in addition to many other reasons. Even companies themselves often do not have the proper internal organisation or have inexperienced staff when it comes to selling on foreign markets.

With the rise in online sales, online social media and analytical tools for monitoring sales and visitor behaviour on websites, marketing and sales have become significantly more complex. Today, that means that in addition to the classical sales channels, there are a large number of possible online marketing, advertising, and sales channels, as well as a wide selection of associated software tools available.

Our articles reveal various aspects of marketing and sales in an international context.

Digital economy includes a wide range of business activities, since digitalisation is carried out in several layers, all sectors, and both in the business, public and private or home environment. Digitalisation is omnipresent in business operations and private life, and it at the same time breaks the classical educational, service, production, financial, legal, organisational, management, decision-making, marketing, sales, communication and other business models, systems, sub-systems, methodologies and tools.

Articles connected with digital economy are multi-layered as well. We write about the possible changes or improvements delivered by modern digital solutions, which would give organisations competitive advantages, increase their visibility and credibility among the existing and potential buyers, decrease costs, increase transparency of operations or introduce new innovative business models. We also write about the possibilities of obtaining development funds for developers or holders of innovative solutions, about the needs of business systems, the importance of strategic partnerships, the necessity of interconnectivity of individual solutions, partnership, marketing and sales strategies of the digital society, and about other digital economy related topics.

One of the key questions asked by all types of organisations and individuals refers to the financing of development projects. There are several options, yet only few organisations and individuals meet the conditions to obtain funds despite there being many providers of funds. Our advisory services relate primarily to European funds and strategic partnerships and/or private funds invested by private investors in perspective development projects.

We publish articles about the strengths and weaknesses of individual types of financing, good and bad practices, strategies to obtain strategic partners and private investors, legal issues arising in the collaboration process between the recipient and provider of funds and about other issues connected with project financing.

–        The collective intelligence from which individuals that are included in a connection would draw the knowledge or intelligence created together was developed in only a few cases of collaboration and connections. What are the reasons for this?

–        Could carefully and smartly planned collective intelligence and access to such intelligence become the main competitive factor of the development of individuals, companies, connections or even regions?

–        Who are the initiators and leading development holders of the collective intelligence?

–        How to build the collective intelligence in own collaboration or partnership models?

–        What knowledge, methodologies and tools do we need to build the collective intelligence?

–        What level of collective intelligence does an individual connection have, and how can it be measured?

–        Can the level of collective intelligence be one of the trust level indicators in a connection or a maturity level indicator of an individual connection or partnership?

What challenges does the 21st century bring us in leadership and business? The changed situation on the global market forces both small and large companies to consider further business strategy as well as:

–        more efficient organization;

–        better exploitation of innovation potential in the company’s internal or external environment;

–        changes in management, attitudes towards employees, customers, subcontractors, suppliers and partners;

–        reducing costs and possibly abolishing obsolete programmes and introducing new ones;

–        use of modern knowledge-based information tools;

–        etc.

We want to encourage strategic thinking and the exchange of strategic management practices through published articles.

The field of the local and regional economic development is intended for institutional players who are in charge of the development at the local and regional levels, both in urban as well as rural or suburban areas. It is also intended for active business players as well as active individuals who are involved or want to be involved in the development of the environment they work and/or live in.

The quality of life is shifting from cities to the rural environment and jobs with a high added value have stopped being a domain of only developed urban environments a long time ago. The rural environment has great potential for new challenges and opportunities, not only in the field of organic farming and tourism. We will present examples to show that innovativeness, creative industry, digital economy and entrepreneurship are not present only in urban environments. Many success stories with global dimensions start in the suburban environment. What are the ways the urban and suburban environments connect and collaborate?

The purpose of this section is to:

(1) share good practices in the field of the regional rural economic development;

(2) present the importance and role of the public and private sectors in successful local and regional economic development;

(3) fill in the gaps in the competencies and knowledge for a successful promotion of the local and regional economic development,

(4) exchange experience in the promotion of market centred ideas for the economic development of urban and suburban environments;

(5) present innovative development initiatives and opportunities in the urban and suburban environments;

(6) connect local and regional Slovenian and international initiatives, and together seek opportunities for the development of such initiatives.

“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.”