Governments, Businesses and Knowledge Institutions in South Holland Invest € 1.4 Billion in Economy

Nearly 80 organisations (governments, businesses and knowledge institutions and clusters) in South-Holland will be investing €1.4 billion annually in the regional economy over the next decade. This is how the region will combat the effects of the Covid-19 crisis, high unemployment and lagging economic growth in the region, and how a significant reduction in CO2 emissions will be achieved. It will also give a substantial impulse to the large housing challenge and the accessibility and livability of the region. The OECD, Erasmus University Rotterdam and NEO Observatory have calculated that the Netherlands as a whole will benefit from these South Holland investments.

The plans are set out in the South Holland Growth Agenda, which was launched on 16 March during a conference attended by the director of the Social and Cultural Planning Office, Kim Putters, Ingrid Thijssen, chair of VNO-NCW, Edith Schippers, president of DSM, Tim van der Hagen, rector magnificus of TU Delft and Jaap Smit, the King's Commissioner.

"The South Holland Growth Agenda will solve the biggest social challenges and earn the Netherlands many extra billions of euros," says the King's Commissioner, Jaap Smit. "But we will only succeed if the State adds €1 billion annually to our investments and takes a more integrated view of the region. Closer cooperation with the State is logical because the Netherlands as a whole will benefit from investments in South Holland." The Growth Agenda consists of numerous concrete projects that can be implemented quickly and that fit in well with the National Growth Fund and the funds of the European Union, among other things.

Making better use of the region's starting position

In the province of South Holland there are many innovative SME entrepreneurs, leading knowledge institutions, strong sectors and the largest European port. This gives the region a good starting position for making a major contribution to broad prosperity and inclusive employment in the region of South Holland and the Netherlands in the coming decades. But now, investments must be made in the renewal of the economy and the business climate in the region.

Private and public parties in the province of South Holland are therefore investing simultaneously in the following sectors: knowledge & innovation ecosystems and key technologies; the manufacturing industry; the energy infrastructure; biotechnology; the mobility transition and lifelong development. The key players in the province of South Holland are in the starting blocks and are asking the State to join them.

Involvement HSD

HSD is a one of the participants of the Agenda in relation to the following spear heads of the programme: 

1. Knowlegde & innovation ecosystems: contributing to key technologies (AI, Quantum and Cybersecurity & Resilience), Campus infrastructure and Access to Capital.
2. Manufactory industry with new value chains: creating a digital innovation & cyber resilience hub with InnovationQuarter and clusterorganisations with amongst others Greenport, Holland Instrumentation and Bio Science Leiden/Medical Delta.
3. Human Capital Agenda: a life long learning related to digitalisation, IT & cybersecurity.

The full Growth Agenda for South Holland can be found here.

 Read the official press release (in Dutch), source: Economic Board Zuid-Holland.