Why Are Traditional Approaches to Regional Development No Longer Sufficient?

Slovak regions today face problems that cannot be solved in isolation. Population outflow and aging, disparities in employment opportunities, limited access to services, underutilized buildings and land, brownfields, waste, energy efficiency, and climate resilience are all interconnected.

Moreover, the disparities between regions are not merely a matter of perception. In 2025, the unemployment rate in the Bratislava Region was 2.5%, while in the Prešov Region it was 8.8%. In 2023, the Bratislava Region reached 179% of the EU average in GDP per capita at purchasing power parity, while Eastern Slovakia reached 54%. At the same time, in 2025, Slovakia recorded a decline in its population for the fifth consecutive year. This shows that regional development cannot be based on a single indicator or a single type of project.

Moreover, the Slovak labor market presents a paradox: while unemployment remains high in some regions, labor shortages are a problem in others. It is therefore not just a matter of the number of jobs. What is important is the mismatch between people, their qualifications, and job opportunities.

A region needs to function as an interconnected system

Regional development is often still carried out through individual projects.

One addresses employment, another the environment, and yet another education or business support. Each can yield results. The problem arises, however, when there is no connection between them.

A region is not a collection of separate problems. It is a living system of people, organizations, resources, relationships, and opportunities. That is precisely why RCOH is not meant to be just another isolated project or platform. It is designed to function as a mechanism that connects what already exists in the region—people, organizations, resources, projects, and opportunities—and helps create new solutions from them.

RCOH: PEOPLE – ECONOMY – SUSTAINABILITY

The RCOH model is based on three interconnected pillars: PEOPLE, ECONOMY, and SUSTAINABILITY. Education, research, entrepreneurship, local governance, and the environment are naturally integrated into these pillars.

PEOPLE refer to the skills, motivation, relationships, and opportunities for both young and experienced residents.

ECONOMY refers to the ability to create value and jobs and to keep as many resources as possible within the region.

SUSTAINABILITY means the responsible use of land, buildings, materials, energy, waste, and natural resources.

In this way, education can be linked to entrepreneurship, research to local government, and environmental solutions to new economic opportunities. These are not five separate areas, but a single system.

From an Isolated Project to a Systemic Solution

Let's imagine a region where young people are leaving, schools are preparing graduates for a limited number of local jobs, and yet there are companies, unused spaces, and people with untapped skills in the region. An isolated solution might be another course or a one-time project for young people.

A systemic solution, however, connects schools, local governments, businesses, research and civic organizations, and the young people themselves. Education is aligned with the real needs of businesses, unused space can be repurposed, and local talent can gain the opportunity to work on projects without having to leave the region. It is precisely this approach that demonstrates that we do not always have to look outside the region for its potential—often, we first need to connect what already exists within it.

The region does not need to start from scratch

The RCOH systemic solution also involves making better use of existing resources. Land, buildings, materials, energy, waste, local businesses, knowledge, and human potential do not have to remain untapped or flow out of the region. If we can connect them, they can create new economic and social value.

Regional development should therefore not begin with the question: "What new project will we create?" But rather: "What potential do we already have, and how can we connect it?"

A region is not a collection of isolated problems. A region is a system. And systemic problems require systemic solutions.