Stemming from the Conseil régional d’Auvergne (regional council), the Agence Régionale de Développement Economique (ARDE) is an association-based structure grouping thirty or so members from the private and public sectors: enterprises, local authorities, chambers of commerce, regional technology centre, banking and financial institutions. It is, therefore, an agency dedicated to Auvergne and more specifically to all the business community stake-holders. 

The agency is focused on five strong points: 

- promotion and driving of the key economic sectors, defined as a priority in the Regional Economic Development Plan : food, nutrition/health, biotechnologies, aircraft and materials, eco technologies and wood, ICT and the digital technology industry. Within this framework, the agency also project manages the calls for “excellence cluster” projects in Auvergne. 

- canvassing for investors, namely foreign investors likely to relocate to Auvergne. 

- helping the enterprises of the region in international development, in particular by putting volunteers for international work experience at their disposal in Germany, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and China. 

- setting up business intelligence focused on clusters in partnership with the Agence pour la Diffusion de l'Information Technologique (ADIT). The recruitment of a business intelligence consultant is currently pending (advertisement on the APEC website) with a view to achieving this assignment. This consultant will be based in the ARDE offices. 

- coordination of all the economic players : expansion committees, urban area communities, combined district councils, etc. 

Identity card 

Creation of ARD Auvergne: September 1984
New title ARDE: January 2006
Legal form: non-profit association
Chairman: Jacques-Bernard MAGNER
Director: Alain FARINE 

Team: 7 heads of assignment - 5 assistants 

Agence Régionale de Développement Économique d’Auvergne (Regional economic development acency of Auvergne)
Centre Delille - Place Delille
63058 Clermont-Ferrand Cedex 1
Phone: 33 (0)4 73 31 84 84 - Fax 33 (0)4 73 31 84 00 

See interview with Alain Farine, Director of ARDE Auvergne