Small business

Focusing on the real customer. When small business development centres or LEAs are publicly funded,
the work of the agency may become over-focused on the outputs desired by the public or donor
agency resource provider. The culture and organisation of the agency then may reflect the demands
of the providers of funds rather than those of the ultimate clients - the SME sector. Effective
organisations design themselves around the needs and values of their customers. It is therefore
essential to create a small enterprise culture within the service delivery organisation. 
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Local organisations delivering services to entrepreneurs should, in short, be entrepreneurial, as Section
2.5 already indicated. Central government will only be able to encourage this if its own actions are based
on trust and endorsement of local strategies rather than on narrow, centralised control of outputs and
activities.
EFFECTIVE POLICIES FOR SMALL BUSINESS - © OECD 2004
5. Development of Specialist Institutions
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The Polish Agency for Enterprise Development coordinates a network of over 150 Consulting and Advisory Centres (PKDs),
which serve as a first contact point for SMEs. They provide legal, financial, marketing and management advice as well as
support in accessing various assistance programmes. Some 13,000 start-ups and small enterprises were assisted in 2002.
The network is linked to a National SME Services Network (KMU) with almost 180 members (regional agencies, Chambers
of Commerce, etc.) operating under an accreditation system developed by the Agency. A specialised services network for
innovation is to be created as well. Because the regional agencies within KMU also play a key role in decentralised development
(see Section 3.4), a close link with local development needs is enhanced.