“EU-CAT UNIT-Developing the information center for promotion the EC-IST programs in Transylvania region.

 TOTAL COST : 115850 EURO

The organization responsible for the financial administration of the project:

                                          TRANSYLVANIA BUSINESS CENTER (CAT) 
                                         Bd. Nicolae Titulescu No. 4, 420400 CLUJ-NAPOCA, Romania 
                                                              tel/fax: +40-264-433678
                                                   http://e-cat.ro , e-mail:cat@e-cat.ro 

 Number of staff:   12 
                                48 associated students (Lyceum Business Center/Students Business Center) 

FIELDS OF ACTIVITY:

The Transylvania Business Center is a grass-roots non-profit organization (NGO) for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) providing development opportunities, promotion, internationalization, business links, travel, education, consulting, training, research and data base, other services, in assistance to the development of market economy mechanisms and democratization. 

The association has 23 founding members and over 1000 members. It offers support in various forms to help SMEs through the transition to a free market economy. 

The organization is developing an intense activity of supporting private economic operators within the following fields: production; trade; transport; banking; services and mass media.  This support is available in various forms: free consulting; training; assistance; promotion of services; relations and partnership development; 
organizing economic missions; research; developing communications and databases for businesses. 

The Transylvania Business Center (CAT) collects and circulates information regarding offers and demands of equipment, merchandise and services, business 
opportunities, investment projects, necessary for the SMEs in the fields of production, trade and services. The Business, Development and Consulting Centers 
Network, where CAT is the member opened direct information way for the SMEs, creating development conditions for the private sector. 

CAT is acting in the fulfillment of: 
1. The marketing research. 
2. The orientation of the customer as concerning the offer/demand for merchandise and services. 
3. Tempering the increase of the prices and matching fair prices on the market. 
4. Developing direct contacts between the suppliers and customers in order to conclude contracts. 
5. Developing the international co-operation. 

Experience:

The association collaborates with a lot of organizations in country and abroad, with Romanian and foreign companies, institutions, NGOs, universities, high schools etc. 

BRE Programme: 
CAT Cluj-Napoca has been assigned as a Correspondent for “Bureau de Rapprochement des Enterprises” BRE by the European Commission DG XXIII on the basis of the collaboration protocol signed in 1998. The project proposed the promotion of the BRE programme and network to the SMEs from Transylvania region. CAT was nominated by the European Commission to represent the region of Transylvania. The results of the projects are at http://e-cat.ro/breuropafinalreport.html 

ENERGIA Project:
CAT is involved in ENERGIA project http://e-cat.ro/energia.html . This project has for objective to develop an International Co-operation Network between the European Union and Eastern Europe through promoting and disseminating electronic commerce applications, and through preparing the conditions for a better convergence of views, infrastructures and practices between west and Eastern Europe. 

VIVA Project:
VIVA project http://www.viva-eu.org targets are: small-sized enterprises in a rapid growth phase and aims at 
contributing to their sustainable economic development by offering online application 
services that support them in their early years with respect to Strategy, Financing, 
Marketing & commercial policies, and Human Resource management in order to evolve 
from an entrepreneurial atmosphere to more "managed" operations. 
CAT will participate in VIVA Project as a Contractor. It will contribute to the Requirement analysis and will implement the Pilot services in Romania. 

CAT was mentioned in the Annual Report for 2001 of the European Commission as one of the most representative organization of SMEs from Romania. 

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT:
 

• The main objective of this project is to create a DATABASE that would contain names and information’s about consultants, experts and specialists working in different fields of activity, which can be used directly by the European Commission (as consultants).
• The publicity of the programs and projects that European Commission is running and the demonstration of the opportunities that results for the SMEs.
• Conferences, seminars and workshops will be organized to inform the companies about the European Commission’s programmes and about it’s values.
• Spreading of the business opportunities and of the news concerning the European Commission through e-mail, website, newsletters, direct mail, fax, press releases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT:
 

•  EU DIVISION will be implemented providing a modern information and communication system using the Internet; companies will get connection to the Internet and will use the E-mail service for communication;
•  Realizing our own DATABASE and monthly updating it;
•  Promoting the programmes and the values of the European Commission;
•  Organizing press releases for finding consultants and experts;
• An workshop will be organized in order to spread the information about the launching of the EU Division;
• We will maintain permanent contact with a person from the European Commission for obtaining the newest information;
• The creation of newsletters for firms containing informations about the news from European Commission;
• Developing information society technologies to enable SMEs to increase their competitiveness in marketplace field and also to improve the quality of the individual’s working life; 
• This project will develop the international relation for the SMEs and will provide the necessary information and consulting services.
• Extending this network at the individual level of the users, especially SMEs, in order to have their fast and appropriate access to the business information; 

PROGRAM: for 2 years
 

EXPECTED RESULTS:

- Ensuring rapid and efficient communication links between the users, public, SMEs, organization, companies, local authorities and EU Structures; 
- The transfer of data and useful information to the SMEs, from the country and the rest of European Union; 
- Promoting the values of the European Commission and the acceleration of Romanian integration to the European Union; participation to the construction of the Knowledge Society into an Enlarged Europe; 
- Assuring the rapid and correct spreading of the information using the new virtual tools and mobile sustainable mechanisms; 
-  DataBase with experts for increasing the add value activities and life quality improvement. 
 

 
ANDREEA ANDREICA 
 

B U D G E T

1. Equipments
 

Laptops ( 2X 2000 Euro)  Laser printer (1X 500 Euro)	4000 Euro                          500 Euro
Copy machine (1X 2000 Euro)	2000 Euro
Scanner (1X 100 Euro)	100 Euro
Tell/fax machine (1X 250 Euro)	250 Euro
Internet modem (1X 350 Euro)	350 Euro
Office supplies (lamps, staplers, punchers)	2500 Euro
Furniture:  -Tables (2 X 300 Euro)  -Chairs (2 X 100 Euro)  -Bookcase (1 X 250 Euro)	1050 Euro
Internet network subscription (200 Euro/month X 24 months)	4800 Euro

2. Current Expenses
 
 

Building rent (space of 60 m X 300 Euro/month X 12 months)	3600 Euro
The staff:  1 X 800 Euro/month X 24month  1 X 1000 Euro/month X 24 months	43200 Euro
Consumables (200 Euro/month X 24 months)	4800 Euro
Energy, heating, cleaning (50 Euro/month X 24 months)	1200 Euro
The promotion:  - Publicity campaigns (press, TV, radio) 1000 Euro/24months  - Promotional materials 1000 Euro/24 months	2000 Euro
Administrative costs:  - Expenses with phone, fax, e-mail, Internet 400 Euro/month X 24 months	9600 Euro
Transport:  - Internal delegations 100 Euro/month X 24 months  - External delegation (1000 Euro/semester X 8 semesters)	10400 Euro
ORGANIZING SEMINARS (4 SEMINARS X 1500 EURO)	6000 Euro
Editing and distributing the newsletter	1000 Euro
Market research and gathering information	1500 Euro
Creating specialized libraries and data base	8000 Euro
TOTAL	115850 Euro