In order to promote a balanced regional development, the municipalities of the Spodnje Podravje region have authorised SRC Bistra Ptuj for the execution of tasks according to the Promotion of Balanced Regional Development Act – ZSRR-2 (Ur. l. RS, No. 20/2011, 57/2012) and its regulatory provisions.

In the Spodnje Podravje region, SRC Bistra Ptuj is involved in common developmental activities in the public interest, and in coordinating the region’s efforts on the local and national level, thus representing a constant partner and mediator between ministries, government organisations, municipalities, enterprises and other national and regional institutions.

The role as an institution responsible for regional development involves developmental and organisational tasks, as well as technical and financial support and services, required for successful realisation of ideas and for achieving good results in economic, environmental and social development of the Spodnje Podravje region.

By identifying developmental problems in the Spodnje Podravje region, we provide appropriate solutions, and by exploiting opportunities from the local environment, we help to create and implement project ideas that could contribute to a new added value within the region.

On the Slovenian territory, the region of Spodnje Podravje represents an area with common developmental issues on one side, and a number of developmental opportunities on the other. The realisation of the later to the advantage of the entire population within the region can be achieved best by constituting the entire area as a region, acting on behalf of its own developmental strategy and programmes aimed at independently directing future development in the fields of economy, social life, culture, spatial planning and environment.

The area of the Spodnje Podravje region extends over 16 municipalities, and they are: Cirkulane, Destrnik, Dornava, Gorišnica, Hajdina, Juršinci, Kidričevo, Majšperk, Markovci, Podlehnik, Mestna občina Ptuj, Sveti Andraž v Slovenskih goricah, Trnovska vas, Videm, Zavrč and Žetale.

Žetale
The Spodnje Podravje region is a relatively densely populated area mainly consisting of agricultural land, and includes the Haloze hills and some parts of the Slovenske gorice hills as well as the flatland Ptujsko polje along the river Drava and its tributaries.

In the north, the Spodnje Podravje region also includes the central and western part of the Slovenske gorice hills, extending from Krčevina pri Vurbergu over the river Pesnica through the municipality Sveti Andraž v Slovenskih goricah.

Dornava

Markovci

Sveti Andraž

Žetale

Videm

Cirkulane

Haloze is a hilly area extending from the stream Jelovški potok near Makole at its western end along the Croatian border as far as Zavrč in the east. The eastern part is a winegrowing area with vineyards covering approximately one tenth of the land, whereas almost one half of the western part is covered with forests. The border runs through the Peklača valley.

Geologically, a large part of the flatland Ptujsko polje consists of river gravel, covered by a layer of fertile humus which makes the land perfect for agriculture. Some of the names of nearby villages still remind us that the entire area was once covered with forests – Bukovci (from Slovenian bukev, meaning beech), Borovci (from bor, meaning pine), Gajevci (from gaj, meaning grove) and Zagojiči (coming from za gajem for »behind the grove«). The hills and flatland form a mixed sedimentary area, consisting of sand, clay, gravel, sandstone, marl and limestone, while various geomorphologic processes have created different (facies) landforms like steep hills, ridges, valleys and terraces.

MUNICIPALITY OF CIRCULANE

The municipality of Cirkulane is located in the northeastern part of Slovenia and is approximately 15 km from the town of Ptuj. It starts at the Borl Castle and borders on the municipalities of Markovci, Zavrč, Videm near Ptuj and the Republic of Croatia. It covers an area of ​​32 km² and has about 2300 inhabitants

MUNICIPALITY DESTRNIK

The Municipality of Destrnik extends over the long sunny hills of the central Slovenske gorice and shallow and long valleys, which were cut into the tributaries of Pesnice on one side and Rogoznica on the other side, only a few kilometers from Ptuj. It  measures 34.4 km² and counts 2707 inhabitants.

MUNICIPALITY OF DORNAVA

The municipality of Dornava is located in northeastern Slovenia. A part of the municipality lies on Ptujsko polje, then across the Pesnica river begins to rise to the Slovene gorges. It measures 24 km² and has approximately 2750 inhabitants.

MUNICIPALITY GORIŠNICA

The municipality of Gorišnica extends between the flatland field and Haloze hills, separated by the river Drava. It measures 29 km2 in has about 4,000 inhabitants. The center of the municipality is Gorišnica, a clustered settlement on the Ptuj field along the main road Ptuj - Ormož.

HAJDINA MUNICIPALITY

The municipality of Hajdina spreads on the terraces on the right side of the river Drava. In the east, it borders on the Municipality of Ptuj, in the northwest to the Municipality of Starše, in the west to the Municipality of Kidričevo and in the south to the Videm Municipality. It measures 22 km² and has about 3,800 inhabitants.

MUNICIPALITY JURŠINCI

The municipality of Juršinci extends over 3625 ha, with 2377 inhabitants. The territory of the municipality occupies a part of the wine growing hills of Slovenske gorice on both sides of the road Ptuj - Juršinci - Gornja Radgona and part of Pesniška valley.

Destrnik

Gorišnica

Jušinci

MUNICIPALITY KIDRIČEVO

The municipality of Kidričevo extends to the area of ​​the lower Drava field, which means that it is a flatland municipality. In natural geographical terms it lies on two provincial ecological units. The majority of the municipality, more precisely its central and northern part, lies in the traffic center of the Dravsko polje. The southwestern part is once wet, but today it is a meliorated landscape. It covers 72 km² with 18 settlements and has a population of 6,670.

MUNICIPALITY OF MAJŠPERK

The municipality of Majšperk lies in the western part of Haloze. It has a large 72.8 km² and has about 4,200 inhabitants. It counts 26 settlements and 3 local communities

MARKOVCI MUNICIPALITY

The Municipality of Markovci extends to the northwestern part of Slovenia, on the flat part of the lower Ptuj field, mainly on the left bank of the river Drava, while the area of ​​the Šturmovci landscape park is on the right bank. The municipality consists of nine settlements and covers 32 km² and counts 4,026 inhabitants.

MUNICIPALITY OF PODLEHNIK

Podlehnik is a village in the northwestern part of the Haloze wine growing, whose nucleus is in the valley of the Rogatnica stream between the Nova cerkev and the Sveta Trojica. It extends to 36 km.

Kidričevo

Majšperk

Podlehnik

CITY MUNICIPALITY PTUJ

Ptuj is the oldest documented city in Slovenia and lies in the northeast Slovenia, in the center of Spodnja Podravje on the border with Prlekija. The entire central part of Ptuj is monumentally protected. It covers 66.65 km², which represents 0.3% of the entire territory of Slovenia. By size, the Municipality of Ptuj is the second smallest city in Slovenia. Today's Municipality of Ptuj comprises 10 settlements (Grajena, Grajenščak, Kicar, Krčevina pri Vurbergu, Mestni vrh, Pacinje, Podvinci, Ptuj, Spodnji Velovlek and Spuhlja) and consists of five town districts (Center, Ljudski vrt, Panorama, Jezero and Breg ) and two suburban quarters (Grajena and Rogoznica). The municipality of Ptuj counts 24,708 inhabitants.

THE MUNICIPALITY OF SVETI ANDRAŽ IN SLOVENSKE GORICE

The Municipality of Sveti Andraž in the Slovenske Gorice, in its present form, was founded in December 1998 by the name of the patron saint of the parish church of St. Andraž. The municipality spreads through the hilly world of the central Slovenske gorice; between Ptuj, Lenart, Radenci, Gornja Radgona and Ljutomer. The municipality comprises 7 settlements in the area of ​​17.6 km².

MUNICIPALITY TRNOVSKA VAS

The municipality of Trnovska vas is a closed geographical unit, leaning on the regional road Ptuj - Lenart. The area of ​​Trnovska vas municipality is 22.9 km². It covers seven villages. The largest settlement is Trnovska vas, which is also the seat of the municipality

MUNICIPALITY OF VIDEM

The municipality of Videm lies on the southern edge of the Dravsko polje, on both sides of the Dravinja, where the Haloze are close to the sleeves of the Drava River, it measures 80.2 km² and has about 5300 inhabitants. The centre of the municipality is Videm, which is a clustered settlement, mostly on the left bank of the Dravinja along the branches of local roads towards Ptuj, Lancova vas and Zgornji Leskovec.

MUNICIPALITY OF ZAVRČ

The Zavrč municipality is one of the smaller municipalities in Slovenia, measuring only 19.25 km². The municipality is rarely and predominantly ridge populated. It borders the Republic of Croatia in the south and east. The municipality consists of nine settlements, with only about 1,500 inhabitants.

MUNICIPALITY OF THE ŽETALE

Žetale is located in the southwestern part of Haloze. It described the border town centre with a hilly core in the picturesque upper part of the Rogatnica stream. It measures 38 km² and has about 1,300 inhabitants.

Ptuj

Trnovska vas

Zavrč

Within the region, the following developmental tasks in the public interest are considered as priorities:

• preparation, coordination, following and evaluation of the Regional Development Programme and regional projects;
• preparation of agreements on regional development;
• implementation of regional projects and involvement in the processes of public tendering, public procurement and public-private partnerships within the framework of such projects;
• support for operations of the municipal council and cooperation in partnerships concerned with regional development;
• informing general public, counselling, collecting of project ideas and advising partners in terms of preparation and application to calls for tenders, as well as with the implementation of regional projects;
• transfer of knowledge and good practices from the field of regional development and
• support for the implementation of regional funding schemes when these are connected with the withdrawal of funds from public funds.

• advising and assisting in the preparation of applications for public tenders (national, regional, territorial, international ...),
• preparation of documents identifying the investment project and investment programs.
• preparation, implementation and monitoring of projects,
• financial, organisational and content management and coordination of projects,
• training public and private sectors for the successful absorption of national and European funds,
• counseling and education, other services
• promoting local and regional development in the economic, social, spatial and environmental fields,
• advising and promoting the development of small businesses,
• consulting in the field of innovation and technological development,
• preparation of state analysis and benchmarking,
• preparation of documents identifying the investment project and investment programs.

The mutual relations between development partners are determined by agreement.In accordance with the Act on the Promotion of Balanced Regional Development - ZSRR-2 (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 20/2011), a regional development partnership can be formed in the concluded area of ​​several municipalities in one or more regions. The mutual relations between development partners at the regional level shall be determined by agreement. It shall determine the composition of the bodies of the regional development partnership, involving representatives of municipalities, associations of economic activities, non-governmental organisations and individuals from the regional development partnership. The provisions of the Act on the Promotion of Coherent Regional Development (ZSRR-2) on the establishment and functioning of the Council shall apply mutatis mutandis.

In accordance with the Act on the Promotion of Coherent Regional Development and on the basis of the Decision on the Establishment of the Development Spodnje Podravje Region, adopted by the mayors of the municipalities of  Spodnje Podravje on 01.02.2006, the mayors of the municipalities of Spodnje Podravje signed a contract on May 30, 2006 on the establishment of the Regional Development Partnership of Spodnje Podravje.

By signing the contract, the Regional Development Partnership of Spodnje Podravje was established as a form of interest-based integration and the involvement of municipalities and other entities relevant to development planning in the area of ​​connected municipalities.

By establishing a regional development partnership, the Parties wish to achieve the following objectives:

• to preserve and further develop the area of ​​"Spodnje Podravje" as a functionally completed area based on the territorial, economic, political, cultural and historical connection of the population;
• establish an appropriate support environment for faster and coordinated resolution of development and other problems that are common in the "Spodnje Podravje" area;
• identify, within the framework of public-private partnerships and interest-based partnerships, the development priorities of the area, the bearers and the way of carrying out joint projects;
• to develop a regional development program in the "Spodnje Podravje" area in due time;
• achieve faster and equal treatment in defining development priorities and integrating project proposals into the regional development program of the region;
• increase the willingness of local stakeholders in the area of ​​joint cooperation and organisational integration.

The signatories of the Treaty establishing the Regional Development Partnership of Spodnje Podravje have established the Regional Development Council (hereinafter: the RDC) as a coordinating body for monitoring, coordinating and deciding on the activities in the contract.

• The RDC (Regional Development Council) consists of mayors of 16 municipalities from the "Spodnje Podravje" area.
• The RDC mandate is linked to the preparation and implementation of the Regional Development Program for each programming period.

Tasks of the Regional Development Council of Spodnje Podravje:

• taking all decisions related to the operation of the regional partnership for the "Spodnje Podravje";
• making decisions in the process of preparing, validating, coordinating and implementing the regional development program and its programming work;
• participation in the preparation and adoption of the regional development program for the Podravje region;
• adopting the rules of its operation;
• addressing other issues of development significance.

Organisational and administrative tasks for the needs of the Regional Development Council of Spodnje Podravje and its bodies are usually performed by the administration of the presiding municipality, unless otherwise specified by the RDC. Expert tasks related to the preparation and implementation of regional development programs are carried out by SRC BISTRA Ptuj.

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Decree on the implementation of local community-led development in the 2014-2020 programming period >> Show

Act on the promotion of harmonious regional development - unofficial consolidated text >> Show

Decree on Regional Development Programs (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 69/12, No. 78/15) >> Show

Decree on the implementation of endogenous regional policy measures (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 16/13, No. 78/15) >> Show

Decree on the definition of border problem areas (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 22/11 and 97/12 and 24/15) >> Show

Decree on the Development Council of the Cohesion Region (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 33/13) >> Show

Regulation on the regional aid map for 2014-2020 (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 113/13) >> Show

Regulation on the allocation of regional state aid and the method of harmonizing the regional incentive for employment and investment (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 93/14), explanation of the regulation, activities with gender imbalances for 2015 >> Show

Rules on the classification of development regions by the level of development for the 2014-2020 programming period (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 34/14) >> Show

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Basic Regulations and Instructions in the Field of European Cohesion Policy:

Regulation on common provisions - Regulation (EU) No. 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as of 17 December 2013 on the common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, laying down general provisions on the European Fund for Regional Development, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, and repealing Council Regulation (EC) 1083/2006 >> Show

Regulation on the ERDF - Regulation (EU) No. 1301/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as of 17 December 2013 on the European Regional Development Fund and on specific provisions for the 'Investment for growth and jobs' objective and repealing Regulation (EC) No. 1080/2006 >> Show

The ESF Regulation - Regulation (EU) No. 1304/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as of 17 December 2013 on the European Social Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) 1081/2006 >> Show

Regulation on the Cohesion Fund - Regulation (EU) No. Regulation (EC) No 1300/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as of 17 December 2013 on the Cohesion Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) 1084/2006 >> Show

The ETS Regulation - Regulation (EU) No. 1299/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as of 17 December 2013 on specific provisions to support the European territorial cooperation objective of the European Regional Development Fund >> Show

EAFRD Regulation - Regulation (EU) No. No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as of 17 December 2013 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Council Regulation (EC) 1698/2005 >> Show