How does the Czech Republic move into the top five EU countries for business investment into research & development? Do we have the physical infrastructure for companies to do that research? Does CVUT, for instance, plan to surround teaching facilities with laboratories and offices for start-ups generated through university research? If so, does the Prague Municipal Plan incorporate such a possibility?

This was one of the topics discussed by AmCham CZ's Real Estate Council. The Council will work with our Technology Council to map the innovative infrastructure of Prague and Brno and understand both the current output and capacity.

That is not all the Real Estate Council will address. It will also continue its work on a land use planning process- including the construction act- that utilizes land more effectively to deliver both prosperity and sustainability. The Council also will look into the residential plans of both city authorities and private investors to estimate whether the stock of housing can meet the needs of businesses.

We would like to thank Bert Hesselink of CTP for leading the meeting today, and Jakub Adam of Taylor Wessing, Lenka Nová and Markéta Topinková of Squire Patton Boggs for their comments on the construction act and land use process.

One crucial step to an innovative economy is a more innovative economic development and construction permit process. We need to identify the right economic and social use of each plot of land, zone it clearly to achieve that use, and then make the permit process swift. That does not depend on the number of authorities involved, but the quality of their strategic leadership and the effectiveness of their management.

-wms-