ABSTRACT
The idea of regional learning and the intelligence of regions as the key mechanism for the understanding of regional development is in itself an innovative conceptual breakthrough of regional development theory. European Union (EU) structural policy, as the main redistributive mechanism aimed at the narrowing of regional inequalities and the maintenance of the socio-economic cohesion of the EU, can support substantially the implementation of intelligent region strategies through the co-financing of regional development programmes. The majority of regional development agencies (RDAs) that are functioning nowadays at a local or regional level have been created during the second half of the 1980s, mostly after 1990. This is due to their close and systematic connection to the European structural policy, which is creating significant opportunities and yet poses particular preconditions and regulations regarding the role of the RDAs. Concerning their specific activities, RDAs in Central Macedonia have developed a variety of activities in support of the region's productive system.
