The Agentura regionálního rozvoje, spol. s r.o. (Regional Development Agency) was founded in the year 1996 based on a ruling of the Euroregion Nisa, a civic association of the towns, municipalities, and districts of Liberec, Jablonec nad Nisou, Semily, Česká Lípa, and Děčín (the Šluknovský projection). This civic association was its 100 % promoter and owner until the beginning of 2003. However, the Liberec Region has been the owner of a 51 % share in the company since April 2003.

In 1993, a limited liability company known as Understanding was set up in the Euroregion Nisa. The principal aim of this company was to provide translation and interpretation services, but also to offer technical support to the secretariat or even to the members of the civic association. After the transformation of this company into the Regional Development Agency in 1996, its activities were broadened in scope to include economic and organisational consultancy, advertising and publicity activities, publishing activities, and mediation activities in the field of services, which made it possible to provide comprehensive technical assistance services in the handling of the individual projects of town and municipalities.

In its current form, the Agentura regionálního rozvoje, spol. s r.o., (ARR – hereinafter referred to as the “Agency”) has been a company with a focus on consultancy, advisory, and mediation activity in a number of different areas of interest. As a business entity (a limited liability company) owned by the bodies of local government, the Agency principally concentrates on the provision of services to administrative institutions, towns, and municipalities in the realisation of the objectives of strategy aimed at regional, economic, social, and cultural development. In this way the agency implicitly acts as one of the instruments of regional development policy in the Liberec Region.

The Agency’s aim of business operation is to provide regional public administration, towns, and municipalities with professional assistance on a long-term basis with regard to the generation of regional programmes, conceptual plans, and strategies in the individual areas of public and economic life. It also intends to offer assistance in the formulation of objectives, the definition of measures to accomplish such objectives, communication with both the professional and general public, and last but not least, to provide professional services in the implementation of individual investment and non-investment projects.