The Export Initiative RETech 's Focal Point

Concept and functions of the RETech focal point

The focal point is the point of contact for specific enquiries from home and abroad, that enables qualified expertise and available technology to be accessed quickly. It can be reached through the internet portal (e-mail and    contact form), by telephone and by letter (see    imprint).

The focal point is conceived as a geographically and organisationally dispersed "dynamic" office. A small part of the tasks listed below, especially those related to handling enquiries, is to be dealt with in the secretariats of the participants ((   BDE,    bvse,    DGAW,    Germany Trade and Invest,    VDMA,    Federal Environment Agency). A coordinator from the group of participants manages the other tasks and links up the work.The Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) will fund the staffing of the coordination office at Germany Trade and Invest until 2011.

The coordinator (Ms. Rebekka Hilz, Germany Trade and Invest, for contact details see    imprint) represents the focal point externally and assumes the organisational and technical leadership of the focal point. She provides a report on the activities of the focal point to the advisory council and implements proposals and suggestions from the advisory council in consensus with the focal point participants.

Responsibilities of the RETech focal point

• Creating and maintaining the RETech Export Initiative network: Contributions to events such as expert meetings, trade fair appearances, cooperation with partners such as the German Association of Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GTZ), KfW, and the German Energy Agency (dena)
• Information and advice: Handling of enquiries from Germany and abroad, e.g. on project funding opportunities or suitable technologies
• Maintaining the internet portal: maintenance and development of the RETech portal
• Communications and public relations: producing flyers and brochures, organising press relations and publications in the specialist media, planning and helping to arrange conferences and workshops
• Planning and preparing the parameters for research projects, such as comparisons between the exporting countries operating in the field of recycling and waste disposal, or producing country profiles
• Planning and implementing flanking measures to help open up markets, e.g. information on tenders and support instruments, the business travel programme in cooperation with the German Association of Chambers of Industry and Commerce, and information campaigns in cooperation with the German Federal Foreign Office (AA)/embassies

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