Regional development agencies, foundational and operational problems in Turkey

Regional development agencies which are institutional structure of regional development, and foundational and operational problems in Turkey are analyzed in this study. Regional development agencies contribute to activate economic potential for development; also as significant missions eliminate regional disparities in the country.Taking the consideration of historical process of development attempts in Turkey, it can be seen that there are still regional imbalances. After the establishment of the Republic, there was development attempt scoping all of the country. Moreover, there have been different practices parallel to worldwide patterns after the development plans. Nevertheless, the expected results could not have been achieved.Experiences of development agencies in Turkey started in the early 1990s. Code No. 5449, which was enacted due to necessity of institutional level of regional development and the European Union accession process in 2006, provided legal basis for development agencies. Pilot agencies were established in two regions based on the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics of the European Union. It was planned that the structure of agencies would be improved after gaining experiences from these pilot agencies; however, judicial decisions have interrupted the process. On the other hand, there is need for several changes in the structures and functions of the agencies as well.