Michael Beijer Jun 23, 2013:

area coordinator? this person on Linkedin translates 'gebiedsregisseur' as 'area coordinator':

'Gebiedsregisseur / area coordinator of Zuidwest Kwadrant and Borrendammebuurt in Osdorp'

(http://nl.linkedin.com/pub/pauline-edzes/8/52b/51a )

Barend van Zadelhoff Jun 7, 2013:

ik zou dat 'regisseur' niet zo letterlijk nemen
'gebiedsregisseur' is 'regisseur voor het gebied'
regisseur van wat?
de provincie bepaalt ('regisseert') wat er op het gebied van ruimtelijke ordening en ontwikkeling gebeurt in haar gebied
of: de provincie heeft de regie wat betreft ruimtelijke ordening/ontwikkeling in haar gebied

'de regie hebben over' = 'de baas zijn over' en dergelijke

De rol van de provincie is die van gebiedsregisseur

In the Netherlands, the provinces exert authority over regional/spatial planning within their borders. This means ....

By the way, I found this one while thinking about this question:

Spatial planning

The provincial government is the major authority in terms of the spatial planning in Brabant; this encompasses where people live and work, the structures that are built, and the scope of areas designated for wildlife.

http://www.brabant.nl/subsites/english/portfolio/spatial-pla...

Bryan Crumpler Jun 6, 2013:

Isn't this just a... regional director / area director?

gebiedsregisseur is a job title. They are basically saying that the province fulfills the same role as an area director / regional director, no?

As for the term "area", I wouldn't suspect that has any bearing on the size as an inherently "small" area, because an "area" is always relative to some bigger space. It's just a matter of how big the space actually is.

The USDA for example has area directors, where area is with respect to the "globe", e.g. the Middle East, Western Hemisphere, Europe, North Asia etc.
http://www.fas.usda.gov/ofso/overseas_post_directory/area_di...

In this respect, wouldn't the bigger space just be the entire country, just as the federal governments of member states would suffice as an "area director" for the European Union?

And how about this? http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-regional-area-manager.htm

Natasha Ziada (X) Jun 5, 2013:

Some valid points by Wiard. I like the descriptions suggested. As gebiedsregisseur is not an official title, perhaps it's best to avoid the words authority and body.

Economic development commission is focused on businesses/economic devt, I don't think that's the (primary) focus here

Wiard Sterk Jun 5, 2013:

Act as director for the region. I presume the translation is aimed at the UK, so needs to respond to its regional governance context for it to be of relevance to a UK audience. Region is certainly correct. The closest equivalent of a 'provincie' is a County. I would not use the word planning, this has a different and on the whole regulatory connotation, not a directive or visionary one, which is in essence the problem you have in translating this. The UK understanding of the role of regional government is different and therefore the terminologies does not fully match. You could work along the lines of 'it is the role of the County to direct the integral spatial development vision for the region' describing their 'role as director for the region', perhaps.

Robert Kleemaier Jun 5, 2013:

Economic Development Commission? Chris, Kitty might be on to something with that last suggestion, which prompts this reference: http://www.investkelowna.com/. Would something like that correspond with the organisation you've described?

Kitty Brussaard Jun 5, 2013:

regional development authority/body Might be another option. See f.i. also http://www.centralbaltic.eu/documents/doc_view/563-descripti...

Chris Hopley (asker) Jun 5, 2013:

area / regional My choice for 'regional' was mainly inspired by regular use of the word 'regio' in the source text (e.g. 'de rol van regisseur en ontwikkelaar in de regio'), and also my notion that 'area' sounds smaller. I'm not essentially against 'area', though.

Natasha Ziada (X) Jun 5, 2013:

Area Good suggestions, although I would suggest using 'area' rather than 'regional', as regional sounds more like rural to me. Or is it supposed to convey that?

Robert Kleemaier Jun 5, 2013:

On the right track Hi, Chris. I think your initial tentative solutions seem more than appropriate, as they remind me very much of the powers of the provinces here in Canada when considered within the context of the Constitution of Canada.