The purpose of the author was to indicate the deficiency of development management instruments currently used to the territorialization of policies in stimulating intra- and intersectoral partnership cooperation. Her reflections were based on the results of research commissioned by the Polish Ministry of Development and Investment by a team in which the author participated. These studies have revealed that the weakest impacts of the so-called territorial instruments include the ability to mobilize various stakeholder groups to take action and to create partnership cooperation. Against this background, the author has undertaken the analysis of the potential impact of territorial tools on the partnerships development and has attempted to present recommendations for practice and further research in this area.

The paper indicates the signifi cance of the development policy territorialization for an enhancing competitiveness of cities and regions. The characteristics of such a policy allow revealing of the nature of territorial instruments. The authors, referring to their consulting practice and the research work done for the Ministry of Development, frame their recommendations. Those recommendations constitute the guidelines for amendment of territorial instruments in the context of National Regional Development Strategy actualization.