A regional Training on Local Economic Development (LED) was organized in Pristina in November 2019 for NPOs in WBA, Eurad and HQ participants, by the WBA Advisor on E+I.
The
objectives of the regional Training on LED was to get an idea about what the methodological approach to LED could be for the WBA region, to identify issues related to LED and of interest to WBA and to discuss specificities that need to be taken into account when identifying a new intervention. It also paid special attention to the ongoing research question of better linking linking local economic development and local governance processes.
The
program of the regional LED Training consisted of two days condensed training, conducted by Mesopartner.
· The first day focused on the fundamentals of LED to familiarize participants with the concept by reflecting on principles and preconditions of LED and introducing a first analytical framework (the Hexagon) as well as presenting the concept of using participatory assessment tools as means to facilitate and start an LED process.
· The second day introduced the concept of systemic competitiveness on focused on the question how economic change is happening, which is of particular importance, when analyzing a local situation through the framework of systemic competitiveness. The afternoon session looked at how to design an LED program and how to monitor LED programs and processes.
The third day was dedicated to capitalization for the Western Balkan region and the training ended on day four with a voluntary field-trip to Peja-region, focusing on what has been done by this locality in the area of tourism.
In discussions, the following common topics were identified, as being relevant for LED in the Western Balkans:
- SDCs long-standing reputation with large governance program at subnational level.
- Small internal market and small private sector
- Suitability of some sectors like tourism and close links to ongoing MSD projects
- Widespread clientelism and necessity of thorough political economy analysis
- Trust between stakeholders is lacking
- Localities face similar challenges all over the region: outmigration, urban-rural migration, access to market and fiancé, skill adequacy, environmental issues, etc.
During the training, a rapid assessment of LED readiness at a country level was conducted by participation. This analysis is only a first step and not based on scientific data, but the purpose was to get a first “feeling” and overview where the region stands with regards to possible LED programming. The following pictures is the result of that exercise:
The template for rapid assessment of LED readiness at a country level has been finalized based on comments received in the training and consultation with DDLG network. The tool can be used by SCOs in the preparation phase of potential LED project to see if such a project is feasible and where the greatest weaknesses are in the context. Low score does not necessarily mean LED is impossible, but to start slow (e.g. building up capacities with adding components in an existing project). The tool can also serve to validate hypotheses about local contexts at different stages and to understand whether the “picture” shifts over time.
The session dedicated to the
Synergies of LED between DDLG and E+I noted the following:
- A LED process combines elements of local governance and elements of MSD. Both “approaches” emphasize participatory processes. Depending on the “sector/domain”, stakeholders put more emphasis on increased economic performance/well-being or better local governance and decision-making. Insofar, depending on the entry point, the story line might be different, but project set-up, management and monitoring are essentially similar.
- Participants often referred to localities as municipalities, instead of seeing them as functional spaces. Somehow, we are more prone to think in administrative borders than within functional economic spaces that could be the defining demarcation for an LED project. Making people aware about this may be helpful, when wanting to strengthen the economic aspect of LED.
- The hexagon might be a good tool to strengthen the analysis on synergies between governance and economy and try to get a picture of the locality along the six elements of the analytical tool, although the differentiation between governance and process would need to be clarified beforehand, as for governance colleagues this is not straightforward.
