Local Economic Development

• Course introduction
• The experts
• Learning objectives
• The content
• Practical information

This course is about strengthening the economic capacity of a local area. Together with top experts and practitioners in the field of local economic development, you will discuss how local governments can create conditions for economic growth and job generation, thus improving the quality of life for all. The course will provide you with tools and approaches for involving the public, business and non-governmental partners in developing and implementing a strategic vision for the economic development of your area.

A sustainable local economy is crucial for the well-being of a community. Unfortunately, there is no blue-print for successful economic development. Each village, municipality or region, has its own particular characteristics with its own challenges and opportunities. Crucial in each case, however, is the dialogue between and participation of the different stakeholders like local and regional government, industries, small businesses, chamber of commerce and community organisations.

Even though there is no blue-print for successful local economic development, there are of course ways to promote LED. Strategic planning has proved to be successful. One of the tools that we will discuss during the course is the UN HABITAT-tool for strategic planning, that deals with the following questions: Where are we now? Where do we want to go? How do we get there? Have we arrived?

This intensive one-week training programme on Local Economic Development combines theory with visits to public and private organisations, exercises and games, and an exchange of experiences with experts, participants and other practitioners in the field of local economic development. At the end of the week you will go home with your personal Back Home Action Plan. This will help you to implement your newly gained ideas and experience back home.

The latest expertise and insights will be made available in this course, through a combination of lectures from visiting experts, exercises and study visits. Contributions come from practitioners in the fields related to Local Economic Development with world-wide experience. During the training you will have the opportunity to share your experiences with them and each other and ask their opinion about issues you deal with.

After the course, the participants have:

• Increased practical knowledge about the different aspects of LED;

• Acquired knowledge and skills to increase participation and involvement of different stakeholders in LED;

• Acquired knowledge and skills to work with strategic planning;

• Have created a basic plan for the economic development of their city or region.

After successful completion of the course you will receive a certificate of The Hague Academy for Local Governance.

Day 1: Welcome dinner and getting to know each other.

Day 2: Introduction of Local Economic Development, getting to know each other better, introduction of the Netherlands and start working on the Back Home Action Plan.

Day 3, 4 and 5: In the morning sessions we will discuss theory and do exercises about, amongst others, Public Private Partnerships, different types of economic development opportunities, developing a LED strategy, funding opportunities etc. In the afternoons we will go on study tours. We will visit LED projects in the Netherlands, meet different stakeholders, like municipality or region, Chamber of Commerce, etc.

Day 6: Participants present their Back Home Action Plan to each other. This plan is a strategy for economic development of the participant´s region,  city or village. During the training programme participants have worked on this plan, using the theory, tools and examples discussed and shown during the training week.

This training course will not be part of our open enrollment courses in 2011. However it is possible to organise this training course tailor made for you. For more information please email to: info@thehagueacademy.com