For the SDC, local economic development is not just an economic matter but a cooperative approach which provides an excellent tool for bringing together different interest groups to agree on local cooperation that can help create jobs and income, in addition to improving governance.

SDC focus

Moreover, local economic development can also strengthen governance at national level. In countries like Kosovo or Burkina Faso, the SDC conducts local economic development activities which have been implemented simultaneously in several towns. This has enabled municipalities (or rather territories, because each town has close links with its peri-urban and rural hinterland) to exchange information and experience that are specific to them. This has led to better cooperation among local authorities and thus added weight to the local dimension in dialogue with central government.

Background

Local economic development brings together various stakeholders from civil society, as well as the public and private sectors. Its goal is to promote cooperation so as to develop a given area. Cooperation is a key factor in governance. Local economic development (LED) triggers a political process in which the protagonists have to negotiate the priorities bearing in mind the limited human and financial resources at their disposal.

Forces that drive the economy

Economic considerations drive the private sector. Cooperation on creating public goods, such as improved framework conditions for investment, calls for a private-public collaboration that is built into concrete projects ("We'll build the road, and you'll build the factory. You tell us what's not right about the investment climate, and we'll put it right."). In this way, combined LED efforts create new business prospects. The public sector needs the private sector for local economic development.

In virtually every country, it is the private sector that creates most jobs and generates income, and jobs and income are a priority for the public sector's customers and voters. Poverty reduction and – perhaps more important for a civil servant – re-election of the mayor and his staff depend on the generation of income.

Governance as a process

Civil society, like local associations, should also be part of planning and implementing development projects in which the economic dimension is obviously not the only issue at stake. The State and local government do not cover all the ground. So the three stakeholder groups – the public and private sectors and civil society – negotiate and cooperate on the basis of concrete information derived from evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the local economy, as well as the opportunities and risks involved. This dynamic exchange between partners improves governance at local level.

Current projects

Object 121 – 132 of 971

WFP/UNHAS common services for Southeast Asia during COVID-19

12.06.2020 - 31.12.2020

Contribution by two funding entities (Humanitarian Aid and South Cooperation) to support WFP/UNHAS in Southeast  Asia in the framework of the COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan in terms of passenger services, light cargo and MEDEVAC. With passenger planes and air ambulances (air base: Subang/Kuala Lumpur) the freedom of movement of humanitarian and development workers as well as other supporters to the Global Humanitarian Response Plan who got into “land-locked” situations where no commercial capacity is available or possible to use is enhanced by WFP/UNHAS’ air or sea transport services. 


Global co-operative movement for health

01.06.2020 - 31.12.2026

Many low- and middle-income countries strive to extend access to essential health services to the entire population. The private co-operative movement has potential to complement government efforts by providing efficient low-cost services for rural populations and informal sector workers. Following the principle of subsidiarity, SDC help the movements’ efforts establish a global platform for capacity strengthening of co-operatives.


Accès aux bénéficiaires en Afrique de l’Ouest

01.06.2020 - 31.12.2023

Dans un contexte d’insécurité civile et alimentaire croissante, aggravée par la crise économique et sanitaire due au Covid-19, seul le service aérien humanitaire des Nations Unies (UNHAS) permet d’accéder aux populations grâce à un transport sûr et rapide d’acteurs et de biens humanitaires et de développement. La contribution à UNHAS permettra d’atteindre les populations vulnérables dans les régions reculées, d’assurer le suivi des programmes suisses et de rendre compte sur ces derniers.


Programme de renforcement de la résilience des ménages pastoraux et agropastoraux face aux crises climatiques et à l'insécurité (RESILIA) Phase 1

01.06.2020 - 31.12.2024

la DDC contribue au renforcement de la résilience de plus de 700’000 personnes dont les déplacées internes, affectées par la crise sécuritaire et les changements climatiques au Burkina Faso. Se basant sur la riche expérience de la Suisse dans l’élevage pastoral au Sahel, le programme va soutenir les pasteurs et agropasteurs pour que leur pratique d’élevage et moyens de subsistance s’adaptent aux défis climatiques et améliorent leurs conditions de vie tout en favorisant la paix au Burkina Faso.


Fondo Suizo de Apoyo a la Cultura

01.06.2020 - 31.12.2023

La Cooperación Suiza en Bolivia asigna de acuerdo a lineamientos de la casa matriz el 1% de su inversión a la cultura, por la relevante contribución de las expresiones culturales en el diálogo intercultural y los procesos de desarrollo. El apoyo se dirige a sectores de la sociedad que por razones geográficas o sociales disponen de posibilidades limitadas de realizar expresiones culturales o de tener acceso a manifestaciones culturales y artísticas.


Water and Comprehensive Sanitation Project in Rural Areas (ASIR – SABA), Phase III

01.06.2020 - 31.07.2022

The ASIR-SABA Project aims to contribute to the sustainable management and governance of water and sanitation, as well as public health, as a contribution to the consolidation of peace in rural areas of the country. To achieve its objective, the project promotes dialogue between the different actors of the WASH sector in Colombia. It also aims to strengthen the capacities at the community and institutional level (national, departmental and municipal) for the co-management of water and sanitation in rural areas of the country.

Based on the achievements capitalized by the project in its first and second phases and the challenges and opportunities identified with the different governmental actors of the WASH sector in Colombia, the SDC implements the third and final phase of the ASIR-SABA project.


Programme Redevabilité

01.06.2020 - 31.05.2024

Dans un contexte politico-social de plus en plus tendu, la Suisse mettra à profit sa valeur ajoutée en termes d’engagement sur la durée, de discrétion, de fiabilité et de transparence pour contribuer, lors de la 2ème phase du programme, à renforcer les capacités d’interpellation de la société civile et les efforts des autorités pour lutter contre la corruption et l’impunité, ce qui leur permettra de pouvoir mieux assumer leurs responsabilités dans la délivrance de services publics de qualité à la population. 


Strengthening the Role of Local Communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina

01.05.2020 - 31.03.2024

The Project will enhance community governance in BiH by empowering local communities (MZs) as modern and effective structures for pro-active citizens’ participation. A new functional and organizational set up of MZs in BiH will be created and standardized countrywide. In turn, women and men will benefit from more people-centred local service delivery, better accountability and transparency of municipalities.

 

 

 


Kyrgyzstan Electoral Support Programme (KESP)

01.05.2020 - 31.12.2021

The programme aims at promoting fair, inclusive, transparent and peaceful elections in Kyrgyzstan by building technical capacities and expertise of key institutions responsible for administering elections and by empowering Kyrgyz citizens, including underrepresented groups like women, youth, ethnic minorities and persons with disabilities, to participate and exercise their electoral rights.

 

 

 


Women and Girls First

01.05.2020 - 31.12.2022

SDC up-scales the “Women and Girls First” program of its priority partner UN Population Fund in southern Shan, where no other donor is present. The program strengthens government, civil society and ethnic health providers’ systems to be responsive to the needs of young people related to sexual reproductive health and rights. It improves access to comprehensive gender-based violence, mental health and psychosocial support services, and enhances social cohesion.


UN COVID-19 Response and Recovery Trust Fund (MPTF)

01.05.2020 - 31.12.2022

The MPTF provides the opportunity to alleviate the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 on the poorest countries. It complements Switzerland’s support to the UN’s humanitarian response beyond the immediate sanitary response. It is an opportunity for a coherent and coordinated UN COVID-19 response. It is an expression of Swiss solidarity to avoid that people fall into poverty and that inequalities between people and countries grow as a result of COVID-19. 


Programme d’Appui au Plaidoyer des Faîtières des Organisations Socio-professionnelles Agricoles (AP/OSP)

01.05.2020 - 30.04.2024

L’agriculture constitue la principale source d’emploi et de revenu au Bénin. Or, les réformes dans le secteur de l’agriculture ne sont pas encore toutes définies de commun accord avec tous les acteurs. La Suisse contribue au renforcement institutionnel et à la gouvernance des faîtières des producteurs et éleveurs afin que ces derniers puissent mieux jouer leurs rôles d’interpellation, de proposition, de participation et de suivi de la mise en œuvre des politiques agricoles.

Object 121 – 132 of 971