Economic and fiscal development - At the service of governance

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 613 – 624 of 971

Potable Water Management Programme (PWMP) in Upper Egypt

01.07.2017 - 31.12.2027

Egypt is a water scarce country and has enormous needs in better managing water resources and reducing water losses as well as water consumption, as a prerequisite for inclusive economic development. This programme contributes to improved potable water management and service provision in the targeted affiliated Water & Wastewater Companies (WWCs) and to providing equal access to a reliable potable water supply system to deprived and informal areas in the economically disadvantaged governorates of Upper Egypt.


JOR Sanitation Solutions for Underserved Communities in Jordan

01.07.2017 - 30.06.2027

In Jordan water supply from conventional water sources has come to its limits. Appropriate sanitation solutions will minimize the risks for public health and reduce the hazards of environmental pollution. Additionally these will cut the costs for sanitation operations and free resources for other purposes. Thus the project will contribute to the much needed decoupling of population and economic growth from resource consumption and pollution of the environment.


Food security in the Great Lakes Region - Nutrition

01.07.2017 - 31.12.2021

Multidisciplinary partnerships and multi-stakeholder alliances wrought by One UN agencies and the Governments of Burundi, Rwanda and DRC develop practical solutions to deliver activities in support of the institutionalization of nutrition strategies in the respective countries. The activities take place at the provincial level, in locations where food insecurity and poverty are at highest level; they feed-back to the respective coordination secretariat, thus ensuring an appropriate political steering of the strategies.


SDC Grands Lacs: Gender mainstreaming

01.07.2017 - 28.02.2022

Les inégalités de genre sont très ancrées dans les coutumes et les pratiques des populations de la région des Grands Lacs. Elles sont accentuées par le contexte en ébullition, particulièrement au Burundi et en RDC, qui contribue au taux élevé de viol et de violences basées sur le genre. La présente intervention contribuera à leur réduction en améliorant le niveau de l’expertise liée aux inégalités et à la Violence Basée sur le Genre (VBG) dans la région, en promouvant les réformes adéquates et favorisant l’empowerment des femmes avec l’implication des hommes.


Creating Job Opportunities for All in Macedonia

01.07.2017 - 31.10.2022

This project will facilitate employment for vulnerable groups, by introducing appropriate active labour market measures, improving the capacities of responsible stakeholders to coordinate employment measures, and sensitizing and incentivising the private sector. lt contributes to ease the risk of vulnerable groups to fall into poverty, and enhances their social inclusion. Roma and people with disabilities are the main target group as they are disproportionally affected by high unemployment in Macedonia.


United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)

01.07.2017 - 31.12.2022

The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) located in Geneva is an autonomous research institute within the UN system. It undertakes multidisciplinary research and policy analysis on the social dimensions of contemporary development challenges. Guided by its research strategy 2016-2020 entitled “Transformations to Equity and Sustainability”, UNRISD aims at contributing to the understanding of policymakers, United Nations experts, and the public at large about the social dimension of the Sustainable Development Goals.


Programme Régional d’Education et formation des Populations Pastorales en zones transfrontalières (PREPP)

01.07.2017 - 31.12.2022

L’insécurité ainsi que les tensions entre éleveurs et agriculteurs se sont accrues en Afrique de l’Ouest. Une éducation de base de qualité et formation professionnelle adaptées sont des vecteurs de cohésion sociale et de perspectives économiques, constituant des remparts à la violence, surtout pour les jeunes. Le Programme Régional d’Education et formation des Populations Pastorales (PREPP) agit sur ces enjeux.  Il vise aussi à ce que les politiques nationales et sous régionales intègrent ces dimensions de paix et de durabilité.


Potable Water Management Programme (PWMP) in Upper Egypt – Phase 1

01.07.2017 - 31.12.2021

Egypt is a water scarce country and has critical needs in better managing water resources and reducing water losses as well as water consumption. Switzerland can share its know-how in the water sector. This programme contributes to equitable access to safely managed water to deprived and informal settlement areas in the economically disadvantaged governorate of Aswan in Upper Egypt and to improved potable water management and service provision in Aswan Water & Sanitation Company (AWSC).




OCHA Donor Support Group (ODSG) Vorsitz der Schweiz 2017-2018

01.07.2017 - 31.12.2018

At a challenging moment, defined by increasing humanitarian needs and constrained financial resources, OCHA has launched a Change Management Process. At the same time the Office is in the process of elaborating its new Strategic Plan for the period 2018 – 2021. It is within this context that Switzerland is taking over the Chairmanship of the ODSG from June 2017 until June 2018. The overall goal of the Swiss ODSG Chairmanship is to support and guide the organization towards a more sustainable position within the humanitarian ecosystem.


World Bank Global Program on Forced Displacement GPFD

01.07.2017 - 30.06.2020

A record 65.4 million people are displaced due to armed conflict and persecution. Many of them have been displaced for more than a decade, necessitating a development approach to make them more self-reliable. The Global Program on Forced Displacement (GPFD) has been the agenda-setter on this issue in the World Bank. Through its role as the custodian of expertise, it contributes to foster long-term development solutions for the displaced and to make this a priority issue for the Bank.

Object 613 – 624 of 971