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 889 – 900 of 971

Platform Renewable Energies REPIC

01.04.2018 - 31.12.2022

REPIC is the platform of four offices of the Swiss Confederation (SECO, SDC, FOEN, SFOE). It supports projects for the transfer of Swiss know-how and technologies in developing countries and countries in transition with the aim of disseminating renewable energies and increasing the energy and ressource efficiency.


Programme for improved water services in provincial cities of Peru

01.04.2018 - 30.06.2022

The programme for improved water services in provincial cities of Peru aims to improve water supply for more than one million citizens of Trujillo and Huanuco. It will support the establishment of critical infrastructure combined with corporate development measures to improve quality of service delivery.


Swiss Sustainable Tourism and Competitiveness Project

01.04.2018 - 31.03.2022

In order to foster sustainable and inclusive growth in the tourism sector, SECO supports Vietnam with this Project at the micro, meso and macro level to strengthen international competitiveness, skills development and preparing favourable framework conditions.


Global Program for Intellectual Property Rights

01.03.2018 - 31.12.2024

Intellectual Property (IP) regimes are central to promoting innovation and the development of new goods, services and production methods. IP provides the incentive necessary to pursue further research and development, and creative works. Insofar, it is part of a sound foundation for a prosperous private sector and today's world trade system.


Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa

01.03.2018 - 31.12.2022

The Programme supports the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa, the objective of which is to join public and private forces and promote sustainability in the cocoa value chain. Launched in 2017, the multistakeholder initiative is driven by chocolate manufacturers, traders, retailers, NGOs, research and the federal government represented by SECO.


Partnership for Action on Green Economy, Phase II

01.01.2018 - 31.12.2021

The Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) is a multi-year programme to support countries interested in pursuing green economy policies. It will deploy the joint expertise of four UN agencies, ILO, UNEP, UNIDO, and UNITAR, to assist a total of 20 countries in their efforts to embark on green economy pathways.


Skills for Competitiveness

01.01.2018 - 31.12.2021

S4C aims at strengthening the vocational education and training (VET) system in Indonesia, by linking selected Polytechnics with the private sector, thus tackling the lack of skilled workers (skills gap) in selected sectors of the indonesian economy.


Global Trade Helpdesk

01.01.2018 - 31.12.2021

Access to trade and market intelligence is critical to export success. Most of small and medium enterprises (SME) often lack the resources and skills to acquire and process trade-related information such as market requirements and trade procedures which places them at a disadvantage and prevent them from using trade opportunities.


IDB Aquafund - Multidonor Trustfund MTF

01.01.2018 - 31.12.2021

The multi-donor AquaFund of the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) provides Latin American and Carribean countries (LAC) non-reimbursable technical cooperation and pilot investment grants for the preparation of water and sanitation investment projects, institutional strengthening activities, knowledge products and innovative pilot projects.


Global Eco-Industrial Parks Programme

01.01.2018 - 31.12.2023

While it is uncontested that Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) methods are an important ingredient for a more sustainable and climate friendly way of production, their broad deployment and effective use has yet to happen.



Urban Water Security Project

01.01.2018 - 30.06.2022

The project seeks to increase climate resilience of urban water supply and to improve wastewater management with a special emphasis on skills development. It will focus on improving cooperation and establishing partnerships locally, regionally as well as between Peru and Switzerland/Germany. The project is implemented by the German GIZ.

Object 889 – 900 of 971