===================================================================== Center for Community Economic Development University of Wisconsin-Extension Community Economics Newsletter No. 305 March 2002 ===================================================================== A Newsletter from the Center for Community Economic Development; Community,Natural Resource and Economic Development Programs, and University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension Service ===================================================================== What is Local Development? by Mark Hart and Michael Murray* One of the things that I get to do is read a lot of materials on numerous topics and from numerous places. Just recently a colleague in Northern Ireland sent me a piece. If you think you may have conflict over Smart Growth just imagine what they are facing. Local development incorporates the following characteristics: It is bottoms up While the sensitivity to local needs and opportunities is important, it is also appropriate that development priorities should be determined in an environment which reflects the interest of local governments, the business sector, community groups and voluntary organizations. This is not to argue for the redundancy of the top down perspective, which remains vital for keeping a set of overarching policy and strategic contexts, and indeed for taking responsibility for some aspects of implementation. The important issue is to search for and agree the balance. It is integrative Local development concerns itself with making connections vertically and horizontally between stakeholders and across programs. Integration seeks to enhance the capacity for seamless policy making and smooth management while recognizing that innovative organizational approaches must have regard to variations in authority and responsibilities, relationships with government, strategic preferences and bureaucratic culture. It is strategically driven Local development, in order to be effective, rises above an association with a series of ad hoc initiatives in any locality. A clear direction based on local understanding of local issues and supported by a confident but realistic vision of the future is vital. Local development is about long-term targeted action to create change, both in places and with people. In conceptual terms, the challenge is to maximize the degree of fit between planning and delivery. It is collaborative Local development requires the involvement of multiple stakeholders, working together rather than on an individual basis. It is an inclusive activity that embraces the volunteerism within the community and voluntary sectors, elected representatives, public officials and private sector participants. Collaboration in its fullest expression is apparent in partnership governance. It is interactive Local development should not be perceived as solely a technical activity better left to others who appear more qualified. The hegemony of public officials and a dependency upon consultants for expertise can be tempered by a local development approach which recognizes the knowledge based input of local people and businesses into agenda setting and implementation. The requires an ongoing investment in local capacity through a combination of community development processes and initiative management skills thus allowing progress in one sphere to reinforce progress in the other. It is multi-dimensional Local development embraces a wide range of concerns. It does deal with job creation, business growth and connecting people to jobs within the locality. But it also extends across a wide range of social action; it reaches out to the most marginalized in local society, but requires the participation of those who may, in relative terms, be asset rich. Making places work better is a further dimension of local development and thus physical regeneration and environmental improvements are part of the product base. It is reflective Local development is always willing to learn from experience regarding what works well under different circumstances and that could work better. Monitoring and evaluation can strike a combination of terror and frustration into those using public money, and while accountability and the probity of spending are necessary, it is frequently the case that sufficient opportunities for open reflection and shared learning do not occur. Local development sustainability is dependent upon these being in place and in this context monitoring and evaluation can be an important part of the empowering process. It is assets based Local development requires some public funding since the arena in which it is operating is often one of market failure or weakness. The private sector, nevertheless, should be expected to play a significant part in local development, along with contributions from the community and voluntary sector. It is this bonding of multiple funding with local resources and opportunities which can stimulate local development to do more things better and lead to the desired goal of sustainability. * Hart, M. and Murray, M. (2000) Local Development in Northern Ireland—The Way Forward: A Background Paper. Northern Ireland Economic Council, Belfast. Ron Shaffer Community Development Economist Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8, and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Carl O‘Connor, Cooperative Extension, University of Wisconsin-Extension. University of Wisconsin-Extension, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Wisconsin counties cooperating. UW-Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming, including Title IX and ADA.