Local Economic Development (LED) as a Means of Sustainable Economic Revival
Lebanon is facing an unprecedented financial, economic, and social crisis, worsened by the absence of a national economic recovery plan. Hence, it is necessary to develop new approaches that energize the economy by building up economic capacities at the local level. Local Economic Development (LED) is one such new approach that starts with identifying LED stakeholders from both private and public sectors in communities, villages, municipalities, and cities. It motivates and empowers local people to work together, encourages private and public sectors to develop partnerships and participate in sustainable local economic growth, and emphasizes the role of local authorities in the management of economic development affairs.
Why is the involvement of municipalities and unions of municipalities in local economic development important? Because, as local authorities, they are among the best placed to identify and address the needs of local citizens. They are empowered by the law to support economic development in their communities, create job opportunities, and improve quality of life. Throughout the world, local authorities increasingly constitute a driving force behind Local Economic Development policies that encourage private investments and initiatives from local firms and communities.
In Lebanon, the role of municipalities and unions of municipalities has traditionally been limited to providing basic infrastructure services, but this is also starting to change, and many are moving towards a more pro-active role in LED. To identify the factors constraining local economic development and the obstacles that are preventing local authorities from performing their LED mission, a multi-disciplinary team of experts designed and conducted a LED assessment that was launched by the Municipal Empowerment and Resilience Project (MERP) in partnership with United Cities Lebanon (UCL) /Technical Office for Lebanese Municipalities (BTVL). The assessments, which targeted the Urban Community Al-Fayhaa, the Federation of the Northern and Coastal Matn Municipalities and the Union of Tyre Municipalities, explored the challenges on different levels: national and local governance systems, urban and territorial planning, economic and market structures, and of course human capital.
A participatory approach
The assessment studies introduced a different way of working from that the traditionally practices associated with municipal planning. They were grounded in a very rigorous conceptual framework and assessed the needs of both people and firms through detailed statistical surveys and interactions with members of the targeted local communities and private sector.
The LED methodology focused on the participatory and inclusive approach involving both the local community and stakeholders from the private and public sectors given their ability to identify constraints and work on solutions. Only with a complete representation of all stakeholders will the LED process become legitimate, meaningful, and have the authority to make effective change.
This approach will enable localities to reach their full economic potential through a bottom-up, participatory approach of development, which is based on a thorough analysis of the local conditions and the formulation of a locally designed and locally implemented development strategy. Such approach makes optimal use of the existing and potential characteristics of the area and create both economic and social benefits within the locality.
A new Role, a new Mindset
One of the strengths of LED study is that it sheds light on the importance of local authorities engaging in local development as unions, because municipal unions represent a different level of action that allows for a broader geographical scope and economies of scale. Under current municipal legislation, municipal unions can operate as leading institutions in local development by collaborating on a wider range of projects that benefit different member municipalities.
Through these studies, it will be possible to transform the mindset of local authorities because the role of local authorities should not be limited to logistics and the provision of infrastructure. The studies aim to highlight and redefine the significant function of municipal institutions in economic growth and develop a municipal culture that supports local businesses and strengthens local economies.
A roadmap for a sustainable economic revival
The findings constitute the foundation on which visioning and planning for LED by municipalities and unions of municipalities can be developed in a subsequent stage. The recommendations are to serve as guidelines for future projects selection, prioritization, and implementation by focusing on the following steps:
· Having economic crisis response and recovery plans in place so that initiatives are not chosen randomly but in line with the impact of the crisis and the identity the Unions want for themselves.
· Tapping into the human resources of the local communities and assembling a team of professionals willing and capable to carry out these initiatives.
· Choosing projects depending on the technical and financial capabilities of the union and available external funding.
The study is now complete and ready to be used by Union of Municipalities and municipalities as a roadmap to implement local economic development in partnership with the local community and private sector for a sustainable economic revival.
Click here to download “Union of Municipalities as Enablers of Local Economic Development — Federation of the Northern Coastal and Central Matn Municipalities”.
Click here to download “Unions of Municipalities as Enablers of Local Economic Development — Union of Tyre Municipalities”.
Click here to download “Unions of Municipalities as Enablers of Local Economic Development — Urban Community Al-Fayhaa”.
