Prioritising and planning PACA action Jörg Meyer-Stamer

Prioritising activities: The 3 Criteria I.Can we do it with local resources? II.Can we start quickly? III.Can we expect visible results within three months?

1. Can we do it with local resources? Local resources = skills, time, money Initial action should not depend on external skills or funds  Local PACA Team members tend to confuse “we” with “somebody” –don’t delegate tasks to actors/agencies who were not involved in the exercise  Local stakeholders tend to –underestimate the time necessary to turn a specific proposal into reality –overestimate the time they can make available to pursue specific activities

2. Can we start quickly? Is it possible to plan this activity immediately, like next week? Can we go into implementation within a few weeks?  Often, activities are proposed that require extensive lobbying before anything practical can happen

3. Can we expect visible results within three months? What is a visible result: –Optimal case: An opportunity has been realised or a problem has been resolved –Good case: There is visible progress constructive meetings have been held implementation is visibly taking place –how to know: –e.g. a Champions’ Breakfast –e.g. a weekly or monthly column in the local newspaper

Why the 3 Criteria? Local stakeholders like to prioritise issues they can’t do anything about –exchange rate, tax system, labour legislation,... Local stakeholders like to prioritise issues that are completely unrealistic –local international airport, big cluster-oriented research institute,... –creating a Business Chamber -- after the local chamber has collapsed repeatedly  We need a simple, non-offensive, elegant method to eliminate unrealistic proposals –the 3 Criteria achieve this

Planning PACA activities: Pfeiffer’s Six Points Peter Pfeiffer, German/Brazilian strategic planning specialist, asks six questions: –What exactly do we mean with this proposal? –Who is taking responsibility for implementation? –Who has to collaborate in the implementation? –What are the resources we need for implementation? –When do we start? –How do we know that we started (and the Champion has not forgotten about it)?

Implementing Pfeiffer’s Six Points Mesocard-based workshop Addressing the points one by one

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