Stimulating Local and Regional Economic Development: Issues in managing the local development process Jörg Meyer-Stamer

Typical life-lines of local development processes time Start-up Strategy + planning Imple- mentation Consolidation

Main messages regarding process management Don’t spend too much time planning without implementation Start early with projects –which are easy to implement and face little risk of failure –with a visible impact = motivate everybody to continue Don’t think that the process is a sequence! –It’s iterative: planning, action, evaluation / feedback, more planning, more action, etc. –It’s never finished! Don’t be surprised if people drop out of the process - it’s normal Include those people who run the projects Expect to deal with a number of dilemmas

The main dilemmas in network management The ownership dilemma The self-organisation dilemma The collective conservatism dilemma The communication dilemma The power dilemma The legitimacy dilemma

The ownership dilemma Tasks have to be taken care of Some people have to take responsibility They become promoters Project promoters “own” their project Barriers emerge between promoters and other people involved Isolated core group, frustrated periphery >Observe the emergence of the dilemma >Reflect about opportunities for action >Keep areas of responsibility flexible >Redistribute responsibilities, especially if individuals become overburdened

The self-organisation dilemma As a network of actors emerges, uncoordinated work processes evolve Increasing necessity of communication and coordination Crisis of complexity Centralisation of steering Trade-off between centralisation and flexibility / responsiveness >Define responsibilities (temporary order) >Create a platform for management (permanent order) >Balance order and disorder

The collective conservatism dilemma Shared problem-definition within sub-group Lack of understanding between in-group and out-group Diverging perceptions between sub-group and environment Trade-off between effective organisation of work and loss of opportunities for external cooperation >Make implicit routines explicit >Reflect on and question routines >Seek communication with environment

The communication dilemma Petty conflicts make cooperation difficult Underlying personal conflicts escalate Ignore conflicts: –Tension calms down - or process calms down Deal with conflicts: –Conflict is solved - or escalates >Analyse conflicts >Ignore conflicts >Mediate conflicts >“Generate” conflict

The power dilemma Initially, differences in power are ignored As work proceeds, imbalances in the distribution of resources (power, money, information, knowledge) become relevant Chicken-pig-problem Overall development goals cannot be achieved if weak actors are marginalised >Be aware of power differences >Make particular interests explicit >Empower the less powerful >Define rules and procedures

The legitimacy dilemma Persons from different organisations meet at the stakeholders’ forum Organisations do not necessarily have clear internal decision-making procedures, mandate of representative may be unclear Forum’s decisions are relevant to the respective organisations Problems arise if organisation’s members disagree with forum’s decision Decision-making impasse, or members quit participating >Clarify role of members: as “representatives” or as “person” >Clarify organisations’ interests and goals

Conclusion

Local and regional development is an iterative process of diagnostic, learning, implementing, learning, and evaluating a process which should be based on partnerships between key stakeholders a process which should be based on feasible projects, specific objectives, and milestones based on a combination of knowledge of concepts and methodologies, international experiences, and the local realities, potentials and obstacles a process which never ends! Except if there are no quick results, in which case it tends to fizzle out!!!

Thank you for your attention!

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