Course Name
Sustainable Local Economic Development (LED)

Date and duration
06 April - 29 April 2011, 3 weeks

Location
IHS Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Tuition fee
€ 2,500

IHS Application deadline
01 February 2011

NFP application deadline
01 December 2010

Partner organisation
Institute for Social Studies (ISS)

The course will be offered in collaboration with the International Institute for Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague. ISS is an international graduate school of policy-oriented critical social science. It brings together students and teachers from the Global South and the North in a European environment. Established in 1952 as the International Institute of Social Studies by Dutch universities and the Netherlands Ministry of Education it does research, teaching and public service in the field of development studies and international cooperation.

Who is it for?

The course is meant for government officials (municipal, provincial or national), representatives of private sector organisations and employees of NGOs that are dealing or will deal with SME development and/or Local Economic Development policies.

Course Introduction

The focus of this course is on creating and managing multi-stakeholder processes that take place in the local and regional urban economy. Regions and localities are faced with two mayor trends in opposite directions: internationalisation and decentralisation. Internationalisation exacerbates the interactions between the global and the local levels but operates selectively. It includes only those actors that participate in networks in which competitiveness drives constant transformations and restructuring. Decentralisation is a means to coping with complexity and a reaction to growing demands for greater responsiveness and sustainability by citizens, clients and consumers.

The two trends have changed the ways in which the multiple stakeholders relate to each other in the local and regional economy. Competition and cooperation are blended in the links between firms, between firms and state and non-state actors. The central concern for the governance of sustainable local economic development is to create synergies between the policies and interventions of business, state and non-state or civic actors. These come together around specific opportunities for local economic development for small and medium sized enterprises.

Course Content

The programme consists of three in-class modules and an individual study

• Module 1: Introduction
  In this module the concept of Local Economic Development (LED) is introduced and its main theories are discussed. Focus on theories of systemic and territorial competitiveness; the role of institutions in economic development; Multistakeholder economic development: business system and embedding of geographical production networks.

• Module 2: Small Enterprise Development
  The module focuses on the role of small and medium sized enterprises, their role in the local economy and the constraints in their development. A distinction is made between enterprises, formal or informal, with growth potential and informal businesses that are survival oriented. The module focuses on strategies that support enterprise development: enterpreneurship development, incubator and innovation systems

• Module 3: Clusters and value chain analysis
  This module focuses on the one hand on the local organisation of small enterprises in clusters and the multi-stakeholder initiatives that can increase their efficiency and innovation capability. On the other hand it examines the way in which small enterprises are inserted in external production networks or value chains and elaborates on multi-stakeholder interventions to strengthen their positioning in these chains.

• Individual study
  The individual study provides course participants the opportunity to apply the newly acquired knowledge and insights to their own situation. The outcome of this study is a short, policy oriented paper.

Learning objectives

By the end of the programme participants will have increased knowledge about SMEs and their role in the local economy. Participants will also be able to analyse the local economy and value chains in which local enterprise agglomerations and clusters are inserted and analyse policies and develop instruments that support local businesses

Admission

In order to participate in this short course (LED) you should:

• Have at least a Bachelor’ degree from a recognised University or similar institute.
• If you did not complete a Bachelors degree in English you must show certificates with relevant test results (such as TOEFL min. 550/TOEFL computer-based min. 213/ TOEFL internet based 79, IELTS min.6.0 (no IELTS subtest <5.5).
• Have at least three years of work or academic experience relevant for the course.

   

Apply Now

For downloading the course brochure and application form, or to apply on-line, please follow the link below:
http://www.ihs.nl/led

Contact

For further information on the course and application procedure, please contact admission@ihs.nl

IHS - Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies
Erasmus University Rotterdam
P.O. Box 1935
3000BX Rotterdam
The Netherlands

Burg. Oudlaan 50
T-Building – 14th Floor
3062PA Rotterdam
The Netherlands

P:+31 (0)10 4089825
F:+31 (0)10 4098926

www.ihs.nl