LEDCast: Recent Episodes
Shawn Cunningham
This podcast is about Local Economic Development (LED). The authors will discuss interesting topics in the field of LED. Industry experts will be interviewed and practical tools will be discussed.
In this LEDCast episode Christian Schoen of mesopartner and Dr. Christian von Luebke of Stanford University discuss the political economy at the district level in Indonesia. Christian von Luebke is a political economist with particular interest in governance and economic development in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia.
The conversation focuses on two research projects: The Political Economy of the Local Investment Climate in Indonesia und The Political Economy of Local Governance against the background of the recent democratisation and decentralisation processes in Indonesia. In a nutshell, the interview tries to find an answer to the crucial question: Why do some district governments in Indonesia perform well, why others perform rather poorly?
Please remember to send us your comments and ideas for future episodes!
In this episode, Frank Wältring of mesopartner interviews Dr. Göran Lindqvist on the learning experiences in cluster development since 2003. Dr. Lindqvist is an associate at the Center for Strategy and Competitiveness (CSC) at the Stockholm School of Economics. He is also a co-author of the Cluster Greenbook (2003) and several other publications on clusters.
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In this LEDCast episode, Frank Waeltring interviews Ifor Ffowcs-Williams on the role of a "cluster facilitator". The difference between cluster management and cluster facilitation is discussed. Different kinds of funding and its implications are also elaborated on and the roles of different cluster facilitators are described. The main challenges for future cluster initiatives are also explored.
Frank Waeltring is a partner in mesopartner (www.mesopartner.com). Ifor Ffowcs-Williams is an international cluster development expert and is the CEO of the niche economic development consulting firm Cluster Navigators (http://www.clusternavigators.com). His blogsite is at (http://e4oncompetitiveness.com/ ).
In this episode, Dr. Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke of mesopartner interviews professionals of the international NGO World Vision: Elvire Douglas, Humanitarian Emergency Officer in Haiti and Treganna Myrabo, Economic Recovery Coordinator at the International Center in Monrovia, USA. The interview highlights why it is needed to include an economic perspective from the beginning in the response process to natural and man-made disasters.
Please post your comments and questions to us!
This is the 2nd part of the interview between Shawn Cunningham and Natasha Walker on facilitation.
Shawn Cunningham interviews Natasha Walker on the essence of facilitation. During the conversation they share some practical tips and also agree on many pet hates. The issues discussed range from dealing with so-called difficult participants, balancing the role of facilitator and expert, and managing group work and feedback sessions. For more information on Natasha visit www.ifok.de or http://natashafacilitator.wordpress.com/
As many listeners are aware, Dr. Jorg Meyer-Stamer passed away on the 1st of May, 2009. In this short announcement Shawn Cunningham commit on behalf of mesopartner to continue publishing the LEDCast. To visit the condolonce page go to http://www.mesopartner.com/nc/dr-joerg-meyer-stamer/
Edmund Malesky explains the conceptual foundation and the impact of the PCI, an exercise that has been running in Vietnam for some years, unleashing significant sub-national government efforts to create a more business-friendly environment.
John Lawson, Geoff Ritson and Jorg Meyer-Stamer discuss the outcomes of a RALIS exercise, i.e. a quick diagnosis of the innovation system around the Downstream Chemicals Technology Station at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Nigel Gwynne-Evans of the Department of Economic Development in the Western Cape, South Africa, shares his experience with ten years of cluster promotion.
Jorg Meyer-Stamer has a conversation with Jim Tomecko (GTZ, Thailand) on some of the main lessons learnt in value chain development initiatives.
Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke and Frank Waeltring interview Jorg Meyer-Stamer on the second part of his career, working as an advisor and trainer and founding mesopartner.
This is the second of two LEDcasts which come as a companion to a book that Ulrich and Frank edited on the occasion of Jorg's 50th birthday. This "birthday anthology" with contributions from a number of renowned researchers and practitioners is available here.
Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke and Frank Waeltring interview Jorg Meyer-Stamer on the first part of his career, when he was working in academia and policy research.
This is the first of two LEDcasts which come as a companion to a book that Ulrich and Frank edited on the occasion of Jorg's 50th birthday. This "birthday anthology" with contributions from a number of renowned researchers and practitioners is available here.
Shawn and Jorg explore the relevance of national, regional and sectoral innovation systems and discuss practical ways of changing the way in which they work.
Kicking off a new series, Shawn and Jorg have a conversation on some basic concepts and issues around innovation.
Clive Pegus tells Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke how the carnival in Trinidad is an important factor in the local economy, not only due to its growth and the tourism it attracts but also because it has spawned carnivals in other cities around the world.
In another presentation from mesopartner's Africa Academy on LED, Colin Mitchell presents a variation of the Boston Matrix, a simple tool to investigate promising areas of specialisation for a given territory.
In a presentation from mesopartner's Africa Academy on LED, Afia Darkwa-Amanor presents the Leaking Bucket, a tool that allows to leverage money and other resources that usually flow out of the local economy for local economic development. Afia is a Senior Advisor in the gtz-supported LRED program in Ghana.
In a presentation from mesopartner's Africa Academy on LED, Shawn Cunningham presents the concept of polarity management, i.e. an approach to deal with opposing options to address a given issue in a constructive manner and avoiding extreme swings of a pendulum.
In a recording from mesopartner's first Africa Academy on LED, Sonja Ende uses the metaphor of a vegetable garden to explain the principles of an enabling environment and to highlight the appropriate role of government in LED.
Shawn and Jorg discuss why some people are uncomfortable with the notion of competition, what the upside and downside of competition is, and how to become competitive.
Michael Feiler, project manager at IBA See, explains their experimental, innovation-focused approach to the conversion of a region that has been shaped by decades of open pit lignite mining.
Jorg Meyer-Stamer and Grant McKenzie discuss what lessons Change Management has to offer for territorial development.
Zdravko Miovcic, director of EDA - Development Agency, Banja Luka, shares experiences and lessons learnt in many years of doing LED in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Shawn Cunningham and Jorg Meyer-Stamer discuss the origin and main messages of the concept of Systemic Competitiveness, an approach that helps in formulating a holistic perspective of a local economy.
More information, including the Benchmarking Table that we mention in the show, is available here.
Michele Clara, industrial development officer in the Cluster and Business Linkages Unit of the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) shares some of the lessons learnt over many years of cluster promotion.
Sonja Ende interviews Kasim Abdukadir, who is running a small business-oriented programme in a local radio station in Niger province, Nigeria, and Veronique Stolz, who is with a GTZ programme and promotes developmental radio in Nigeria. The publication she mentions is available at http://www.led.co.za/docs/362.pdf.
Sonja Ende interviews Margaret Joshua who is working with GTZ's LED programme in Nigeria. Margaret shares the experience with Business Development Committees that have been created at a local level in order to improve the local business environment.
Jorg Meyer-Stamer and Colin Mitchell discuss why the management of expectations in development activities so often goes wrong.
Shawn Cunningham and Jorg Meyer-Stamer discuss the background, main characteristics and evolution of the Participatory Appraisal of Competitive Advantage (PACA) method.
Mpumi Fundam, responsible for LED in the Amatole district municipality (i e the region around East London) in South Africa, and Colin Mitchell, the author of the Genesis method, explain how Genesis helped Amatole to identify its potential competitive advantage, formulate a strategic perspective and identify catalytic projects.
Jorg Meyer-Stamer interviews Zini Godden, a South African LED trainer and facilitator, on her experience with LED training courses for councillors, i.e. the elected representatives in local government.
Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke has a conversation with Andrea Schunk who is involved in tourism development in Colonia de Sacramento, a world cultural heritage site in Uruguay.
Shawn and Jorg explain the Compass, a performance management tool for LED that turns the Balanced Scorecard into a practical and exciting workshop format.
You can find a detailed description of the Compass here.
Shawn Cunningham and Jorg Meyer-Stamer discuss the issue of market failure: What is it? How can you address it? And how does it relate to other modes of organising economic transactions?
Christian Schoen interviews David Walke on the subject of business registration. David explains the do's and don'ts in the introduction of one stop shops.
Jorg Meyer-Stamer interviews Peter Knorringa about social standards, the upcoming ISO 26 000 standard and the way in which local actors can respond to global standards.
Shawn Cunningham and Christian Schoen share insights from a PACA Exercise in the Marble Mountain cluster close to Da Nang, Vietnam. In particular, they discuss how slightly shady business practices impact on LED.
Mark Lundy and Jorg Meyer-Stamer discuss the middleman: Who is he, or she, why is s/he so important, why do local stakeholders often suggest to cut out the middleman, and why is this not necessarily a good idea.
Peter Knorringa (ISS, The Hague) explains what social capital is and how it can be addressed in LED.
Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke interviews Vinicius Lages of SEBRAE, Brazil’s small business promotion organisation. He explains how an SME-oriented supplier development project with Petrobras evolved into a value chain project, how SEBRAE approaches the issue of certification of SMEs, and the link to territorial development. -- Apologies again for the poor sound quality, hopefully for the last time since Ulli recently purchased a new and much better recording device!
Frank Waeltring interviews LED practitioners from several South East European countries. They share some of their main learning processes.
Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke and Martin Doherty talk about the relevance of sanitary and phytosanitary standards in global value chains, their impact on producers, and possible responses by producers, including efforts to move into niche products or innovative, unusual products. -- We apologise for the poor sound quality of this recording.
Colin Mitchell explains a simple workshop format to engage with stakeholders at a very early stage of an LED process, asking them: What makes you mad? What makes you glad? What makes you sad?
Jorg Meyer-Stamer interviews Mark Lundy of the Agribusiness Group at the Center for Tropical Agriculture, www.ciat.cgiar.org. They talk about CIAT's "learning community" around value chain development, surprising experiences with powerful buyers, and what often goes wrong in value chain initiatives.
Shawn and Jorg explain how to use Michael Porter's Five Forces Concept as a tool in a quick workshop with local businesses from the same subsector.
Jorg Meyer-Stamer interviews Lizbeth Navas-Aleman, fellow at the Institute for Development Studies, University of Sussex, about her research on the learning that takes place, or doesn't take place, as companies from developing countries are integrated into global value chains.
Hayder Al-Bagdadi, Atjeng Kadaryana and Christian Schoen discuss the achievements and learning processes in the Regional Economic Development Programme [gtz-RED] in Central Java, Indonesia.
With this show we start a new series in the LEDcast. We look at value chains: What are they? How are they relevant for local economic development? How can you promote them?
Jörg Meyer-Stamer interviews John Lawson, an LED specialist currently involved in a major EU-supported LED programme in South Africa's Limpopo province. John reports on his experience with initiating an LED process in a poor rural municipality called Fetagkomo.
Gerry Delaney, a South African LED consultant, explains the main features of the Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) approach to LED.
In this episode, Jörg Meyer-Stamer and Colin Mitchell continue their conversation on how to prepare a workshop. What are the issues that you consider when you design the sequence of activities in a given workshop? How do you make sure that the limited time is used effectively, and what do you do to get a practical result out of a workshop?
In this episode, Jörg Meyer-Stamer and Colin Mitchell discuss one of the critical issues in the organisation of a workshop: How do you invite the right people? And how do you handle the management of expectations properly?
In this episode, we present a conversation that was recorded at mesopartner's Summer Academy on Local Economic Development. Jim Tanburn shares his views on the topic of "local enabling environment" -- what it is, and what can be done to promote it. Jim is an international consultant who specialises in private sector development. He also administrates the Donor Committee's website, www.businessenvironment.org.
From now on, we will run parallel series on concepts, tools, cases, and specific issues. This is the first episode under 'concepts'. It addresses the topic of 'clusters' -- what are they, and why are they such in an issue in the context of local economic development?
With this episode we complete the first dozen. We take this as an occasion to reflect on our learning process, and to discuss some of the comments that we received from listeners.
Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke, mesopartner, interviews Martin Gasser of the ILO's International Training Center about the ILO's approach to LED.
The three meanings of facilitation in LED are facilitating a learning experience, a workshop or meeting, and an LED process. We discuss what often goes wrong in facilitation, and what to do about it.
We discuss why LED needs to be conceptualised as a process. It is crucial to build credibility, trust, confidence and creativity. An LED process is a learning process. It is also, unfortunately for external donors, somewhat unpredictable.
Christian Schoen interviews Jonathan Mitchell about the relationship between the pro-poor tourism approach and local economic development.
Christian Schoen (mesopartner) and Jonathan Mitchell (Overseas Development Institute) talk about their efforts to promote tourism through local economic development activities in the Vietnamese city of Da Nang.
Why is it often difficult to involve the business sector in LED? What can you do to raise their interest?
At one point, we refer to Malcolm Gladwell's concept of "connectors". More information on this is available at http://www.gladwell.com/tippingpoint/tp_excerpt2.html.
In industrialized countries, LED has been practized for decades, whereas in developed countries it is a fairly recent phenomenon. Current practice in industrialized countries is the result of extensive learning-by-doing and trial-and-error processes. Practitioners in developing countries who want to learn for those experiences need to understand the evolutionary pattern of LED, and they need to ask the right questions to understand how current practice emerged.
In this programme, we discuss four different types of locations and the possible approaches to LED in each of them.
This figure shows the framework that we refer to in the Podcast.
For a more systematic introduction of this framework, see Jorg Meyer-Stamer's recent paper on Regional Development Agencies at http://www.mesopartner.com/publications/mp-wp10_RDA_e.pdf
In this program, we discuss the difference between strategy and strategic planning and the meaning of strategy for LED.
In the Podcast, we mention Henry Mintzberg's "5 Ps of Strategy". There is more information available at
http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/dstools/paradigm/5pstrat.html
We also mention David La Piana, the author of "Play to Win. The Nonprofit Guide to Competitive Strategy". You can find a Podcast where he presents some of his main ideas at
http://cdn.conversationsnetwork.org/SI.CLB-DavidLaPiana-2006.08.19.mp3
Why has Local Economic Development received so much attention in recent years, both by local actors and by national governments?