The Hague | 10 – 21 September, 2012
This course is about strengthening the economic capacity of a regional community in such a way that it makes optimal use of the potential and characteristics of the area. It discusses strategies, tools and approaches to improve conditions for economic growth and job creation.

The Hague | 15 – 26 October, 2012
In this course questions will be addressed such as: How can you ensure that basic services also reach the poorest people? How can the financial management of services be set up in a transparent and democratic way? How can partnerships with NGOs and the private sector help local governments to better deal with challenges?

The Hague | 5 – 16 November, 2012
Questions addressed in this course are: How should central and local government relations be shaped? How can basic services be delivered and economic opportunities be created in a conflict sensitive manner? We will distil lessons from cases in countries and regions such as Afghanistan, Sudan and the Balkans and discuss issues such as starting points for projects, timing, geography and the impact of our programmes on peace and stability.

The Hague | 19 – 30 March, 2012
How can governments become more knowledgeable of and responsive to the needs of the people? How can you create possibilities for greater economic and political participation of marginalised groups? And how can local governments contribute to reaching the MDGs? These questions will be adressed during this two-week training course on decentralisation, democratistion and development.

The Hague | 16 – 27 April, 2012
Key questions to be discussed in this two-week innovative training course include: How can municipalities increase accountability towards their citizens? And how can community driven development be used as a mechanism to ensure responsiveness and accountability? You will discuss the accountability chain, the participation ladder, do´s and don´ts and you will visit participation projects in urban planning, social cohesion and safety.

Barcelona |21 May – 1 June 2012
This two-week training course is organised in cooperation with the Barcelona International Peace Resource Centre. During this course the following questions will be discussed: How can the process of state-building in fragile states be supported from the bottom up? How relations between central and local government be strengthened, and capacities be developed at all levels? How can local governments, citizens and civil society organisations cooperate more effectively in reconstruction and peacebuilding efforts?

The Hague | 2 – 6 July, 2012
This summercourse is designed for professionals at donor and development organizations dealing with the design and implementation of decentralisation support processes. The course will provide you with the basic concepts of decentralisation and local governance and will increase your insight into different situations such as fragile states or countries with strong ethnic or religious tensions.