Local Economic Development

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Local Economic Development

Introduction

Local and regional authorities play an important role in developing the economy, job creation, and fostering ecosystems for entrepreneurship. Local Economic Development (LED) strategies offer a structured and integrated approach for economic development that builds on the existing economic advantages of a region.

With the help of an LED-framework, local authorities bring governments, businesses, knowledge partners, and citizens together to identify priorities and develop a local strategy. Multi-stakeholder cooperation ensures that activities strengthen each other across economic sectors. Moreover, it ensures support from the local authorities and the local community, thereby leading to more sustainable results.

Course content

The course discusses challenges, analyses the roles of national, regional, and local authorities, the private sector and civil society, and explores the potential of collaboration of all stakeholders for local economic growth. Participants will explore LED as a framework and as a practical process, from identifying local strengths to implementing strategies such as strengthening ecosystems for entrepreneurship, inclusive value-chain development, matching educational curricula with labour market needs, and creating public-private partnerships.

The course starts with an online part which gives participants a clear idea of the basic concepts and framework of LED, provides practical tools, and facilitates peer-to-peer learning through group work. The online part is followed by an in-person training in The Hague. During several study visits, participants deepen their insights, exchange experiences and lessons learned, and reflect on their own local context.

Engaging with colleagues from different countries, contexts, and backgrounds offers valuable learning opportunities. It is an addition to what you gain from the training itself. The expert facilitators and field visits were also amazing; it was really helpful to see the theory in its practical application.

Ayat Al Tawil, Project Management Specialist, USAID Jordan

Key Information

Particularly relevant for professionals working at organisations, such as local economic development departments, municipal planning and investment units, chambers of commerce and business support agencies, ministries of trade, industry, or labour.

The course will take place from 13 July 2026 to 17 July 2026.

Part 1: 24 June – 10 July 2026 (11 hours, online)*

Part 2: 13 – 17 July 2026 in The Hague, the Netherlands

The fee for the full training is € 2,950. This includes all training related costs as well as drinks and warm lunches during the training days. For professionals who only attend part 1 online, the fee is € 975.

Part 1 of the training will be delivered online. Part 2 will take place in-person in The Hague, The Netherlands.

After this course, participants will receive a professional certificate of completion from The Hague Academy for Local Governance.

*Professionals unable to attend the face to face training in the Netherlands, can apply to the online training only. Please see the Practical Information section below before applying.

Professionals working in local government or for local NGOs on the DAC list of ODA-recipient countries (OECD) qualify for a reduced course fee. Contact us for details.
Group discounts available for organisations participating with three or more colleagues.

Learning objectives

Guided by high-level, international experts, participants will:

Identify the typical economic development challenges that countries face

Understand the LED framework, including its characteristics and phases

Define the role that local governments, the private sector and other important stakeholders can play in the promotion of LED

Reflect on data and tools for local economic assessments and strategies

Identify public, private and development partner funding sources for LED-initiatives (i.e. public-private partnerships

Comprehend which actor has which role in an entrepreneurial ecosystems in order to advance entrepreneurship

Understand how to integrate marginalised groups in the LED-strategy, thereby preventing conflict and contributing to peacebuilding

Identify employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for women and youth in rural and urban settings

Build coalitions to advance LED-promotion through lobby and advocacy

Experts

Experts regularly involved in this course:

Irma Specht

Irma is the director of Transition International. She is an expert in social and economic development in post-conflict countries, with a special focus on vulnerable groups and gender. She has a broad international experience in vocational and business training, small business set-up and private sector development.

Vin Morar

Vin Morar has a wide experience in the field of entrepreneurship and management development, having worked in many different parts of the world, especially in transition economies, concerned with restructuring and privatisation. His methods are highly interactive and aim at personal development through immediate application of concepts and skills.

Aladeen Shawa

Aladeen is a Senior Governance Advisor with extensive practical experience on local governance and local development. He has worked closely with both the public and the private sectors in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Aladeen worked previously as senior advisor on local economic development at UNCDF, and is now the Global CEO at Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.

Jenifer Bukokhe

Dr. Jenifer Bukokhe Wakhugu worked at the UN Capital Development Fund for over twenty years. She has extensive experience in training delivery and knows how to explain complex financial structures in a clear and accessible manner. For The Hague Academy, Jenifer delivers engaging sessions on funding mechanisms (including public-private partnerships), fiscal decentralisation and local development.

Experience

The course includes several study visits to offer inspiration and learn from best practices in The Netherlands. Participants visit a Dutch municipality where civil servants explain their LED-strategy and how they implement it. A study visit to a ‘triple helix’ institute shows how public institutions work together on innovations with research and development institutes, a vocational training school and the private sector.

Furthermore, participants learn how an entrepreneurial ecosystem is built around a technical university. They visit the university, several incubators and the regional development agency, where they learn how the ecosystem supports entrepreneurs to advance their start-up or scale up their business. Finally, a visit to a social workplace illustrates how work is created for persons with a distance to the labour market.

In addition to the study visits, participants will work on different case studies from their own work-practice to apply the LED process to a locality and facilitate peer-to-peer exchanges. The training includes daily presentations by participants to further reflect and share lessons learned from their specific context.

Practical information

Find the practical information for the course here.

Blended Training Details
The course will take place from 24 June 2026 to 17 July 2026. The first part of the training will take place online between 24 June 2026 and 10 July 2026. To be eligible for a certificate of completion, the required time to complete the online course (including live sessions and homework assignments) is about 11 hours (4 hours a week). The second part of the training takes place from 13 July to 17 July 2026 in The Hague, the Netherlands.
Online Training
Participants who cannot attend the second part of the training in the Netherlands, can apply to part 1 (online) only. The course fee is € 975. Participants will receive a professional certificate of completion from The Hague Academy for Local Governance.

Please include in your application if you are only applying for the online training. For more information contact courseadministration@thehagueacademy.com.
Payment
After submitting your completed application, you will receive a confirmation of receipt. Once we have assessed your application and admitted you to the course, we will send you an invoice with payment details.

Payments can be made by bank transfer or by PayPal request. We offer the option of paying in one or two instalments. An advance payment of 50% secures the reservation of a seat at the training until the payment deadline, one week prior to the course start date. Your participation in the course is guaranteed only after receipt of full payment.

Please note that The Hague Academy accepts registrations on a first-paid, first-served policy.
Visa Applications
Some countries require a visa to enter the Netherlands. Please check with The Netherlands or the embassy for the visa requirements related to your country. Because of the length of time needed for the visa procedure, we advise you to start this process as soon as possible. Once we have received your payment for the course, The Hague Academy will send you an acceptance letter which will assist you in arranging your visa to The Netherlands.
Cancellation
We understand that unforeseen circumstances may arise, necessitating the cancellation of your attendance. In such cases, please be aware of our cancellation policy:
- For cancellations due to circumstances beyond your control, a reimbursement can be arranged, subject to an administration fee of €350.
- Cancellations made between four and two weeks before the training commences will incur a charge equivalent to 50% of the course fee.
- Cancellations made within two weeks of the training start date, will result in an 80% charge of the fee.
- In the event of a no-show, there will be a 100% charge of the fee.
- Alternatively, you may nominate a qualified substitute to attend the course in your place at no additional cost.
The Hague Academy for Local Governance reserves the right to cancel a course if the number of participants is insufficient or due to any other unforeseen circumstances. In this case, your payment will be 100% reimbursed. Other costs such as transportation or hotel cannot be reimbursed.