SESRIC in collaboration with the OIC Representative Office to the State of Palestine, Ministry of Local Government and the Municipal Lending Fund in the State of Palestine, organized a training course on “Local Economic Development” in Ramallah on 20-21 November 2019. The training was provided by two competent experts from Jordan and Turkey.

The training course was organised within the framework of the OIC Poverty Alleviation Programme (OIC-PAP) of SESRIC and participated by 37 trainees from different municipalities, municipal councils, and the Ministry of Local Government of Palestine.

The 2-day training course aimed to provide guidance to the participants on how to prepare and design a comprehensive local economic development plan through developing an economic development vision for different regions. Moreover, the training targeted to increase the capacities of the local staff with good practices and case studies from Jordan and Turkey, while taking into account the situation in Palestine and financial and administrative status of each municipality.

The course included the following topics:

• Current Developments in Local Finance and Economy in the MEWA Region
• LED in Practice: Cooperation in Development (municipal firms)
• LED in Practice: Inter-municipal Cooperation
• LED in Practice: City Branding – International Recognition
• LED in Practice: Tourism in Local Economic Development
• Alternative Financial Models in LED: Variants of PPP Models
• Alternative Financial Models in LED: Development Financing
• Alternative Financial Models in LED: Other Alternative Financing Models
• The Employment and Employability
• Importance of Data Management in Employment Policies
• Sector Needs Analysis
• LED Policy Creation & Financing
• Financial Assistance Institutions & Donors