Local Economic Development: Policies for Small and Medium Enterprise Development

Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)

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Program description

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. 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.

This international joint programme with the Institute for Social Studies offers the latest insights on local economic development for government officials and representatives of private and (non) public sector organizations who are looking for a professional course to expand their analytical skills.

Target Audience
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 objectives
By the end of the Local Economic Development: Policies for Small and Medium Enterprise Development course, 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.

Course Outline
The course will be a blend of lectures, expert’s seminars, excursions/field visits and group exercises presenting international (best) practices and knowledge.

About the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies

The Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS) is an international centre of excellence of the School of Economics (ESE) and the Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS) of the Erasmus University Rotterdam. IHS operates on a global scale by offering postgraduate education, training, advisory services and applied research.

IHS was selected as the winner for the 2007 UN-HABITAT Scroll of Honour Award for leading the way as a global center of excellence and knowledge through its high quality training programmes in housing, urban management and urban environmental management and planning.

In 2008 IHS celebrated its 50th anniversary of assisting countries, cities and institutions to find suitable approaches to housing and sustainable urban development, and strengthen their capacity to implement them.

More information about Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies 

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Admission requirements

Previous education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent.

Professional experience

At least 3 years of work experience.

Language requirements

IELTS overall band: 6, IELTS listening: 5.5, IELTS reading: 5.5, IELTS writing: 5.5, IELTS speaking: 5.5, TOEFL paper based: 550, TOEFL computer based: 213, TOEFL internet based: 79