This free online course on local economic development was created in partnership with the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus University Rotterdam. ISS is our long-standing partner, and together we also run an on-campus version of the course.
Course description
Local economic development refers to the processes by which local governments, businesses, and civil society groups get together to raise income sustainably and improve their lives in a well-defined area. It’s about creating jobs, securing livelihoods, improving infrastructure and managing local resources.
What do I learn?
We will be dealing with questions such as the following. Why does economic development take place in some areas of the world and not in others? Why doesn’t it happen in your place? What prevents people from having the lives they want to live right there? Could your region make more of the opportunities of globalisation and new technologies? Did the promises of decentralisation in your country fail to deliver better public services and more responsive governments? If these are the questions you are asking yourself, this is the right course for you. It explores the where who and how of economic development.
8 weeks in topics:
1. What is LED? What drives it?
2. How does globalisation shape LED?
3. How does decentralisation affect LED?
4. How does competitiveness affect innovation?
5. What are entrepreneurship and its dimensions?
6. Why are value chains and clusters so important?
7. What are some LED strategies?
8. Your project
Lecturers
Dr. Georgina M. Gómez, ISS
Prof. Emeritus AHJ (Bert) Helmsing, ISS
Dr Jan Fransen, IHS
How can I join this course?
The course is available on Coursera. The sign-up is free, but you will need to create a Coursera account if you wish to participate.
Photo credit: Krissadakorn