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This podcast is about Local Economic Development (LED). The authors will discuss interesting topics in the field of LED. Industry experts will be interviewed and practical tools will be discussed.

Shawn Cunningham


    • Jun 21, 2010 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 24m AVG DURATION
    • 67 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from LEDCast

    The Political Economy at district level in Indonesia

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2010 41:23


    In this LEDCast episode Christian Schoen of mesopartner and Dr. Christian von Luebke of Stanford University discuss the political economy at the district level in Indonesia. Christian von Luebke is a political economist with particular interest in governance and economic development in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia. The conversation focuses on two research projects: The Political Economy of the Local Investment Climate in Indonesia und The Political Economy of Local Governance against the background of the recent democratisation and decentralisation processes in Indonesia. In a nutshell, the interview tries to find an answer to the crucial question: Why do some district governments in Indonesia perform well, why others perform rather poorly? Please remember to send us your comments and ideas for future episodes!

    Experiences in Cluster Development - interview with Lindqvist

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2010


    In this episode, Frank Wältring of mesopartner interviews Dr. Göran Lindqvist on the learning experiences in cluster development since 2003. Dr. Lindqvist is an associate at the Center for Strategy and Competitiveness (CSC) at the Stockholm School of Economics. He is also a co-author of the Cluster Greenbook (2003) and several other publications on clusters.   Please remember to send us your comments!

    Cluster facilitation

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 18, 2010 24:08


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    LED in post recovery disaster areas

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 30, 2009 12:49


    In this episode, Dr. Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke of mesopartner interviews professionals of the international NGO World Vision: Elvire Douglas, Humanitarian Emergency Officer in Haiti and Treganna Myrabo, Economic Recovery Coordinator at the International Center in Monrovia, USA. The interview highlights why it is needed to include an economic perspective from the beginning in the response process to natural and man-made disasters.Please post your comments and questions to us!

    Natasha Walker on facilitation - part 2 of 2

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2009 25:24


    This is the 2nd part of the interview between Shawn Cunningham and Natasha Walker on facilitation.

    Natasha Walker on facilitation - part 1 of 2

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2009 25:27


    Shawn Cunningham interviews Natasha Walker on the essence of facilitation. During the conversation they share some practical tips and also agree on many pet hates. The issues discussed range from dealing with so-called difficult participants, balancing the role of facilitator and expert, and managing group work and feedback sessions. For more information on Natasha visit www.ifok.de or http://natashafacilitator.wordpress.com/

    Announcement of the death of Jorg Meyer-Stamer

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2009 1:08


    As many listeners are aware, Dr. Jorg Meyer-Stamer passed away on the 1st of May, 2009. In this short announcement Shawn Cunningham commit on behalf of mesopartner to continue publishing the LEDCast. To visit the condolonce page go to http://www.mesopartner.com/nc/dr-joerg-meyer-stamer/

    Case #16: The Provincial Competitiveness Index in Vietnam

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 12, 2009 35:49


    Edmund Malesky explains the conceptual foundation and the impact of the PCI, an exercise that has been running in Vietnam for some years, unleashing significant sub-national government efforts to create a more business-friendly environment.

    Innovation #3: Analysing an innovation system in South Africa

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 8, 2009 27:47


    John Lawson, Geoff Ritson and Jorg Meyer-Stamer discuss the outcomes of a RALIS exercise, i.e. a quick diagnosis of the innovation system around the Downstream Chemicals Technology Station at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

    Case #15: Cluster promotion in Western Cape province, South Africa

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 25, 2009 34:23


    Nigel Gwynne-Evans of the Department of Economic Development in the Western Cape, South Africa, shares his experience with ten years of cluster promotion.

    Value Chains #7: Lessons learnt in value chain promotion

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 9, 2009 28:37


    Jorg Meyer-Stamer has a conversation with Jim Tomecko (GTZ, Thailand) on some of the main lessons learnt in value chain development initiatives.

    A conversation with Jorg Meyer-Stamer, part 2

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 29, 2008 21:01


    Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke and Frank Waeltring interview Jorg Meyer-Stamer on the second part of his career, working as an advisor and trainer and founding mesopartner. This is the second of two LEDcasts which come as a companion to a book that Ulrich and Frank edited on the occasion of Jorg's 50th birthday. This "birthday anthology" with contributions from a number of renowned researchers and practitioners is available here. 

    A conversation with Jorg Meyer-Stamer, part 1

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 21, 2008 24:35


    Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke and Frank Waeltring interview Jorg Meyer-Stamer on the first part of his career, when he was working in academia and policy research. This is the first of two LEDcasts which come as a companion to a book that Ulrich and Frank edited on the occasion of Jorg's 50th birthday. This "birthday anthology" with contributions from a number of renowned researchers and practitioners is available here.

    Innovation #2: Innovation Systems

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2008 23:23


    Shawn and Jorg explore the relevance of national, regional and sectoral innovation systems and discuss practical ways of changing the way in which they work.

    Innovation #1: Introduction

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 29, 2008 19:57


    Kicking off a new series, Shawn and Jorg have a conversation on some basic concepts and issues around innovation.

    Cases #14: The evolution of carnival in Trinidad

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2008 22:44


    Clive Pegus tells Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke how the carnival in Trinidad is an important factor in the local economy, not only due to its growth and the tourism it attracts but also because it has spawned carnivals in other cities around the world.

    Tools #11: The Boston Matrix

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 3, 2008 17:20


    In another presentation from mesopartner's Africa Academy on LED, Colin Mitchell presents a variation of the Boston Matrix, a simple tool to investigate promising areas of specialisation for a given territory.

    Tools #10: The Leaking Bucket

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 25, 2008 10:51


    In a presentation from mesopartner's Africa Academy on LED, Afia Darkwa-Amanor presents the Leaking Bucket, a tool that allows to leverage money and other resources that usually flow out of the local economy for local economic development. Afia is a Senior Advisor in the gtz-supported LRED program in Ghana.

    Tools #9: Polarity management

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2008 18:04


    In a presentation from mesopartner's Africa Academy on LED, Shawn Cunningham presents the concept of polarity management, i.e. an approach to deal with opposing options to address a given issue in a constructive manner and avoiding extreme swings of a pendulum.

    Tools #8: The Vegetable Garden: A practical way to explain the "enabling environment"

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2008 12:54


    In a recording from mesopartner's first Africa Academy on LED, Sonja Ende uses the metaphor of a vegetable garden to explain the principles of an enabling environment and to highlight the appropriate role of government in LED.

    Concept #9: Competition and competitiveness

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2008 33:20


    Shawn and Jorg discuss why some people are uncomfortable with the notion of competition, what the upside and downside of competition is, and how to become competitive.

    Cases #13: IBA See -- Conversion of a former open pit mining region

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 29, 2008 28:47


    Michael Feiler, project manager at IBA See, explains their experimental, innovation-focused approach to the conversion of a region that has been shaped by decades of open pit lignite mining.

    Concept #8: Change management

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2008 31:26


    Jorg Meyer-Stamer and Grant McKenzie discuss what lessons Change Management has to offer for territorial development.

    Cases #12: LED in Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 1, 2008 21:06


    Zdravko Miovcic, director of EDA - Development Agency, Banja Luka, shares experiences and lessons learnt in many years of doing LED in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

    Concept #7: Systemic competitiveness

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2008 29:43


    Shawn Cunningham and Jorg Meyer-Stamer discuss the origin and main messages of the concept of Systemic Competitiveness, an approach that helps in formulating a holistic perspective of a local economy. More information, including the Benchmarking Table that we mention in the show, is available here.

    Cases #11: UNIDO's experience with cluster promotion

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2008 25:27


    Michele Clara, industrial development officer in the Cluster and Business Linkages Unit of the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) shares some of the lessons learnt over many years of cluster promotion.

    Cases #10: Using radio in local development

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2008 19:18


    Sonja Ende interviews Kasim Abdukadir, who is running a small business-oriented programme in a local radio station in Niger province, Nigeria, and Veronique Stolz, who is with a GTZ programme and promotes developmental radio in Nigeria. The publication she mentions is available at http://www.led.co.za/docs/362.pdf.

    Cases #9: Business Development Committees in Nigeria

    Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2008 21:04


    Sonja Ende interviews Margaret Joshua who is working with GTZ's LED programme in Nigeria. Margaret shares the experience with Business Development Committees that have been created at a local level in order to improve the local business environment.

    Tools #7: Managing expectations

    Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2008 16:04


    Jorg Meyer-Stamer and Colin Mitchell discuss why the management of expectations in development activities so often goes wrong.

    Tools #6: PACA

    Play Episode Listen Later May 4, 2008 25:30


    Shawn Cunningham and Jorg Meyer-Stamer discuss the background, main characteristics and evolution of the Participatory Appraisal of Competitive Advantage (PACA) method.

    Cases #8: The Genesis method in Amatole, South Africa

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 19, 2008 21:05


    Mpumi Fundam, responsible for LED in the Amatole district municipality (i e the region around East London) in South Africa, and Colin Mitchell, the author of the Genesis method, explain how Genesis helped Amatole to identify its potential competitive advantage, formulate a strategic perspective and identify catalytic projects.

    Cases #7: Training councillors on LED

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2008 16:42


    Jorg Meyer-Stamer interviews Zini Godden, a South African LED trainer and facilitator, on her experience with LED training courses for councillors, i.e. the elected representatives in local government.

    Cases #6: Tourism development in a World Cultural Heritage town

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 4, 2008 23:30


    Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke has a conversation with Andrea Schunk who is involved in tourism development in Colonia de Sacramento, a world cultural heritage site in Uruguay.

    Tools #5: The Compass of Local Competitiveness

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 20, 2008 26:28


    Shawn and Jorg explain the Compass, a performance management tool for LED that turns the Balanced Scorecard into a practical and exciting workshop format. You can find a detailed description of the Compass here.

    Concept #6: Market failure

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2008 28:29


    Shawn Cunningham and Jorg Meyer-Stamer discuss the issue of market failure: What is it? How can you address it? And how does it relate to other modes of organising economic transactions?

    Concept #5: One stop shops

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2008 26:42


    Christian Schoen interviews David Walke on the subject of business registration. David explains the do's and don'ts in the introduction of one stop shops.

    Value Chains #6: Social standards

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 21, 2008 12:43


    Jorg Meyer-Stamer interviews Peter Knorringa about social standards, the upcoming ISO 26 000 standard and the way in which local actors can respond to global standards.

    Case #5: Starting LED in a marble sculpture cluster in Vietnam

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2008 20:15


    Shawn Cunningham and Christian Schoen share insights from a PACA Exercise in the Marble Mountain cluster close to Da Nang, Vietnam. In particular, they discuss how slightly shady business practices impact on LED.

    Value Chains #5: Cut out the middleman? And then what?

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 7, 2008 23:09


    Mark Lundy and Jorg Meyer-Stamer discuss the middleman: Who is he, or she, why is s/he so important, why do local stakeholders often suggest to cut out the middleman, and why is this not necessarily a good idea.

    Concept #4: Social Capital

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2008 15:17


    Peter Knorringa (ISS, The Hague) explains what social capital is and how it can be addressed in LED.

    Cases #4: SEBRAE, SMEs, supplier development and value chains

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 20, 2008 30:05


    Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke interviews Vinicius Lages of SEBRAE, Brazil’s small business promotion organisation. He explains how an SME-oriented supplier development project with Petrobras evolved into a value chain project, how SEBRAE approaches the issue of certification of SMEs, and the link to territorial development. -- Apologies again for the poor sound quality, hopefully for the last time since Ulli recently purchased a new and much better recording device!

    Cases #3: Experiences with LED in South Eastern Europe

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2007 23:32


    Frank Waeltring interviews LED practitioners from several South East European countries. They share some of their main learning processes.

    Value Chains #4: Standards and certification

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 15, 2007 37:37


    Ulrich Harmes-Liedtke and Martin Doherty talk about the relevance of sanitary and phytosanitary standards in global value chains, their impact on producers, and possible responses by producers, including efforts to move into niche products or innovative, unusual products. -- We apologise for the poor sound quality of this recording.

    Tools #4: Mad - Glad - Sad

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2007 16:01


    Colin Mitchell explains a simple workshop format to engage with stakeholders at a very early stage of an LED process, asking them: What makes you mad? What makes you glad? What makes you sad?

    Value Chain #3: CIAT's experiences in Central America

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 25, 2007 41:45


    Jorg Meyer-Stamer interviews Mark Lundy of the Agribusiness Group at the Center for Tropical Agriculture, www.ciat.cgiar.org. They talk about CIAT's "learning community" around value chain development, surprising experiences with powerful buyers, and what often goes wrong in value chain initiatives.

    Tools #3: Using the Five Forces Concept as a Workshop Format

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2007 19:28


    Shawn and Jorg explain how to use Michael Porter's Five Forces Concept as a tool in a quick workshop with local businesses from the same subsector.

    Value Chains #2: Learning in Global Value Chains

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 11, 2007 23:37


    Jorg Meyer-Stamer interviews Lizbeth Navas-Aleman, fellow at the Institute for Development Studies, University of Sussex, about her research on the learning that takes place, or doesn't take place, as companies from developing countries are integrated into global value chains.

    Case #2: Regional Economic Development in Central Java (gtz RED)

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2007 36:52


    Hayder Al-Bagdadi, Atjeng Kadaryana and Christian Schoen discuss the achievements and learning processes in the Regional Economic Development Programme [gtz-RED] in Central Java, Indonesia.

    Value Chains #1 - Introduction

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 14, 2007 30:07


    With this show we start a new series in the LEDcast. We look at value chains: What are they? How are they relevant for local economic development? How can you promote them?

    Case #1: LED in a poor rural location in South Africa

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2007 29:24


    Jörg Meyer-Stamer interviews John Lawson, an LED specialist currently involved in a major EU-supported LED programme in South Africa's Limpopo province. John reports on his experience with initiating an LED process in a poor rural municipality called Fetagkomo.

    Concept #3: Business Retention and Expansion

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 16, 2007 26:56


    Gerry Delaney, a South African LED consultant, explains the main features of the Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) approach to LED.

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