Local economic development or LED, is necessary for the continued growth of a town, city or a location; it aids in the creation of jobs and in creating a sustainable environment for sustaining local resources, local skills and keeping the money coming into the country circulating in the economy.
Local Economic Development or LED
How can one even begin to define a process that brings forward continued growth and change in individual’s lives? Local economic development remains a process unlike no other when it comes to creating sustainable growth in the community; more importantly it can create a platform on which economic growth and development can have a continued revision in terms of the exchange of ideas, resources and information.
LED, or local economic development can be defined as the process by which community groups, businessmen and women and municipal staff and the government come together in an effort to create sustainable growth in a town or locality, and to encourage and create the formation of employment that can be sustainable on a local level.
LED in Society
Local economic development is so important in today’s society due to the simple fact that it is an economic indicator. In other words, it can be used as a tool by which a town or country measures its economic activity.
One component of the LED process is the creation of an LED strategy, and with this strategy towns can strategize to uplift the social and economic conditions of a town, create opportunities that will encourage sustainability and growth, and mobilize local communities and resources.
Implementing LED in an economy
A number of factors need to be taken into consideration when implementing a local economic development project in a locality:
- The creation of a fostering setting for local economic development
- Creating a series of support structures to sustain local entrepreneurship and revive the entrepreneurial spirit.
- The creation of a sustainable environment to increase the environmental sustainability of LED
- Provide skill and capacity building in order to enable key stakeholders to develop the necessary capacities and capabilities to implement the LED process
Creating Employment and Fostering Economic Growth
Overall, local economic development strategies and projects must work in a self sustaining environment in order to maximise the outcomes of the process and create a valuable foundation for the creation of employment and the fostering of economic growth in a country. LED is not only a concept, but a way of life that has become a valuable component of society today
