Message-ID: <MAC.980709144328@Maine.edu> Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 14:43:28 EDT From: "Dennis McConnell, Maine Business School" <mailto:mac@MAINE.EDU> Subject: Bucharest Conference: Community Resources/Economic Development To: mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU
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The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) is
organizing a November conference in Bucharest, sponsored by the
several organizations noted in the announcement below. At the
moment, ICMA is soliciting suggestions for (1) case studies to be
presented at that conference, and (2) panelists or speakers for
conference suggestions. More complete information is presented
in the announcement, which I have received today from ICMA.
Perhaps some list members can provide suggestions which may
enhance the conference. Please direct your suggestions to the
contact identified at the end of the announcement.
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Conference
Mobilizing Community Resources for Local Economic Development
Bucharest, Romania
November 10-12, 1998
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USAID, the Council of Europe, the World Bank and the Open Society
Institute of the Soros Foundation are sponsoring a conference in
Bucharest, Romania November 10-12, 1998 on "Mobilizing Community
Resources for Local Economic Development."
The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) has
been contracted to organize the conference and provide technical
and logistical support. Approximately 250 local government offi-
cials from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the New Independ-
ent States (NIS) will be asked to participate in the meeting.
The purpose of the conference will be to exchange information on
economic development approaches and opportunities in the CEE/NIS
region and particularly to highlight the importance of partner-
ships between local government, small and medium enterprises and
NGOs in furthering local economic development. Practical sessions
on the tools and techniques of economic development will be held
highlighting the best practices in the CEE/NIS regions.
Practitioners who have been involved in successful model economic
development projects will be asked to discuss their experiences.
Case studies of successful projects and approaches will be pre-
sented in plenary sessions and small group seminars.
The purpose of this memorandum is to solicit suggestions from you
for case studies that could be presented at the conference. We
would be appreciative if you could provide us information on
economic development case studies that meet the criteria noted
below and that you believe would be of interest of local govern-
ment officials from the region. In order to plan the conference
we need to get your suggestions no later than July 21, 1998. In
addition, suggestions for panelists or speakers for any of the
keynote, plenary or concurrent sessions would be appreciated. In
particular we are interested in speakers that could address the
topics of Citizen Groups and th Community and Local Government
as a Catalyst for Economic Development We expect to select case
studies based on the following six criteria:
1. The projects or the initiative were initiated in the CEE/NIS
region over the last five years.
2. Projects should be the result, as much as possible, of action
initiated by a local community, not an international donor or
national government. If national resources are used the acqui-
sition of such resources should be the result of initiative by
the local community.
3. The projects and activities that were accomplished occurred as
a result of the active participation and initiative of all
three partners--local government, private business and commun-
ity groups.
4. All or key aspects of the project have been implemented with
tangible results. We do not want to include projects that have
only been planned or designed on paper.
5. While the goal is to demonstrate how local action results in
positive outcomes, some case studies that discuss problems may
be equally beneficial.
6. Case studies should be generalizable. The outcome should not
be the result of a unique geographic or resource specific
variable.
7. All things being equal, special consideration would be given
to examples that attempted to include integration of minority
communities.
In submitting nominations please provide a short summary (1-2
pages) of the project, its status and results. Specifically the
following information would be helpful:
1. Name and location of the project;
2. When the project started and it current status;
2. Key project contacts, their tel/fax numbers, e-mail address;
3. Problem the project or approach sought to solve;
4. Description of project or approach, how it got started and the
specific role of each of the partners;
5. Results and impacts of the project or approach, including the
amounts of public and private investment;
6. Prospects for the future.
If you are not able to provide complete information on a project
or suggested speaker, please send all available information and a
contact name so that we can try to fill in any gaps.
Please let me know if you have any questions, and thank you in
advance for your assistance.
Alison Powers
International City/County Management Association (ICMA)
777 North Capitol Street, NE, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20002-4201 U.S.A.
E-mail: mailto:apowers@icma.org
Tel: (202) 962-3543
Fax: (202) 962-3681
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