Productive entrepreneurship is crucial to local economic growth, employment creation and innovation. Entrepreneurial activity creates jobs, drives efficient resource use and accelerates the process of generating, diffusing and applying innovative ideas and concepts.

The LEED Programme approach focuses on fostering entrepreneurship at the local level, as best practices over the past 20 years have shown the increasing importance of mobilising local talents and resources rather than relying exclusively on inward investment and financial support from central governments. The effectiveness of such local policies is recognised by the increased emphasis that labour market policies place on active measures supporting job creation and SME development at the local level.

Local and regional authorities employ a range of measures to encourage enterprise creation and development. They include business networks, business incubators, micro-credit schemes, business advisory and extension services and cluster development programmes. Promoting entrepreneurship, however, is not a development panacea. It should be part of an array of programmes and policies of a comprehensive local development strategy.

This one-week training aimed at discussing these and other related issues, with a special focus on South, Central, and Eastern European Countries. The seminar had the following objectives:

• to identify the rationale for entrepreneurship policy interventions in correcting market failures and other barriers to local economic development;
• to provide an overview of the broad range of policy instruments that can be used to achieve public policy objectives in the field of entrepreneurship promotion at local level;
• to study in detail a selection of the most important instruments for transition economies;
• to consider how to integrate entrepreneurship policy instruments into comprehensive local development strategies.

The selection of participants from local governance entities and agencies was made based on their application. Their full application file included:

• a duly completed Case Study Form ;
• a letter of motivation; and
• a curriculum vitae.

The participants from national ministries were to the OECD through the competent Ministry. Nominees from national ministries then sent their application file including:

• their duly completed Case Study Form ; and
• their curriculum vitae.

The seminar took place in the premises of the newly created LEED Trento Centre for Local Development in Italy. The working language was be English, no translations facilities were provided. Application deadline was 8 October 2004.

For more information on this seminar and on the proceedings, please contact Alessandra.Proto@oecd.org or by fax (+39.0461.277.650).

Please read carefully the draft programme .