The governance of local development: An assessment of organizational capacity in North West Europe

Many of Europe's regions and localities have traditionally relied for their development on central government policy intervention and large-scale enterprise (Stohr, 1990 Stohr, W. 1990. “Synthesis”. In Global Challenge and Local Response: Initiatives for Economic Regeneration in Contemporary Europe, Edited by: Stohr, W. 1–19. London: Mansell. [Google Scholar]). However, over the past 25 years they have adjusted these preferences by more fully embracing local action. Today, the theory and practice of local development emphasize its potential to identify and harness a wide variety of resources in ways that are often more effective and efficient than top-down initiatives acting alone. This approach requires appropriate governance arrangements that are strongly supportive, not least politically, of local activity. It requires the formation and operation of local level alliances by stakeholders who can think and act strategically within organizational structures whose missions have been shaped by those whom local development programmes are intended to benefit. And of course, it is vital that the scope of local development is defined as a multi-dimensional set of activities that recognize the interdependence not just of social, economic, cultural and environmental measures, but also the very real connectedness between people and place. Spatial development approaches to local development are, therefore, an important element of any coherent local development framework.