PACA Awareness & Process Launch West Coast District 8 November 2013 Shannon Hiemstra & Colin Mitchell

P – Participatory motivating + involving local stakeholders A – Appraisal quick diagnostic: Strengths and weaknesses of local economy CA – Competitive advantage creating a differentiated profile of local economy Relationship between static and dynamic advantage What’s in a name?

PACA in Context of LED Growth Development In Limbo Gilded Cage Retirement Village Future Assured PACA Genesis

What is PACA? In a narrow sense: – A methodology to prepare an action-oriented diagnostic of the local economy to launch a local economic development initiative to assess and refocus ongoing local economic development activities – A methodology to motivate local stakeholders to take an active role in an LED initiative In a wider sense: – a business- and opportunity-driven approach to the job creation aspect of Local Economic Development

Features of PACA Tried and tested approach and methodology Quick-win and opportunity driven Build sentiment and momentum in sectors and/or localities Strict action-orientation Strict market- and business-orientation Looking at opportunities for quick, visible results, not at big issues and main bottlenecks Concept of primary LED asset and motivating stakeholders. Strong involvement of private sector and civil society – existing and especially developing.

PACA Focus What is the basic economic structure of the locality (town, village, region)? – Rapid appraisal and perception information on the local economy What are the competitive advantages, assets, potentials and opportunities of the main sectors or localities of the local economy? – Focus on opportunities, not the biggest problem What can be done realistically and quickly to build on strengths and to alleviate weaknesses? – realistically refers to existing and available resources i.e. motivated people, skills, capacities and institutions.

Secondary Benefits Efficient facilitation of LED Build social capital Mobilise local knowledge Connect local knowledge and players Connect and contrast local and external knowledge Contrast perceptions and facts Empower local players to learn that they can do things they never thought of. Increases local government visibility & establishes / improves communication channels with stakeholders (customers?) “The wisdom of the locals always exceeds the knowledge of the experts” Margaret Mead

Doing things differently or doing different things? Both! Doing things differently: – driven by opportunities – looking at short-term results – maximising the efficiency in the use of time Doing different things: – addressing market failure – stimulate business networking – addressing fragmentation of institutions and actors in a project- and opportunity-driven way

Who to involve in a PACA exercise? A “Host” the leadership face of the project – shows commitment and credibility A “Champion” who suggests and coordinates the PACA – provincial or local government agency, Business Chamber, NGO A “Driver” the person who gets up every morning determined to make the process a success. Other local organizations who take an active role – financing – making staff available for the PACA Team The PACA Team: both external and local Various local stakeholders who participate in the kick-off workshop, interviews, mini-workshops and the presentation

Profiling Stakeholders (CLIP’s)

The “Right” PACA Team 1 preferably 2 external consultants & facilitators who are familiar with the PACA method and LED – to introduce a fresh view at the local reality – to transfer their know-how to local members of the team local members – for instance: members of municipal LED Team; professionals from the local business promotion agency; the local Chamber; the local educational institutions; NGO’s; Churches (particularly in marginalised localities – not too young, too junior – with experience in development and in dealing with private business

Preparation Stakeholder Identification Mavens, Connectors & Sales-persons Choir & stone throwers CLIPs Communication Intensive & multi-dimensional Involve media … but carefully Keep politicians informed! Engagement Stakeholder’s obligations & constraints Use process to build social capital Data Mining Rapid scan by external team to determine key sectors and factors conditions – indicative not empirical

PACA Process Preparation: Kickoff Workshop Results- Workshop: Diagnosis + Proposals Interviews Mini-workshops Presentation Event Imple- mentation PACA-Project 6 – 8 weeks PACA-Exercise (2-3 weeks) Fieldwork (1-2 weeks) Hypothesis Workshop Way forward Workshop

Hypothesis Workshop Involves the PACA team and can include key stakeholders Focuses Attention and provides a constant point of reference. Exposes pre-conceptions, biases or entrenched positions. Aligns the team to a common (if not always agreed) perspective. Definition: “a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.” (Free Dictionary.com)

Kick-Off Workshop Involves all identified stakeholders Opportunity for Host (s) to set the tone and significance of the process and implication Establishes momentum for the process Identifies important information concerning the locality Can reveal pre-conceptions or biases Identifies people that may not yet have been included or who are under the radar Sets the tone for the engagement process Normally would use Michael Porters Diamond as the primary instrument.

Porters Diamond

Mini-workshops Engage sector or cluster stakeholders from priority sectors Focus on sectors that are drivers of growth Avoid segmentation of the value chains – i.e. ICT; services and retail; education; construction; etc. Main Tools / Instruments: Porter 5 Forces Value Chain Mapping Interaction Matrix Expectation Matrix Mad, Glad & Sad Life line Leaking Bucket

Porters 5 Forces

Mini-workshop Examples

Interviews People who avoid or could not attend workshops Less structured more conversational Often people considered as “hostile” by local government or business External facilitators often need to do certain interviews due to local dynamics /prejudices Often need to keep discussions “off the record” and use information intuitively. Try to use interviews to build bridges and to get interviewees to the presentation event.

Results Workshop Often involves an extended PACA team PACA Projects are targeted at the following quick win characteristics: Local and available resources Committed champion Visible results in three months Start within a week Create leverage and public good by beneficial use of municipal assets Address market failure

Presentation Event Present results to all participants and get feedback on findings, priorities and proposals. Include any “outliers” that were identified during the process Opportunity for stakeholders to make final comments or insights Identify champions for the individual proposals Opportunity for Host and Champion to commit to support the implementation Determine and agree on institutional way forward and next steps

Way Forward Workshop Follows directly after the results workshop and is specifically for approved project champions. Equips champions to plan how they will launch, implement and sustain their projects. Application of Pfeiffer’s Six Points What exactly do we mean with this proposal? Who is taking responsibility for implementation? Who has to collaborate in the implementation? What are the resources we need for implementation? When do we start? How do we know that we started (and the Champion has not forgotten about it)? Benevolent self-interest is a strength and not a threat if there is “public good”

Implementation Implementation of activities by local stakeholders – monthly to bi-monthly visits of external PACA Team members to facilitate and troubleshoot After months: workshops for evaluation and definition of further activities, possibly facilitated by external consultants – option: More focused PACA Exercise, looking at one sector, cluster or value chain In dynamic localities stakeholders may wish to consider a more future looking and innovation orientated strategic intervention (i.e. Genesis)