Local Economic Development: A Primer

Developed as a resource to assist communities to develop local economic development strategies, this Local Economic Development Primer has been prepared for towns, cities and communities that are new to LED and that wish to help their local economies grow. 

The Primer seeks to provide municipalities, practitioners, businesses and communities with an understanding of what local economic development is, why it is practiced, and how it is practiced. 

The Primer seeks to identify the initial steps to starting the LED strategic planning process, and has been developed using good practice from a number of transitioning and developing economies, as well as from North America and the European Union. 

The Primer highlights examples of good practice in LED strategic planning and implementation, and draws on the lessons and experiences gained from the Cities of Change local economic development network. It is envisaged that the Primer will serve to explain some of the complexities associated with LED strategic planning so that they are more easily understood.

• LED: A Primer (English)  -  91 pages, PDF 384 KB
• LED Primer (in Arabic)  -  137 pages, PDF 984 MB
• LED Primer (in Bulgarian)  -  113 pages, PDF 4 MB
• LED Primer (in French)  -  87 pages, PDF 644 KB
• LED Primer (in Georgian)*  -  111 pages, PDF 754 KB
• LED Primer (in Hungarian)  -  108 pages, PDF 3.8 MB
• LED Primer (in Latvian)  -  102 pages, PDF 3.7 MB
• LED Primer (in Polish)  -  107 pages, PDF 3.8 MB
• LED Primer (in Portuguese)  -  100 pages, PDF 552 KB
• LED Primer (in Slovakian)  -  105 pages, PDF 3.8 MB
• LED Primer (in Spanish)  -  94 pages, PDF 651 KB  

*Georgian translation courtesy of the Polish Local Economic Development Professionals Association, funded by the Polish Foreign Ministry.