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| Local Development Companies | |
|---|---|
| Name | Local Development Companies |
| Formation | Varied |
| Type | Community development organization |
| Headquarters | Variable |
| Region served | Localities, regions |
| Leader title | Executive Director |
Local Development Companies
Local Development Companies are organizations that coordinate local investment, business support, and community revitalization. They operate at municipal, county, and regional scales to implement projects in partnership with agencies such as the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme, European Investment Bank, and national bodies like the Small Business Administration and the Department of Commerce (United States). They work alongside institutions including Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Inter-American Development Bank, and civic groups such as the Rotary International and United Way Worldwide.
Local Development Companies are mission-driven entities created to stimulate local growth by delivering services similar to those provided by International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and regional actors such as the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. They often aim to increase employment through incubation efforts modeled after programs at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and University of Oxford technology transfer offices, and emulate community investment approaches seen in Habitat for Humanity, Oxfam, and Médecins Sans Frontières partnerships. Their purpose overlaps with initiatives run by UN-Habitat, USAID, DFID, and philanthropic campaigns like the Gates Foundation Grand Challenges.
The emergence of Local Development Companies reflects trends from post-war reconstruction led by Marshall Plan implementation, post-industrial renewal in cities affected by the Rust Belt decline, and rural revitalization efforts exemplified by movements such as the Green Revolution and land reform programs in countries influenced by the New Deal era. Precedents include models from Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, Trafalgar Square-era civic activism, and municipal enterprise traditions in cities like Birmingham, Detroit, Glasgow, and Barcelona. International examples draw on experiences from Tanzania ujamaa policies, Brazil's community development projects under Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva administrations, and regional planning tools used in Île-de-France and Bavaria.
Typical governance mirrors board models used by institutions such as Catholic Relief Services, Oxfam, Amnesty International, and World Wildlife Fund. Boards include representatives like mayors from London, New York City, and Paris, local legislators affiliated with parties such as Labour Party (UK), Democratic Party (United States), and Christian Democratic Union delegates, and private sector partners from firms like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Siemens, and General Electric. Executive leadership often draws talent with experience at agencies including European Commission, United Nations, Bank of England, and Federal Reserve System, and collaborates with legal advisors experienced in statutes like the Companies Act 2006 and regulations enforced by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Funding sources parallel mechanisms used by European Investment Fund, KfW, Export-Import Bank of the United States, and national development banks such as BNDES and NABARD. Revenue streams include grants from foundations like Carnegie Corporation, loans from multilateral lenders such as the World Bank Group, equity investments akin to those by Sequoia Capital or Accel Partners, and municipal bonds modeled on issuances by New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority. Innovative financing can mirror instruments from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Program Related Investments, social impact bonds used in United Kingdom pilots, and crowdfunding platforms inspired by Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
Programs draw on best practices from Kiva, Grameen Bank, Ashoka, and Start-Up Chile: small business incubation, microfinance, workforce development, brownfield remediation similar to projects in Cleveland, cultural district planning like initiatives in Bilbao following the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao effect, and housing rehabilitation akin to Habitat for Humanity builds and London Docklands redevelopment. Services include technical assistance modeled after McKinsey & Company pro bono efforts, business acceleration similar to Y Combinator, and community engagement strategies influenced by Participatory Budgeting experiments in Porto Alegre.
Evaluation approaches use mixed methods frequently applied by Rand Corporation, National Bureau of Economic Research, World Bank Independent Evaluation Group, and academic centers at Harvard Kennedy School, London School of Economics, and Stanford Graduate School of Business. Metrics include job creation comparable to outcomes reported by European Social Fund programs, changes in local gross value added like those tracked by OECD Territorial Reviews, and social return analyses similar to reports from Social Finance UK. Case studies reference transformations in places such as Pittsburgh, Bilbao, Manchester, and Seoul.
Critiques echo concerns raised in reports by Transparency International, Human Rights Watch, and analyses in journals such as The Economist and Financial Times: risks of mission drift akin to criticisms of World Bank projects, capture by elites as documented in studies of Gilded Age patronage, displacement effects similar to gentrification seen in Brooklyn and Shoreditch, and accountability gaps comparable to failures uncovered in Enron-era oversight debates. Additional challenges include funding volatility during crises like the 2008 financial crisis and COVID-19 pandemic and coordination problems noted in cross-jurisdictional initiatives such as the European Union cohesion policy.
Category:Community development organizations