USAID's Local Governance Program in Albania (LGPA) works with 10 municipalities throughout Albania to foster local economic growth, improve local governance, and strengthen civic and private sector engagement in local development activities.
The LGPA encourages and facilitates local economic growth in target municipalities in order to increase investment, create jobs, raise incomes, and ultimately expand the municipal tax base. The LGPA is also providing technical assistance and on-the-job training to staff in the 10 target municipalities on a variety of governance issues, including tax collection, asset management, budgeting, procurement, and service provision, with the aim of improving management efficiency while creating a 'business friendly' investment climate.
The LGPA is founded on two key strategic principles:
- First, the LGPA pursues the development of a 'virtuous circle' whereby new local private investment results in increased jobs, incomes, and related economic activity, leading to greater municipal tax revenues, allowing the municipality to improve public services, and thereby attract additional investment and further economic activity.
- Second, to facilitate this virtuous circle, LGPA is working with municipal governments and other interested stakeholders-including businesses and civil society organizations-to develop 'demand driven' programs of assistance. Thus, through Local Economic Growth Committees (LEGCs) established in each target municipality and frequent interaction with local stakeholders, LGPA responds to requests for training and technical assistance needed to achieve the development objectives defined by the stakeholders.
The Local Governance Program in Albania began operations in September, 2007, and will continue until June, 2011.
PROGRAM SUMMARY