Encouraging sustainable human development by valuing local resources
Innovative and participatory methodologies and an approach based on sustainable human development stand at the centre of Local Development Unit’s work in international development cooperation.
We offer research and technical assistance throughout every phase of the local development process, including needs analysis, strategic planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programs, actions promoting sustainable human development and offer technical and scientific support for the localisation of Agenda 2030.
Main Activities
- Diagnostic studies on development, sustainability and resilience of socio-economic sectors and territories
- Ideazione e sperimentazione di modelli innovativi, governance partecipativa e sviluppo locale
- Studies for the valorisation of a territory’s assets
- Measuring well-being and quality of life at local level
- Technical and scientific support for the SDGs Localisation
- Studies and analyses on sustainable tourism
- Research and social impact assessment on projects related to the integration and inclusion of migrants and persons with international protection
Certification & sustainability of local productive system
- Implementing ethical and environmental brands
- Creating integrated procedures for sustainable supply chains and local systems of production
- Helping organizations become compliant with international standards of management and production
Territorial analysis, a methodological approach
Planning the sustainable human development of a territory in a transparent, coherent and concrete manner.
Territorial analysis is a process to identify and define the potential, aspirations and needs for sustainable human development of a given territory, from a social, economic and environmental point of view. It is a useful tool for an in-depth understanding of a given territory, be it a neighbourhood, a city, a group of cities or a region.
This tool can be used by local administrators, policy makers and organisations that aim to have a significant impact on the territory by selecting priorities and strategies based on its actual needs, aspirations and specificities.
SDGs Localisation
The importance of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the local level is widely recognised in academic and policy circles. The SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals, can provide a framework to guide local development policies.
Through an integrated and participatory approach to sustainable development, ARCO’s Local Development Unit offers a set of core competences and operational tools to facilitate the ownership of the SDGs, their integration into strategic planning processes and their translation into public policies on a local basis. Local authorities such as the Metropolitan City of Florence and the Metropolitan City of Rome have been supported in the elaboration of their own Voluntary Local Review and Metropolitan Agenda.
The Local Development Unit also wants to increase the involvement and participation of young people in the strategic planning of the territories in which they live. This was done through various participative methodologies, such as gaming, focus groups and surveys, which led for example to the elaboration of the first Youth Voluntary Review of the Metropolitan City of Florence.
Contact us:
Andrea Ferrannini, PhD
Local Development Unit Coordinator
andrea.ferrannini[at]pin.unifi.it