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Local Economic Development: Technical Assistance a. Consulting to local and departmental authorities: The Colombia Program  provided consulting and technical assistance to institutions involved in local economic development projects. As a result, most of the participating municipalities and departments included initiatives from the Program in their development plans. Various institutions, such as Centro de Productividad del Tolima, Centro de Productividad del Cauca provided personnel and physical and financial resources to support to the projects instigated by the Program. For example in the context of strengthening city councils, the Program developed a training in the context of “Viernes del Concejal”  to train councilors in their responsibilities regarding economic development. The training was focused in “El Rol del Concejo Municipal en el Desarrollo Económico Local” . The purpose was to inform council members of the principles and legal framework of LED, as well as to present the tools available for development planning. The program also identified the institutions and potential sources of funding for LED available to local actors. b. Designing and implementing economic development strategies for local and departmental governments in six southwest departments: Nariño, Cauca, Huila, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, and Chocó. These strategies focus on the development of agro-productive clusters and/or production projects in these departments following the “learning by doing” model.  The Program facilitates integration and cooperation among the municipalities and various economic organizations, seeks political and practical support from governors, mayors, city councils and the private sector, and also fosters inter-institutional support. Particular attention is given to the role of mid-sized cities in providing technical assistance services (taking advantage of administrative and technical infrastructures in these cities) for economic development to the more isolated and smaller municipalities of the surrounding areas. NARIÑO: The Program’s role in Nariño’s milk production chain was to facilitate relations between the actors of the chain, including the University of Nariño and Colegios Agropecuarios, and the formulation of “project profiles” to increase productivity and sustainability. CAUCA: Particular success has been achieved in the fishery chain in Cauca, where efforts have focused on i) ensuring continued success of the chain, ii) creation of an information system for the chain, iii) a rural extension strategy, iv) fortifying the “links” of the chain, and v) agreements on “clean production” methods in the fisheries. The guadua chain in Cauca has been further strengthened by its association with the national chain (see below), through the Acuerdo Marco Nacional de Competitividad (National Agreement on Competition) and the consolidation of the Consejo Consultivo de la Guadua. NATIONAL GUADUA CHAIN: A milestone event in the operation of the national guadua chain was the signing of “Acuerdo de Competitividad”. This agreement serves as a guide to the future progress of the chain and ensures continuity of cooperation and further development of the chain. The main objectives in the national guadua chain were  to: i) encourage competition in the chain at the national level, ii) ensure the future sustainability of the agreement, iii) evaluate the national and international levels of supply and demand of guadua, and iv) secure financial support for execution of the action plan. c.  The Colombia Program has extensive experience in preparing diagnosis and providing managerial tools for the different institutions responsible for LED. The Program had developed intervention in Choco and Uraba by training brokers in the design and implementation of LED projects with special emphasis in economic chains, clusters and entrepreneurial partnerships. d. The Colombia Program has established a wide network of contacts nationally and internationally with experts on issues of cluster and chain development. The Program has established a strong relation with SEBRAE in Brazil for exchange of lessons learned etc. e. Productivity Centers: The Program provided assistance to the production centers to coordinate and execute the objectives described in the action plans, such as training of local economic actors on working with the local government and other interested institutions such as agricultural schools and universities. The Program initiated a forum for the exchange of past experiences with the production centers of the departments of Cauca, Tolima and Chocó. f. Training: The Program developed training of coordinators of production chains, rural business association leaders and agriculture students. The training covered subjects such as formulation and administration of projects, enhancement of production chains, “best practices” in agriculture and strengthening associations and partnerships between the private sector and local government. g. Site Visits / Exploratory Missions: The Program sponsored visits to areas with potential for economic development strategies to survey the institutional framework of related agencies and to identify prospects for future development. These missions served to establish contacts among local governments, various local economic actors, local universities and production chains.