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A Summary of PACA
Jörg Meyer-Stamer
www.mesopartner.com
What is Participatory Appraisal of
Competitive Advantage (PACA)?
 In a narrow sense (PACA Exercise):
– A methodology to prepare an action-oriented
diagnostic of the local economy
• to launch a local economic development
initiative
• to assess and refocus ongoing local economic
development activities
– A methodology to motivate local stakeholders to
take an active role in an LED initiative
 In a wide sense (PACA Project):
– a business- and opportunity-driven concept of
Local Economic Development
Why “PACA”?
 P
– Participatory
• motivating + involving local stakeholders
 A
– Appraisal
• quick, action-oriented diagnostic: Strengths,
weaknesses and opportunities in the local economy
• and what to do about them
 CA
– Competitive advantage
• creating a differentiated profile of local economy
Fundamental insights underlying
PACA
 For successful local economic development, you need to
create opportunities for motivated actors to become
visible
– you cannot rely only on those who ought to be
responsible
 To involve business in LED, you need quick wins
– to overcome distrust
– to build motivation
– to make sure that business people dedicate some of
their scarce time to development efforts
 You cannot assume that local stakeholders have a
concept of competitiveness and competitive advantage
What are the specific features of
PACA?








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Very limited fact-finding effort
Limited involvement of external consultants
Strict action-orientation
Strict market- and business-orientation
Looking at opportunities for quick, visible results, not
at big issues and main bottlenecks
Concept of LED asset: motivated stakeholders, not
“economic potentials”
Strong involvement of private sector
Motivating and mobilising the private sector for LED
Aligning stakeholders to the goal of creating a local
competitive advantage
What is the sequence of activities
in a PACA?
Preparation:
* Orga
* Advance
info
Hypo- Kicktheoff
sis Wks
Wks
Interviews
Mini-workshops
ResultsWorkshop:
Diagnosis
+
Proposals
Fieldwork (1-2 weeks)
PACA-Exercise (2-3 weeks)
PACA-Project
Presentation
event
Way
forward
Wks
Implementation
Who is involved in a PACA
exercise?
 A “Champion” or “Host” who suggests and
coordinates the PACA
– provincial or local government agency, Business
Chamber, NGO, somebody else
 Other local organizations who take an active role
– financing
– making staff available for the PACA Team
 The PACA Team
 Various local stakeholders who participate in the kickoff workshop, interviews, mini-workshops and the
presentation
What is the PACA Team?
 1 - 2 external facilitators who are familiar with the
PACA method and LED
– to introduce a fresh view at the local reality
– to transfer their know-how to local members of the
team
 3 - 5 local members
– for instance: professionals from the local business
promotion agency, the local Chamber, the local
university
– not too young, too junior
– with experience in economic promotion and in
dealing with private business
What does the kickoff workshop
look like?
What about the fieldwork?
Formats:
 Qualitative interviews
(“conversation”)
Tools:
 Guideline (always)
 Mapping (sometimes)
 Life-line (sometimes)
 Mini-workshops
 Diamond, 5 Forces,
Interaction Matrix, ...
 Mesocard
 Brainstorming on possible
action
– if participants are
strongly motivated
Field work:
Typical interview situations
What does a mini-workshop look
like?
Diagnostic, proposals,
presentation
 Results workshop to elaborate diagnostic and
proposals = 1-2 day exercise of the PACA Team
 Presentation Event: Immediately communicate the
results to the local audience
– presentation of findings and proposals
– Mesocard-based discussion
– invitation to audience to become a Champion
 immediate Way-forward-Workshop with local
champions to define priorities, activities and
responsibilities for implementation and monitoring
 implementation by local champions
How the results workshop looks
like in practice
What the Presentation Event
looks like
The PACA Exercise Value Chain
Reflection + communication in the PACA Team
Documentation of information, work on hypotheses
Communication with political role players
Communication with stakeholders / potential Champions
Hypotheses
Workshop
Kick-off
Workshop
Fieldwork:
Interviews
+
Miniworkshops
Results
Workshop
Presentation
Event
Wayforward
Workshops
What about the follow-up?
 Implementation of activities by local stakeholders
– monthly to bi-monthly visits of external PACA
Team members to facilitate and troubleshoot
 After 4 - 8 months: workshops for evaluation and
definition of further activities, possibly facilitated by
external facilitators
– option: More focused PACA Exercise, looking at
one sector, cluster or value chain
What is Local, what is Regional?
And where to apply PACA?
Local Economy
Diversified
economy
Cluster /
value chain
Subsector
Elements
of
Subsector
Regional Economy

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












City quarter
Neighborhood
Major urban
SubCity
agglomeration provincial
Municipality
region
Province
State
Until August 2004, PACA has been
applied in more than 70 locations in
15 countries, among others:
Level of
economic
development
Jaraguá do Sul,
Brazil
Hazyview,
South Africa São Bento do Sul,
Brazil
Nova Crnja,
Brusque,
Serbia
Brazil
Mafra,
Brazil
El Oro,
Ecuador
Blumenau,
Brazil
Lampang,
Thailand
Korat,
Chiang Rai, Thailand
Thailand
Ilembe,
South Africa
Queenstown,
South Africa
Novi Knezevac,
Serbia
Picota,
La Vega,
Peru
Dom. Republic
Kabokweni,
Hasalaka,
South Africa
Sri Lanka
Size of local economy
Which are the critical steps in a
PACA Exercise?
Preparation:
* Orga
* Advance
info
Hypo- Kicktheoff
sis Wks
Wks
Interviews
Mini-workshops
ResultsWorkshop:
Diagnosis
+
Proposals
Presentation
event
Way
forward
Wks
Fieldwork (1-2 weeks)
PACA-Exercise (2-3 weeks)
Very difficult steps: Support by experienced PACA facilitator mandatory
Difficult steps: Support by experienced PACA facilitator advisable
Implementation
Examples of Activities Resulting
from a PACA Exercise in Serbia
Implemented LED Proposals in Novi Kneževac:
 Setting-up of an LED unit in the municipality
 Presentation of the Micro-Finance Bank
[short-term impact: 5 loans approved]
 Organisation of an information seminar for farmers
by FAO
 Reorganisation of the ‚Green Market‘
 Organisation of a Song Festival
 Introduction of a ‘Walking Cinema’
What has been the outcome
elsewhere? Some examples:
Mafra, Brazil:
 More than 1,000 smallholder families increase their
their income by more than 100%
Lampang ceramics cluster, Thailand:
 Study tours to India and Italy
 Joint export initiative to China
Hazyview tourism cluster, South Africa:
 Local businesses collaborate to develop new tourism
products / packages
How to launch local and regional
economic development
initiatives? The PACA view
 Look at strengths instead of weaknesses
– identify potential for unique advantage
– Porter perspective: how to turn disadvantage into
unique advantage?
• Porter argument: strategy = a unique
advantage that cannot easily be replicated
 Go for activities with a quick, visible impact
– don’t get stuck in endless strategizing
– don’t start by addressing the biggest of all
challenges
So what comes after PACA?
 Option 1: More PACAs
– to monitor, energise and re-focus ongoing activities
– to initiate more intense development activities in
specific clusters or value-chains
– to constantly adjust an LED effort to new
opportunities and necessities
 Option 2: From PACA to local strategy
– PACA leads to alignment, sophistication and
motivation of local players
– Players agree to formulate an explicit LED strategy
More detailed structure of a PACA
Project
Activity 1
PACA
Build-up
Exercise
Activity 2
Activity 3
M+E
PACA
Activity 4
Cluster
PACA
Thank you for your attention!