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TNC Planning in rural development

Additional steps in their overall life cycle can make TNC projects more complex than other rural development projects. This section of the guide takes readers through each of the main steps involved in planning TNC projects.

Identifying and mobilising local project partners

Before launching a cooperation project, a number of baseline actions are advised. These help to ensure the project starts on a safe foundation.

Defining your cooperation strategy

Objectives for this initial step should aim to:

  • Make local stakeholders aware of what cooperation can bring;
  • Identify cooperation promoters and partners;
  • Set up a cooperation structure; and
  • Identify tangible cooperation ideas.

An initial step involves carrying out a self-assessment exercise to help your LAG clarify and understand issues that might influence the type of projects that could be included in your cooperation strategy. Click on the self-assessment tool (Self assessment questions to help you define your cooperation strategy) for a set of questions that can be used to help define your cooperation strategy.

Organising project ideas

Outcomes of the self-assessment exercise will help LAGs focus on ideas for cooperation projects that have strong relevance for the local territory. It may be necessary to organise these project ideas into a list of priorities. A separate TNC guidance tool is available to help LAGs arrange ideas within their cooperation strategy (click on Organising the cooperation ideas into a hierarchy).

Results from this process can lead to an informed range of stakeholders possessing knowledge about cooperation and the opportunities that it offers.

Mobilising potential cooperation project partners for this first step can be helped by setting up a ‘cooperation think tank’ of local people. The think tank should be tasked to identify and prioritise potential themes that cooperation could focus on for the LAG area.

Key points to mobilising local project partners:

  • Make local stakeholders interested in cooperation;
  • Create a local ‘cooperation think tank’, and
  • Identify cooperation ideas,

Using external support

Effective management of a cooperation project is vital to its success. The choice of a project manager is therefore a delicate operation and important during the planning phases.

Some TNC projects are developed and managed solely by LAG staff, whilst other projects are managed by dedicated external project personnel. External project managers are normally used when the necessary skills, time or resources are not available within the LAG. Outside expertise can be useful at different stages during the planning, implementation and evaluation of cooperation projects.

The advantages and disadvantages of internal and external project managers are summarised in the table below:

  Internal manager External manager;
Advantages
  • knows several or all the local actors
  • knows the cooperation partners
    This is useful for communication and conflict solving.
  • No extra cost is required
  • clearly defined involvement in the running of the network
  • more likely to be objective and free from the local pressures which may exist
  • may have more experience in running a cooperation project
Disadvantages
  • more likely to be subjective or under local pressure politic or financial
  • can only be involved on a part time basis except if his time is fully transferred to the cooperation project
  • may have little experience in running a cooperation project
  • The running of the cooperation project may become over dependant on the manager. This may cause problems if the person quits his job or is replaced
  • may propose ‘ready-to-use’ solutions with no clear link to the partners involved or to the work they have already done
  • may change the nature of the project
  • may act in his own interest rather than in that of the project and partners
  • Probably does not know the local and transnational partners at the start. This may lead to communication problems.
  • the network must bear the cost

An additional guidance tool is available for helping LAGs with the recruitment of external project managers for their cooperation strategy projects (click on Terms of reference and selection criteria for external technical assistance for this additional).

Last update: 18/12/2013 | Top