LEDCs were established at state level in East Darfur and West Kordofan to localize programming and facilitate interventions to support rural livelihoods under PROSPECTS even during conflict.

As a mechanism to localize its approach to EIIP in Sudan, the PROSPECTS team set up LEDCs at state level in East Darfur (Assalaya) and West Kordofan (Keilak and Muglad). These included representatives from state-level ministries, employers’ and workers’ organizations, local financial institutions and vocational training centres. The main objective of the LEDCs was to transfer relevant knowledge and skills for ensuring coordinated and locally appropriate interventions to support rural livelihoods under PROSPECTS. Three LEDCs were formed and underwent a period of training. They convened on a quarterly basis and submitted action plans for coordinated information-sharing and exchange. The action plans commonly involved access to remote field locations, monitoring and providing feedback on work progress, and developing evidence-based recommendations to strengthen programming. These were reviewed by the PROSPECTS team and used to determine support costs that the LEDCs would require. The plans, and associated capacity-building for LEDC members, helped the programme localize its operations. In terms of EIIP, this served to support the identification of relevant infrastructure work and localized monitoring and oversight functions. The LEDCs continued to meet in the early phases of the resurgent conflict, and helped the ILO maintain PROSPECTS  even as access to project sites was interrupted for PROSPECTS staff.

Find out more about Local Economic Development Committees helped guide and support PROSPECTS programming and implementation in Sudan