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Principles of good practice for business development support projects

Written by: International Labour Organization

Article Overview: Business-like and demand-led. The best BDS organisations at supporting MSE are like those MSE in terms of their people, systems and values.

Principles of good practice for business development support projects

Business-like and demand-led. The best BDS organisations at supporting MSE are like those MSE in terms of their people, systems and values.

· Sustainability - the need to look for innovative ways to encourage the long term delivery of BDS.

· Tailoring is essential through focus on clients' needs.

· Participatory approaches to the design and implementation of BDS.

· Maximising outreach is essential and provides need to develop imaginative ways of achieving this.

· Building on demonstrated initiative - where possible build on what is already there rather than impose from outside.

· Split and focus delivery - i.e. stick to the knitting' and avoid trying to deliver a range of different services and products.

· Systematic approaches and programme integration. Focus in a project does not deny the need for strategic awareness and effective networking between providers.

· Renewed focus on cost analysis.

· Continued importance of impact assessment and evaluation.

· Subsiduarity - complement the role and activities of others including the state.

Source: CDSED (1997) Business Development Services for SME Development: A Guide to Donor Funded
Interventions cited in Gibson et al.

EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING
PAPERS
43
Learning to change: Skills
development among the
economically vulnerable and
socially excluded in
developing countries
Paul Bennell
Employment and Training Department
International Labour Office Geneva
First published 1999

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Article Tags: bds, business development services, developing countries, different services, effective networking, employment and training, geneva, gibson, impact assessment, international labour office, interventions, knitting, mse, outreach, participatory approaches, paul bennell, state source, sustainability, systematic approaches, term delivery



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