Context

The new EU policies towards sustainable development and implementing subsidiarity and governance principles, ask for new participative approaches and integrated tools to provide intersectorial solutions, where all stakeholders share responsibilities.

The involvement of stakeholders (local authorities, companies, Ngos, schools, Trade unions, local groups and citizens) in decision making processes may offer the opportunity to develop new methodologies of interdisciplinary involvement and integrated approaches to issues, to find appropriate and shared solutions, which in practice, foster better dialogue, awareness, co-learning, co-responsibility, active commitment in decision-making processes to reach shared targets, several tools in the transition to sustainability.

Local agenda 21, as a process and a governance tool for sustainability, can provide different opportunities for defining participated Action Plans for local sustainable development, and a tool for introduce innovative modernisation in local government processes.

The coming UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg should reinforce the development and implementation of Local Agenda 21.

Our activities

Focus Lab is based on experienced skills and competencies which have contributed to spread and manage Local Agenda 21 processes in Italy at regional, provincial and local level, with recognized good practices.

Focus Lab experience has been achieved through the organisation and facilitation in the recent years of almost 150 participatory events, Forum, workshops and focus groups, regarding local sustainable development projects.

These multi-stakeholders projects have involved more than 2000 persons, representatives from businesses, Local authorities, community groups, environmental and voluntary associations, Trade Unions, qualified experts, schools and Universities, technical authorities and citizens.

Focus Lab is connected and partners in some project with international networks, like ICLEI and the European Sustainable Cities and Towns Campaign, and with LA21 experts through Europe.

We provide.

• Technical support and co-ordination of Local Agenda 21 processes
• Organisation and supervision of the different steps of a Local Agenda 21 processes
• Assessment on Unconscious Agenda 21
• Identification and engagement of local stakeholders.
• Facilitation of multi-stakeholders working groups
• Co-ordination and facilitation of Forums, Workshops and Focus groups.
• Technical support for setting future sustainable development scenarios
• Local agenda 21 Action Plans
• Technical support for LA21 programmes implementation
• Local Agenda 21 outcomes and processes monitoring