College of Business and Economics | Annual Report 2021 59 Centre for Local and Economic Development (CENLED) Dr Marius Venter Director: Centre for Local and Economic Development (CENLED), School of Economics College of Business and Economics (CBE), University of Johannesburg OVERVIEW CENLED was established in 2008, primarily for capacity building in the local economic development sphere. In accordance with the vision, mission, core values, principles of corporate governance, and the legal and management framework of the University, CENLED: • Provides leadership and excellence in local economic and human settlement development and entrepreneurship. • Promotes the placement of qualified people in the field of local economic and human settlement development. • Promotes local economic and human settlement development as distinct, recognised, and selfgoverning professions. • Promotes entrepreneurship through formal qualifications, short learning programmes and other interventions at post-school educational institutions and other organisations. • Builds partnerships with communities. • Contributes to South Africa’s and Africa’s economic wellbeing. CENLED is the driving force in establishing a career path for local economic development (LED) professionals and the professional body for economic development practitioners, the Economic Development Council of South Africa (EDCSA), which was established with the support of the Department of Trade and Industry (the DTI). CENLED has partnered with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), which supports the professionalisation of economic development practitioners, and the IEDC recognises the EDCSA professional designation of certified economic developers. CENLED incorporates the PASCAL International Observatory (Africa). The PASCAL International Observatory is a global network of practitioners and researchers from higher education, regional government, the private sector and non-governmental organisations, which fosters collaboration and innovation in regional development – economic, workforce, social and cultural. The PASCAL network actively integrates policy, practice and research to strengthen communities and promote prosperity. PASCAL associates consult on regional development, CENLED is the driving force in establishing a career path for local economic development (LED) professionals.
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