Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economy IMW
Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economy IMW

Economic and Rural Development in Marginalized Areas of Morocco

Motivation

Within the framework of the project PEDEL (Promotion de l'économie et développement rural dans les zones excentrées du Maroc) as part of the special initiative "Stabilization and Development in North Africa and the Middle East", the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) , on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), supports the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior in improving economic development in selected rural and structural change affected regions of the Kingdom of Morocco. 

Regional structural change, e.g. caused by the transformation of energy production, is a global phenomenon. Rural and structurally weak regionsof Africa, where fossil fuels are mined, are particularly affected.

Project Description

To support the work in the PEDEL project, the GIZ commissioned Fraunhofer IMW to investigate and present the experiences of German and French agricultural and mining regions with structural change processes. The project aimed to inform decision-makers of the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior and the affected regions about possible options for action and forms of governance in structural change processes and to identify potential cooperation partners in Germany and France for joint exchange formats.

Project Tasks:

  • Preparation of a meta-study in French and German, to present the experiences and processes of structural change in selected German and French agricultural and mining regions. 

An analysis of the Ruhr, Lausitz, Saarland, Emsland and Lorraine (FR) regions was carried out with regard to the extent and dynamics of structural change, strategic approaches and development paths chosen, actors and institutions involved at national and regional level, established political processes and implemented support measures and forms of cooperation. In this way, success factors, challenges and good practice examples for the design of regional structural change processes were identified and prepared for transfer to the Moroccan context.

Project Duration

22.10.2018 - 31.3.2019

Client

German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ)