Participatory Appraisal of Competitive Advantage is a method that allows to conduct an action-oriented appraisal of a local economy in just two weeks. PACA combines concepts such as competitive advantage, systemic competitiveness, rapid appraisal, and visualisation-based facilitation techniques into an innovative approach. PACA can be used:  to kick-start or energise Local Economic Development (LED) in a given location, or as a toolkit to make ongoing LED activities more effective and efficient.

 

PACA has been introduced into more than 40 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. It is applied by dozens of LED facilitators. It has helped local stakeholders in hundreds of locations to better understand each other and their place and formulate effective LED activities.