To support the development of a unified monitoring system across the municipalities of the Vidzeme planning region (VPR) in the area of economic activity and business support measures and to strengthen municipal involvement in regional development the first of three workshops for municipal specialists organized by VPR took place on 24 April.

Discussions with municipalities on establishing a unified monitoring system began already in April 2025, when the first conversation with municipal specialists was held within the framework of the “PoliRuralPlus”. It focused on the challenges affecting how monitoring is organized within municipalities and across the region, while underscoring the importance of high-quality data for assessing territorial development and in decision-making. This was followed by the project hackathon, “Data for Development”, during which participants explored monitoring indicators in various fields. Thanks to the project’s contribution, practical steps are now being taken towards creating a unified system of monitoring indicators specifically for economic activity and business development.

Over the past year, VPR has been actively working to improve the regional development monitoring system. To make this work more focused and purposeful, a Working Group for monitoring system improvement was established in spring 2026. Its members are specialists whose responsibilities relate to development planning and monitoring, as well as the implementation of business support measures in municipalities.

During the first workshop, participants were introduced to the fundamentals of the theory of change methodology, which is based on working backwards: first identifying the desired destination, and only then determining how to get there. Participants then split into groups for practical work. Applying the theory of change approach, each group agreed on a goal to be achieved in the context of entrepreneurship and, working backwards from that goal, defined the results, outcomes, and activities needed.

In the upcoming sessions specialists will continue through practical and collaborative work to analyse the activities planned in their municipalities to strengthen the economic dimension, the goals that have been set, and the resources allocated. They will compare their approaches with other municipalities and jointly identify the most effective directions for local economic and business development that could help strengthen the competitiveness of the Vidzeme region as a whole. Particular attention will be paid to the use of data in decision-making by assessing the indicators currently defined in planning documents, identifying missing information, and strengthening the ability to link activities with results and long-term impact.

By the end of the training cycle, the aim is to lay the foundation for a unified, data-based monitoring system for regional territorial development, initially focusing on assessing the impact of economic activity and business support measures and on defining a shared set of monitoring data.

The workshops are organised with financial support of the project “Strengthening the capacity of local governments to improve the efficiency and quality of their operations”. This cooperation represents a practical example of synergy between the projects, with the direct aim of fostering experience exchange, learning, and the transfer of knowledge.