Evaluating Citizen Participation in the Levels of Local Economic Development Implementation for Sustainable Community Development

Local economic development (LED) is widely promoted as a strategy for revitalising local economies, yet limited empirical attention has been paid to how citizen participation operates across different levels of LED implementation and its implications for sustainability. This study addresses this gap using a qualitative design based on in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with local government officials, Assembly Members, LED beneficiaries, and implementing actors in Ghana. Data were thematically analysed through systematic coding and interpretation. Findings show distinct implementation logics across assemblies: locally initiated LED in AMA, externally supported initiatives in AdMA, and MSME oriented interventions in SODA. Across these contexts, citizen participation contributed to endogenous resource identification, employment generation, and enhanced sustainability of community projects. The study demonstrates that participation is not merely procedural but structurally embedded in how LED is conceived and executed, shaping both outcomes and continuity. It advances understanding of participatory LED by linking implementation levels to sustainable community development outcomes.