Municipal strategy for local development: the case of the strategic planning of Blumenau-SC

Abstract

Strategic planning (SP) is undoubtedly an important tool for the management of municipalities, mainly due to the consequential regulations established by the Fiscal Responsibility Law, and also the City Statute, which exercise constant pressure on local governments. This study proposes to examine the importance of Municipal Strategic Planning (MSP) for regional development, and specifically as a means of correlating strategy and the results that shall be achieved. Therefore, we selected the city of Blumenau, SC, which adopted a growth strategy through capitalizing on touristic events based on its German tradition: Oktoberfest, held in the spring and Sommerfest in the summer. The field research adopted the procedure to explore, qualitatively, the case in question through interviews with those directly involved in the decision-making process, within the government and the authorities involved. The results indicate the success of the municipal government and Blumenau’s community in improving its touristic activities concerning the aforementioned events by incorporating an ample SP. In recent years, this collaboration has made an influential contribution to local development.