Small business

Central government should not:
- Impose detailed inflexible programmes and targets;
- Set up centralised, bureaucratic support organisations and offer direct centralised services to
SMEs where these can be better delivered by other actors including the private sector itself; 
- Develop SME laws, institutions and policies in consultation with  social partners including small
business representative groups;
- Introduce corporate business models  into SME  business support management; 
- Impose excessive standardisation for the sake of public accountability;
- Impose excessive control on local organisations through funding or other mechanisms;
- Confuse the creation of markets with the pursuit of for profit activity;
- Deliver information and knowledge to businesses in inappropriate forms.
The coordination of support at different government levels and specific activities that local authorities
can undertake are discussed in Sections 3.4 and 5.1. The actual division of labour with local and regional
governments is a function of a country’s political structure and the financial powers and freedom of the latter.
There are, however, basic principles for the role of central government. These are outlined below. The
principles are drawn from observation of good and bad practice and can be justified via analysis of best
international practice.

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