The project partnership, comprising fifteen partners across five countries, responds to the training needs of Local Agenda 21 (LA21) which emerged from the Rio and Johannesburg Earth Summits. Agenda 21 is an instrument for improving quality of life, through sustainable development, by putting into operation local community partnerships. The project will contribute to skills development amongst local community groups involved in promoting and developing activities in the field of sustainable development. Project partners will produce training products, in the form of modular training courses and materials (CD-Rom, web-based and printed material), on the technical and socio-dynamic 'know-how' necessary for LA21 implementation. End products will be aimed at local Agenda 21 facilitators, such as local and regional authority staff and trainers. Course curricula and materials will be piloted across the partner countries with recommendations contributing to the development of end materials. A key focus of the project will be upon the provision of flexible training courses able to respond to the needs of specific target groups and that are also able to combine training with respect to both technical and 'soft' skills. End training products will be made available either as classroom-based or distance learning materials and will include a 'Sustainability Quality Management Tool' as a means of testing training tools and of assessing the impact of individual projects on the development of Agenda 21 goals. With the projects focus upon the training the trainers, the multiplier effect/impact of the project should be significant and should further help to disseminate the project deliverables to a potentially wide audience. Dissemination will rely upon workshops, a dedicated project website and a project newsletter, and will make use of the partnership's extensive networks.