Poland faces many exciting and challenging times today and tomorrow in its quest for an expanded and diversified national economy and the sustainable development of its regions, and their constituent communities. The comparative review of some Canadian and Irish experience suggests a number of issues that might productively be part of the ongoing refinement of Poland’s local development policies and strategies. Notably, the existence of regional economic development structures should not obfuscate a lack of an overarching development strategy, which can detract from the local development agendas and leave a vacuum between regional and local development initiatives. Moreover, the emergence of governance systems does not replace strong, well resourced local government. The question of capacity in local economic development is a central consideration.