The paper approaches in a systemic manner the topic of local development, attempting, on one hand, to turn into account the previous contributions from the specialized literature and, on the other hand, to emphasize the specific mechanisms, describing and modelling the behavior of a local development system, underlining its feedback. The basic hypotheses of a systemic model for local development are synthesized in emphasizing three main subsystems, representing three levels of public management. At the same time, a local development system is composed by the convergence of two cybernetic systems, namely an administrative and an economic one, each with specific missions. Consequently, the paper aims a model for an economic-administrative system of local development (SEADL), whose self-regulation mechanisms are based on qualitative assessments, concerning the relevance or usefulness/sustainability of a local development policy as well as quantitative assessments, referring to efficiency or effectiveness. In the end of the paper a case study is presented in details, being achieved in Braila Municipality, valorising SEADL feedback, using assessments based on production factors or Keynesian approaches. The study represents only a framework, a general one for approaching a complex topic, such as local development, and it may be obviously completed and improved.