Connected communities: Networks, collaborations and clusters as engines of local growth
Jul 8, 2025 | 9:30 AM - 11:00 AMPuerta de Oro - Deep dive room 1
Jul 8, 2025 | 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Puerta de Oro - Deep dive room 1
Description
Thriving local economies are often underpinned by a dense web of relationships—between and among businesses, governments, education institutes, community actors, and other institutions. Complementing strong economic fundamentals, these relationships form part of the local “soft infrastructure” that can help places build resilience and navigate change.
This session will explore different forms of local networks and collaborations, from industrial districts to clusters to co-operative associations, starting from the nearly 400 initiatives registered in ECLAC Platform for collaborative initiatives. Drawing on more than a decade of experience from the OECD Summer School for Local Development in Latin America, on the ECLAC activity for boosting interaction among collaborative initiatives in Latin America, and the ICA Americas initiatives for the 2025 UN Year for Cooperatives, the session will focus on how international learnings can inform local development efforts in their region.
