Introduction
- How to enhance a local dynamic in favour of successful territorial planning and economic development, capable of absorbing the crisis and the jolts generated by globalisation?
- How the promotion of innovative activities, entrepreneurship and territorial solidarity can come together to create not only direct, spinoffs but also lasting wealth?
The knowledge economy characterised by an accelerated rythmn of innovation, heightened use of knowledge and competences and a massive increase in their diffusion thanks to ICT is a reponse to these challenges.
Economic development propulsed by a network of different local and regional actors can contribute to the strengthening of innovative activity branches, linked in particular to ICT (Information and Communication Technologies), and favours the emergence of new activities for these actors.
The close links between local authoritiy powers and businesses, through the implementation of technological networks, centres of competencies and excellence, the promotion of accessible higher education throughout the territory and coaching for the launch of new activities, are success factors for concerted economic development.
Quality infrastructures are prerequisites for the enhancement of these exchanges within business processes and economic organisation: they encompass just as much communication means as they do physical and virtual equipments: roads, motorway junctions, optical fibres and broadband, mobile telephone coverage, company real estate, business incubators, one stop shops allowing access to these services both for the population and the companies.
The stimulation of networks of actors or "clusters" is perceived as a fundamental challenge in order to allow companies and all the different economic actors and local politicians to position themselves within the global and changing economy, and to access therefore the sources of knowledge necessary to support their competitiveness.
ICT, at the service of companies and local authorities illustrates equally the importance of the implementation of close cooperation between the different local actors in order to optimise their activities. ICT constitutes the key stone of a creative economic dynamic that allows the enhancement of local potentialities. It is in the interest of companies to integrate into their internal policies new technologies linked to information and communication. However, widespread diffusion of ICT demands a prior awareness, training of economic development staff and above all the development and the transmission of uses and good practices.
Finally, ICT is intimately linked to the promotion of innovation. Their assimilation by companies and local authorities within the implementation of public services creates a real leverage effect on the development and the putting into practice of innovation.
The promotion of ICT and good practices demands in parallel contiunous training for the whole actors. Technology and innovation presupposes constant updating of knowledge and techniques. E-learning (distance learning) is a response to this enormous challenge for the greatest number as long as structures support is foreseen.
ICT practices penetrating territories and organisations can stimulate the progressive deployment of more complex and high-performance tools and methods.
As a result collaborative work and economic intelligence platforms are assets to be developed for different sized structures (liberal professions, VSE, SME, large enterprises) that provide them with targeted and rich information within shared knowledge databases.
