Managers of cluster initiatives from Colombia participate in class on public policies and productive coordination initiatives in Latin America

On Thursday, June 6, the ninth virtual session of the Program was held, led by the economic affairs officer of the Productive and Business Development Division of the Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Marco Dini. This meeting, designed and implemented by the Colombian Confederation of Chambers of Commerce – Confecámaras and its Colombia Cluster Network, had the participation of several dozen cluster managers representing all of Colombia.

The main objective of the Program is to provide the cluster management teams with the knowledge and tools necessary to strengthen their capacities, promote the transfer of good practices and identify opportunities for collaboration, which allow them to develop strategies and execute projects that promote economic growth. sustainable.

In this sense, Marco Dini began the lesson by explaining ECLAC’s interest in promoting joint work through the Cluster Initiatives Platform and other Territorial Productive Articulation Initiatives (IAPT). The importance that ECLAC gives to these initiatives is justified by the political and economic panorama of Latin America, which the ECLAC official has characterized as a scenario of low growth, stagnation of productivity and strong heterogeneity. In this framework, the IAPT initiatives allow for the generation of dialogues and cooperation that facilitate the joint action of public, private, academic and civil society actors, aimed at the development of strategic agendas for productive improvements.

Following this, the presentation of the Platform promoted by ECLAC and the possibilities that this tool provides by registering cluster initiatives and being able to georeference them to give visibility and encourage collaborative work, as well as the exchange of good practices, took place. to diversify and sophisticate the productive apparatus of the region.

Likewise, cluster managers who have not yet registered the initiative they coordinate were encouraged to register it, since Colombia is one of the countries that lead the Platform: “Colombia stands out for a significant advantage derived from its more than 25 years of work in cluster initiatives. Currently the country has 161 active cluster initiatives, a number that few countries can match in terms of magnitude and scope,” said the official.

Finally, the ECLAC proposal was addressed to transform this Platform into a community, that is, transform this tool into an engine of action, promoting the dissemination of cluster initiatives in the region and training the professionals who lead them.

Through this community, we seek to create a space for the dissemination and exchange of knowledge through research focused on topics of common interest for the various registered initiatives. In addition, it is proposed to provide technical support for the design and implementation of work methodologies and tools and for the development of projects with regional impact.

ECLAC seeks to make the community a crucial meeting point, facilitating dialogue between actors from different territories and countries to promote productive integration, all with the aim of being able to deepen, consolidate and expand cluster initiatives.