background

Globalization, the emerging knowledge economy, economic integration processes, and free trade agreements have created a new context for partnerships between research and training institutions in Canada, Latin America and the Andean Region in particular. The usefulness of having knowledge and experience on local matters depends now to a large extent on the capacity to put them in the wider context of regional and international collaboration and exchange. Otherwise, knowledge and local experience may become parochial and, eventually, irrelevant for taking advantage of global opportunities. Innovative partnership modalities have to be tried out in order to be able to respond to globalization challenges and use local knowledge more effectively.

The community of Canadian scholars interested in Latin America and the Andean region, the number of Canadian citizens and residents with origins in the region, the accumulated experience generated by the participation of Canadian and Latin American governmental and non-governmental organizations in various development cooperation activities, the interests of Canadian private entrepreneurs and investors in the region (in some cases in sectors of major importance to national economies, such as mining), and the desire of Latin American entrepreneurs to extend their markets, represent a social and intellectual capital that may serve as a base for mutually beneficial partnerships.

There are many reasons to encourage mutual learning and collaboration between residents of Canada and Latin America and the Andes in particular:

1. Migration, business and leisure travel experience will be enhanced by higher cultural and linguistic literacy; two-way cultural adaptation will be accelerated.
    
2. Recognition of prior learning, not only educational credentials, but also professional upgrading and experience will be enhanced if professional associations are cognizant of the nature and quality of experience (e.g. if a teacher from the Andean region migrates to Canada or a Canadian professional seeks experience or professional development in the Andes, it is important that professional associations have a good understanding of these and are prepared to recognize the learning.)
    
3. Some professions such as interpreters, translators and language instructors, teachers, etc have an obvious need to improve their knowledge and understanding of linguistic and cultural realities.
    
4. Many professions such as social workers have specific professional objectives to improve international and intercultural solidarity and mutual learning.
    
5. In recent decades, a new form of global recruitment of human resources has accompanied the emergence of trans-national corporations. In the newer professions and occupations, the ability to use specific instrumentation, software or other technology, may in some cases be as important as education credentials. A closer understanding of professional experience in other cultures is a growing need.
    
6. With outsourcing becoming a common mechanism for filling labour-intensive roles, cultural/linguistic ability and cross-cultural experience will be vital dimensions. Because of population aging in Canada, Canadian firms and institutions are likely to be doing much more outsourcing and use of guest labour in the future.
    

One challenge to innovative partnerships is how to build and sustain bridges between North and South, by sectors of activity (commerce, industry, services, government) and by professional groups (researchers, university professors, educators, commercial and industrial brokers and technicians, lawyers, entrepreneurs). Rapid changes in the knowledge base of social service provision, industrial and service production, and trade practices have rendered indispensable more frequent the updating of professionals, entrepreneurs, and program operators on issues that cut across North and South interests. Another challenge is to equip prospective partners with a portfolio of instruments that the revolution in ICTs has made available (distance education courses, virtual groups for discussion and evaluation, video conferencing, portals, websites, newsletters) in order to improve, in the new global environment, the dissemination, circulation, and use of relevant knowledge and experience.

In May 2005 the Advocate Institute facilitated with support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) an exploration by CEBEM in Washington DC and Canada in order to (i) contact key institutions and persons in development agencies, (ii) share information about CEBEM's accomplishments and key activities in the Andean region, and (iii) identify opportunities of innovative partnerships with universities, donor agencies, development banks, research centres, and diplomatic representations of Bolivia.

On the basis of results from the exploration, the Advocate Institute and CEBEM will implement a pilot project that will identify and design a number of products and services intended to help Canadian, Latin American, and Andean institutions and individuals wishing to explore cooperation opportunities and investigate resources available in diverse institutions, particularly in the development banks and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA); the project will also develop one or more specific proposals for innovative Canada-Latin America cooperation partnerships with a focus in the Andes. Emphasis will be placed on ways of supporting partnerships with an innovative approach, including:

• An approach that cuts across North-South professional, academic and economic interests
   
• A combination of training, communication, and exchange instruments
   
• Promotion of partnerships among academics, universities, researchers, entrepreneurs, professional associations, community leaders, and policy-makers in a bilateral or multilateral modality
   
• Mutual interests for working, exploring, searching, and making business together
   
• Identified funding possibilities of diverse stakeholders (academics, researchers, graduate and post-graduate training programs, NGOs, professional associations, business and entrepreneurial organizations, and local and national government bodies both in Canada and Latin America and the Andean region), their institutional interests, and their training needs for professional updating
   
• Potential use of research results to meet those interests and needs
   
• Consideration of development opportunities in select economic activities that may operate as incentives for implementing partnerships
   

The assumption is that information in itself about training or market opportunities, to mention a couple of factors, is not enough. People needs to be trained, updated and promoted about what exists, what is its potential, how to take advantage of it, and what sort of benefits may be obtained.

In order to conduct a meaningful experiment and maintain a degree of focus, the project will focus on local territorial development and policies (LTDP), a wide-ranging area of high relevance throughout the region and one which has significant convening power among academics, non-governmental organizations, private sector, and decision-makers. In addition, there already exists a research and education network on territorial policies and studies, the Ibero American Network of Graduate Programs on Territorial Studies and Policies (RIPPET) which currently has 132 member institutions, including universities, research centers, and graduate and post-graduate programs, in Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and El Salvador. It is argued that, if the experiment is successful, it can serve as a model to foster and support innovative approaches to partnerships in other areas.

Local territorial development and policies (LTDP) refers to the combination of participatory planning, community development, and institutional growth as a means to promote sustainable social, economic, and cultural development at the local level. While a primary focus on territorial development and policies will facilitate better targeting of products to be obtained through this initiative, identify interactions among them, and allow more cohesive proposals of future activities, other potential areas that might emerge along this exploration and require separate attention may be also be identified and considered.

Processes such as decentralization policies, environmental management, economic planning, investment strategizing (including foreign investment), participation in free trade opportunities, and human resources generation are increasingly subject to local and, particularly, global than to national factors. Therefore, improvement of capacities for the management of the complex interactions among these processes affecting local development, requires a broader view, beyond local boundaries, nourished by knowledge and experience available elsewhere at the global level.

LTDP can be unpacked into a number of substantive areas or topics of interest to different sectors and professional groups. For the purposes of this study, four or five topics have been selected, on the basis of the existence of a critical mass of knowledge, academic research and training programs, NGO activities, key development investments and projects in the region, and potential interests of stakeholders. At the time of writing, the following topics have been identified as entry points for the various activities envisioned in this exploration. They are:

1. Urban environmental problems
    
2. Community management of natural resources
    
3. Social participation in public policy making and social service delivery
    
4. Local production and trade opportunities - eventual focus on SMEs
    
5. Improvement of local public administration