Local footprint model: Convergence tables for local development. Experience of innovation and public-private collaboration

Abstract

It is paradoxical that the municipalities with the greatest needs do not have sufficient technical capacities or income to take charge of this reality, limiting their development, since it is professional resources that make it possible to attract public investment, which structurally does not always benefit the most isolated and vulnerable areas of the country, but rather the municipalities that have these capacities. On the other hand, sustainability and CSR investments by the private sector represent a strategic tool for reducing the gaps identified, but in many cases their impact is diminished due to a lack of territorial perspective and partnerships. Public-private partnerships for development have the potential to benefit vulnerable municipalities if they are generated around a common objective, but the lack of experiences and methodologies in the articulation of actors does not allow municipalities to promote such cooperation without the support of a reliable third party to act as an articulator. Fundación Huella Local (FHL) has developed a governance model that supports public management, articulating the public and private sectors around Development Convergence Tables, offering a meeting space in which municipalities and companies join the same alliance, increasing the resources available for the territories and generating a space for dialogue and convergence for sustainable development.