ABSTRACT
As argued in some of the other chapters of this volume, community and regional organizations vested with the promotion of economic growth and development are constantly searching for effective tools and methods to advance their efforts. The interest in cluster developments that has been spurred by the work of Michael Porter (1990, 1996, 1998, 2003) has renewed interest in targeted economic development efforts. There has been a concerted movement away from the old philosophy of “shoot anything that flies and claim anything that lands”, to more strategic behaviour in identifying the specific types of industry to promote at the local and regional levels.
