ABSTRACT
This chapter presents how professional communities represent an important complement to traditional innovation policies at the metropolitan level. It shows how to promote the competitiveness of local areas in the scenario of information and communication technology (ICT), reshaping the policy thinking concerning the drivers of territorial economic development. The chapter explores how online professional communities at a territorial level can be implemented as a tool for local development and integrated in a more general economic regeneration policy. The development of professional communities supported by networking technologies appears to be a fundamental priority for many reasons. Professional communities provide visibility of local competencies worldwide, supporting internationalization processes and offering cooperative networks. The chapter discusses two relevant cases like Club Backup Informatico Trevigiano (BIT) and network technologies of professional communities developed in the province of Treviso and aiming at supporting knowledge improvement of the members.
