Seeking Sustainable Livelihoods: Constructing a Role for Community Economic Development in Technology-Cluster Growth

Can technology clusters deliver sustainable livelihoods? Following the bursting of the ‘tech bubble’ worldwide, technology clusters appear capable of delivering sustainable livelihoods mainly for elite workers – and even then, only for a while and ultimately, only for some of them. With reference to the experience of the technology sector of Ottawa-Gatineau, this paper explores the potential for using community economic development (CED) as a means of maximizing sustainable livelihoods for workers both inside and outside the sector. Bridging the digital divide, helping knowledge workers cope with volatility, mobilizing resources for asset-based community development, creating multi-sector leadership structures and promoting community-owned science and technology enterprises are recommended as important roles for CED in technology-cluster growth.

ISBN – 1-55382-040-1