Model for the Strategic Governance of the Integrated and Sustainable Local Development of the Portoviejo Canton in the Province of Manabí, Ecuador

Abstract

Strategic models for achieving sustainable, resilient and socially responsible local development, based on inclusion and a higher level of social participation in all planning processes, as well as implementation and evaluation, constitute the main task of local governments at a time when globalization predominates together with the decentralization of public powers. The objective of the research is to propose a strategic model of governance to achieve an integrated local development, which contributes to the improvement of the economic, social and environmental situation of the territory in the Portoviejo canton. Various definitions related to the strategies and analysis of various models put forward by different schools of strategic thought are offered for the establishment of the relationship between models, planning and territorial ordering. Based on the premises supporting it (sustainability, resilience, social responsibility, inclusion, integrated territorial approach and participatory governance), a model linked to local development strategies is proposed, which takes the Portoviejo canton in the province of Manabí in the coastal region of Ecuador as a case study.