“The Metapontum Agro-Food District Of Quality”: A Case Study Of Knowledge, Innovation And Improvement Of Human Capital In Territorial Rural Development

The aim of this research is to find a concrete construction methodology of the Metapontum Agro - food district by three main phases: awaking of the operators and the institutional stakeholders (got together in the district’s local web); economicterritorial analysis; experimentation. This last phase will be the final step of the project, i.e. creation of the Development Centre - Formative laboratory, where both new methodologies of services’ spreading on enterprises and new methodologies of formation-information for operators and new potential entrepreneurs will be tested. This new methodology, based on the Learning Organization, set in the usual “district approach” to the local development, will employ information technology, solutions regarding the economic and the agricultural field, as well as training of human resources; this will follow the PSR 2007 – 2013 of Basilicata Region and the rural development program (PIT for the district). Therefore, after the analysis to identify the territorial organization of local development we can plan the new model of district, beginning from integrated supply chain. This will facilitate the construction of a Society of District - Service Center can organize territorially local development and to optimize the planned investments from financial instruments offered by the PSR, to provide horizontal services (training, promotion, internationalization, etc.) to member companies to increase efficiency of management effectiveness. In this context, based on the development of knowledge and ability to do business, underpinning the organization of the Center to ensure improved outcomes for companies and local business.