Cooperativismo y Desarrollo, September-December 2025; 13(3), e863
Translated from the original in Spanish

Original article

Higher technician for capacity building in sustainable local development management

Técnico superior para la creación de capacidades en gestión del desarrollo local sostenible

Técnico sênior em capacitação em gestão de desenvolvimento local sustentável

Maricela González Pérez¹ 0000-0003-2617-5370 maricela@upr.edu.cu
Carlos Cesar Torres Paez¹ 0000-0001-7956-5079 carlosc@upr.edu.cu
María Eugenia Ramos Crespo¹ 0000-0001-7354-5405 mariae@upr.edu.cu
Yenileidys Lorenzo Cabezas¹ 0000-0003-3681-8026 yeni1209@upr.edu.cu

¹ University of Pinar del Río "Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca". Pinar del Río, Cuba.

Received: 17/02/2025
Accepted: 8/11/2025

ABSTRACT

Promoting local development in all Cuban municipalities requires the training of skilled human resources with a holistic vision that encompasses all dimensions of this concept, which was not being taught in universities in their traditional degree programs. Faced with this problem and taking advantage of the approval by the Ministry of Higher Education of short-cycle higher education programs, the national network for university knowledge and innovation management agreed to design a program for capacity building in sustainable local development management, a task that was entrusted to the University of Pinar del Río, specifically to the Center for Management, Local Development, Tourism, and Cooperativism Studies. Hence, the objective of this work is to show the main elements that characterize this program, as well as the results achieved in its implementation. To this end, theoretical and empirical research methods were used from a mixed approach. The main results obtained were the professional model, the main impacts, and the strengths and weaknesses in the implementation of the program to date.

Keywords: capacity building; training model; short cycle; management; local development; sustainable development.

RESUMEN

Impulsar el desarrollo local en todos los municipios cubanos demanda de la formación de un recurso humano capacitado, con una visión holística para abarcar todas las dimensiones que este concepto contempla, el que no se estaba formando en las universidades, en sus carreras tradicionales. Ante esta problemática y aprovechando la aprobación por parte del Ministerio de Educación Superior, de los programas de Educación Superior de ciclo corto, la red nacional de gestión universitaria del conocimiento y la innovación acordó diseñar un programa para la formación de capacidades en gestión del desarrollo local sostenible, tarea que le fue confiada a la Universidad de Pinar del Río, de manera particular al Centro de Estudios de Dirección, Desarrollo Local, Turismo y Cooperativismo. De aquí que el objetivo del trabajo sea mostrar los elementos principales que caracterizan dicho programa, así como los resultados alcanzados en su implementación. Para ello se emplearon los métodos teóricos y empíricos de la investigación desde el enfoque mixto. Como principales resultados se obtuvo el modelo del profesional, los principales impactos, así como fortalezas y debilidades en la implementación del programa hasta la fecha.

Palabras clave: creación de capacidades; modelo de formación; ciclo corto; gestión; desarrollo local; desarrollo sostenible.

RESUMO

A promoção do desenvolvimento local em todos os municípios cubanos exige a formação de uma força de trabalho qualificada com uma visão holística que abranja todas as dimensões desse conceito, um tipo de força de trabalho que não está sendo desenvolvido nos programas universitários tradicionais. Diante desse desafio, e aproveitando a aprovação do Ministério da Educação Superior para programas de ensino superior de curta duração, a rede nacional de gestão do conhecimento e inovação universitária concordou em elaborar um programa de capacitação para a gestão do desenvolvimento local sustentável. Essa tarefa foi confiada à Universidade de Pinar del Río, especificamente ao Centro de Estudos de Gestão, Desenvolvimento Local, Turismo e Cooperativismo. Portanto, o objetivo deste artigo é apresentar os principais elementos que caracterizam esse programa, bem como os resultados alcançados em sua implementação. Métodos de pesquisa teóricos e empíricos foram empregados utilizando uma abordagem mista. Os principais resultados obtidos incluem o perfil profissional, os principais impactos e os pontos fortes e fracos na implementação do programa até o momento.

Palavras-chave: capacitação; modelo de formação; ciclo curto; gestão; desenvolvimento local; desenvolvimento sustentável.

INTRODUCTION

The university is seen as an institution that can promote local or regional development. In other words, the traditional vocation of higher education institutions is precisely the professional training of students and the generation of knowledge through research. The search for knowledge, its dissemination, and explanation determine the basic functions that the university has fulfilled to this day: research, teaching, and outreach. However, universities need to renew their academic and administrative structures to enable them to perform their functions successfully within the context of local social development, while also taking advantage of the facilities offered by information and communication technologies (Socias Iglesias et al., 2022).

It must be linked to inclusive and sustainable human development, beyond the necessary economic growth; it must be connected to society as a whole and have a high level of social commitment and relevance. It is therefore necessary to systematically debate and clarify the paths, routes, and methods that will lead to this achievement (Alarcón Ortiz, 2015).

In the context of a local development model, the university is a conceptual and instrumental element that plays a fundamental role in mediating the process between different companies and their interests, the public sector through its non-governmental organizations, and the government sector. Its objective is to create and transfer knowledge and, based on basic knowledge, generate useful technology for solving problems that improve the competitiveness of the territory's production and service processes (Abreu González et al., 2021; Rojas Murillo, 2017).

Local development, as described above, is a process of joint and parallel planning between different sectors of society. Thus, while continuing to produce basic knowledge, priority is given to the development of technical careers related to local production processes.

In recent years, several studies have highlighted the importance of higher education in promoting sustainable local development (Núñez Jover et al., 2021; Núñez Jover & Pérez Sánchez, 2018). These studies have emphasized how short-cycle programs can be an effective tool for building capacity in the territories.

Although in Latin America, over the past decade, universities have begun to offer programs to train professionals in topics related to local development management in five or three-year degree programs, in Cuba, the content that graduates are expected to master has no precedent at either the university or technical college level. Some degree programs, such as Bachelor's degrees in Economics, Accounting, Sociocultural Management for Development, Geography, and others, incorporate some of this content as part of their curriculum, but without the intentionality that this program seeks to achieve.

Starting in 2009, with the resolution of the Municipal Local Development Initiative of the Ministry of Economy and Planning, attention began to be drawn to the role of territories in the country's development. This led, from different spheres and perspectives, to the generation of various lines of action and thought in relation to support for local development, culminating in the reform of the Constitution of the Republic, approved in 2019. Both the economic and social policy guidelines and the updating of the model and the 2030 plan aim at local autonomy and strengthening, increasing the powers and public functions of municipal governments to resolve substantive economic problems there, stimulating endogenous development through the revaluation of the traditional productive vocations of the environment, the generation of new productive vocations and entrepreneurship in the social, political-institutional, and natural spheres. At the same time, academia has increasingly developed research on a wide variety of local issues and problems that constitute inputs for the training of these students.

In this context, the creation of the training program in Local Sustainable Development Management reflects the need to address the problems of communities, municipalities, and subregions at different scales as specific areas of study and intervention. Understanding this, based on recognizing the complex global situations and conditions that also manifest themselves locally, affects the development possibilities of each environment, in a framework where new international, national, provincial, and even intermunicipal relationships also exist.

Incorporating the issue of localism into academia as a core component of training specific professionals implies academically embracing the construction of a new field of study, focused on understanding and analyzing, as a conceptual unit, complex interrelationships between economic, social, political, cultural, territorial, and environmental processes, with the aim of formulating and managing coherent and effective policies and projects for the development of society.

The urgency of having comprehensive knowledge about these issues and trained human resources are the reasons behind the proposal for this program from a perspective that integrates several subjects, bringing together knowledge from various scientific and technical disciplines, their conceptual and methodological frameworks, so that when properly articulated, they are useful for interpreting the particular local-regional reality. This program involves a permanent and active relationship with the specific social environment, its reality, and its context, where it draws on thematic content for conceptual development. Thus, in the teaching-learning process, a true continuous feedback loop is generated between theory and practice that extends to study and research.

Consequently, the problems associated with local development to be considered are not linear or one-dimensional in origin, but complex and multidimensional, as are their consequences. Therefore, there is a need to address them from perspectives arising from the "dialogue" to be established between different subjects and, consequently, from a holistic, all-encompassing complexity, both for understanding and for solving problems.

The Short Cycle Higher Education training program in Sustainable Local Development Management therefore responds to the need to train managers prepared in a holistic conception of local development, without precedent at the undergraduate level in Cuba, and is the only one of its kind to date. Its social relevance is evident, as it prepares leaders, officials, specialists, and professionals in general for the territories, equipping them with the skills, techniques, technologies, and methods for local development management, in response to the request made by the Governing Council of Pinar del Río, recommended by the National Network for University Management of Knowledge and Innovation for Local Development.

Its implementation began at the University of Pinar del Río in 2021, so the objective of this paper is to show the main elements that characterize this program, as well as the results achieved in its implementation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The results shown in this paper respond to the mixed approach of the research methodology by combining theoretical and empirical methods and techniques, based on dialectical materialism. This is an explanatory type of research in which the program proposal is made on the basis of theoretical and empirical references.

Recent international experiences highlighting the importance of educational innovation and the role of universities in local development were taken into account in the design of the program.

The historical-logical method and documentary analysis technique were used in the preparation of the program, which allowed for the analysis of international experiences, mainly in Latin America. From an empirical point of view, it was worked with the regulations issued by the Ministry of Higher Education for this type of degree, as well as developing group work to reach consensus on each of the parts that make it up. The group work involved professors from the Center for Management Studies, Local Development, Tourism, and Cooperativism (CE-GESTA), the University's Professional Training Department, the Center for Education Science Studies, the National Network for University Management of Knowledge and Innovation for Local Development, the Ministry of Higher Education's Professional Training Department, the province's Department of Economy and Planning, and the province's Local Development Management Group. A total of six group projects were carried out. The techniques used were brainstorming, list reduction, workshops with presentations and opposition.

Finally, to assess the strengths, weaknesses, and main challenges in the implementation of the program to date, the group work method was also used, with the participation of the program's faculty.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

To substantiate the program, experiences from Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Honduras, and Ecuador were consulted, where university-level courses on this subject are offered. In some cases, these programs last five years; in others, three years, with graduates receiving degrees in Local Development, Management for Sustainable Local Development, Local and Regional Development, Social Economy and Local Development, Municipal Development, among others, with the first designation being the most common (Autonomous University of Querétaro, 2024; Catholic University of Salta, 2016; University of Buenos Aires, 2013; National Autonomous University of Honduras, 2024; National University of Villa María, 2024; Salesian Polytechnic University, 2014).

These experiences allowed to infer that, as a trend, with the orientation towards prioritizing the local as the setting for development processes, many countries had come to the conclusion that there was a need to train professionals who were specially prepared to address the complexity of the problems that local development demands with a multidisciplinary approach, which were not being met by traditional university degrees focused on specialization in a single science.

On the other hand, the diversity of names, degrees, duration, and curriculum reflects an orientation toward responding to the needs of each context, as well as flexibility in adjusting to the changing demands of internal and external development.

In Cuba, short-cycle higher education is defined in Resolution 98/2018 of the Ministry of Higher Education (2018) as:

...terminal professional training that is included as a subsystem of higher education, which responds to the needs of production and services in activities or areas that require professional qualifications oriented towards the solution of work tasks of various profiles. It is distinguished by its theoretical-practical approach, and this professional qualification exceeds that of a mid-level technician, which includes upper secondary teacher training, and is inferior to that of a university graduate.

This level of training was institutionalized for the first time with the approval of Decree Law 359 of 2018 by the Council of State (2018).

The concept of education that underpins the curriculum of the Higher Technician in Short Cycle Higher Education in Sustainable Local Development Management is humanistic, which means that it focuses on the student, together with the teacher, in an educational process in which they form a system as a process of interrelation through assertive communication between them: teachers, students, and the group. This process should lead to the development of students to higher levels in accordance with their potential. This is the Martí conception of preparing man for life, put into practice in the ideas of the leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, of providing equal opportunities, possibilities for justice and social equity, with which future graduates of the Higher Technical Certificate in Sustainable Local Development Management at the Short Cycle Higher Education level must learn to work.

This concept of education involves the formation of the personality as a whole in the construction of knowledge, habits, skills, the development of abilities, and logical thinking in a manner inseparable from the cultivation of sensitivity, spirituality, simplicity, creativity, modesty, altruism, and emotional enrichment, where feelings, qualities, values, convictions, and ideals are formed. It is the active process of revealing the personal meaning of what is learned, from which the individual emerges as a result of activity and interaction with others, where independence, self-regulation, autonomy, and self-education are fostered, in harmony with the necessary processes of socialization, commitment, and social responsibility.

The professional must be a person with the capacity to intervene and the ability to manage, assuming the role of an economic and social facilitator. These professionals must be trained as entrepreneurs (strategies for defining projects, delimiting risks) and must have an effective knowledge of the territory, from the different systems and subsystems, and manage the strengths and opportunities of each municipality. Teaching should take place in context, and it will be necessary to teach future graduates to make adjustments or transfers of abstract knowledge to concrete knowledge through different scenarios. In addition, as explained above, management skills must be established.

The school educational process involves harmony between the pedagogical process and its expression in teaching and learning. This process takes into account the experiences of the learner and practical life experiences within the social context in which learners and educators live. The contradictions that arise are expressed in the cognitive, affective, motivational, attitudinal, and behavioral levels of the learner and are reflected in the teaching and extra-teaching levels of the educational process. Unity in the educational process will not be achieved by simply adding activities, but by developing solutions to the contradictions generated in this process.

The duration of the Short-cycle Higher Education Curriculum for future sustainable local development managers will be two years for the regular daytime course and three years for the part-time course. This training period is characterized by flexibility, which will allow for an immediate response to the demands of these professionals in local governments.

It is considered feasible that some programs at this level could be offered both at university headquarters and at Municipal University Centers (CUM), as well as at other institutions or entities that are available for this purpose, provided that the university faculty required for the training is available and that work experience in local government and related institutions is guaranteed, using the productive or scientific resources available in some municipalities.

This training will be available to upper secondary school graduates who have completed pre-university or technical secondary education, as well as those who have dropped out of a university degree program or a polytechnic institute with 12th grade admission.

The governments of each territory will establish the selection criteria, depending on their needs and possibilities, and enrollment will therefore be captive.

The basis for the training of a graduate of Short Cycle Higher Education is defined by the specific characteristics of the subsystems that precede it, in particular pre-university education and technical and professional education, as well as by the objectives and scope of the training to be developed.

The purpose of this professional is to manage the set of strategies, public policies, programs, and projects at the municipal and provincial levels, in all dimensions of sustainable local development, based on inter-sectoral, inter-territorial, and multi-level coordination, which allows for the improvement of the population's quality of life.

Bearing in mind that Cuban society is in a historical period of socialist construction and in a context of decentralization and strengthening of the territorial scale as part of the updating of its development model, the economic, sociocultural, natural, and political-institutional system at the territorial level on which graduates in Sustainable Local Development Management will work is also a work in progress, which imposes important peculiarities on the professional training process in the current context of our country.

The modes of action are specified in managing the set of strategies, public policies, programs, and projects at the local level, based on inter-sectoral, inter-territorial, and multi-level coordination, to promote comprehensive local development processes, which can be summarized as improving the quality of life of the population.

The main areas of action for the Short Cycle Higher Technician in Sustainable Local Development Management are: local government bodies, municipal administrative councils, provincial and municipal global organizations, and companies.

The Short Cycle Higher Education training program in Sustainable Local Development Management represents a relatively recent and innovative approach, integrating different subjects in the field of university vocational training. Its main objective is to train versatile professionals who are capable of understanding existing local problems in depth from a holistic, multidisciplinary perspective and proposing and managing alternative comprehensive development solutions based on an understanding of the complex relationships between society, the territory, and the state, all approached from a democratic and participatory perspective with a focus on sustainability.

This general objective is broken down into the following specific objectives:

• Demonstrate through example and daily action as a manager of sustainable local development their ideological, political, economic, legal, scientific, environmental, labor, and cultural preparation, which allows them to shape values in social actors.
• Diagnose the problems that hinder local development, formulate and analyze policies, plans, programs, and projects with the aim of solving them.
• Promote creativity, innovation, and the use of scientifically based, effective criteria for the formulation of local development plans, programs, and projects that promote change in accordance with needs, potential, and opportunities.
• Involve actors in the interpretation, design, implementation, and administration of programs and projects related to local development.
• Facilitate the design of collective actions in different areas of public management on issues inherent to practical matters conducive to local development.
• Demonstrate an interest in continuous self-improvement, enabling them to face scientific and technological changes and incorporate them into their work as managers.

Consequently, with these objectives in mind, the main skills to be developed are associated with:

• Designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating development strategies.
• Designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating public policies to promote sustainable local development processes.
• Designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating programs and projects in all dimensions of sustainable local development.
• Managing the planning, organization, direction, and control processes of local governments in terms of sustainable local development.
• Advising local governments and economic entities on the efficient and effective management of human, material, financial, and technological resources for sustainable local development.
• Manage mechanisms and instruments for regulating sustainable local development, citizen participation, and communication for development.
• Advise the municipality on its competitive insertion in the national and international arena, from the promotion of exports, import substitution, and productive and value chains.
• Manage the process of coordination between state and non-state actors and different levels of subordination in accordance with sustainable local development.
• Manage community development in coordination with the People's Councils.
• Work together with the institutions of the Science, Technology, and Innovation System and the Education System on the process of knowledge and innovation management for sustainable local development.
• Work together with environmental regulatory entities in the protection, preservation, and sustainable recovery of natural ecosystems.
• Train and lead multidisciplinary work teams.
• Manage the process of vocational training and professional guidance towards this modality in the territories, as well as all the specialties that are necessary to achieve the vision of development reflected in its strategy.
• Demonstrate interest and attitude towards self-preparation and improvement as ongoing processes for obtaining information, acquiring, constructing, and disseminating knowledge through various channels in accordance with personal, social, and political needs, enabling them to face scientific and technological changes and incorporate them into their work as managers of sustainable local development.

Graduates of this training program must respond to the tasks that socialist society sets in relation to the multilateral and harmonious training of new generations and also meet the demands of sustainable local development, working with the following as their main values:

• Patriotism, evidenced by loyalty to history, the homeland, and the Socialist Revolution, and a willingness to defend its principles for Cuba and the world; cultivating respect and love for the nation and their profession through knowledge and a willingness to fulfill the social duties and rights of a sustainable local development manager.
• Anti-imperialism, expressed through feelings of rejection of any type of foreign domination, repudiation of attitudes that demonstrate servility to Yankee imperialism, and defense of the Cuban nation's right to self-determination and in favor of peace and sovereignty.
• Humanism, given in the identification with history, as worthy representatives and active promoters of local identity, community life, scientific, economic, political, ideological, cultural, and environmental life within their territories.
• Dignity manifested in the respect and esteem that a sustainable local development manager must have for himself and deserves from all other people in society who interact with him, essentially the inhabitants of a community, because everyone deserves respect regardless of who they are. By recognizing each person's differences and tolerating those differences, people can feel dignified, honored, and free.
• Professional authority expressed in the mastery of their professional functions and tasks as a sustainable local development manager, with independence and creativity.
• Moral commitment to the principles of the Revolution, with the ideas of José Martí, Marxism-Leninism, and the thinking of Fidel Castro and Ernesto Che Guevara, manifested in patriotism, solidarity, humanism, and intransigence in the face of any form of exploitation, and contributing to the preparation of citizens to live in a just, prosperous, and sustainable society, in the current conditions and scenarios, in the creation of a consciousness of rational producers and consumers.
• Personal example expressed in their professionalism and comprehensive training, which has an impact on their peers, and which is demonstrated by the appropriate use and mastery of their mother tongue, the use of technical language, and by their personal presence, systematic performance, and professional conduct.
• Professional honesty manifested in the establishment of relationships of respect and modesty with oneself and others, in the exercise of criticism and self-criticism in one's professional work, and in assessments of difficulties and how to work to eliminate them, based on the process of sustainable local development management.
• Responsibility manifested in the conscious fulfillment of their individual and social duties, which allows them to identify with respect for the norms of social and civic behavior, to collectively and independently assume the tasks assigned to them, given their possibilities and weaknesses.
• Honesty in acting with rectitude and integrity in all areas of life and in the action of living from their own work and effort, in inspiring confidence in their work group and in their social relationships.
• Collaboration to integrate into multidisciplinary work teams as the main tool for finding solutions to the complex problems of local development.

In terms of the knowledge system, it covers between 28 and 30 subjects, depending on whether it is a regular course or a series of meetings, plus electives, distributed over two or three years at a rate of five or six subjects per semester. These include: Knowledge and innovation management for local development, Management of productive, socio-community, and environmental economic projects, Fundamentals of local development, Participatory management of local development, Land use planning and urbanism, Management of the skilled workforce for local development, Population and development, Communication management, Food and nutritional security management, among others. The assessment system is designed to be productive, so during their training, students have a total of 12 course assignments as their final assessment and conclude with an integrative project.

The bibliography for its development, in addition to including international texts, related national literature, and legal regulations, draws particularly on the results of CE-GESTA research in the form of doctoral theses, master's theses, publications, project reports, and award proposals, which gives the program a high level of relevance.

Experiences of implementing the model at the University of Pinar del Río

The results presented here have been in practice for four years, with the first graduation ceremony held in December 2023. During this period, students have been able to apply diagnostic techniques, observe and evaluate development processes at the local level, master the guiding documents of the Cuban Economic Model update process and the tools for local development management, generate local development project proposals based on the analysis of the Municipal Development Strategy, and develop skills as managers, entrepreneurs, and promoters of development in local contexts, valuing the role of the territory as a main factor in development.

It was decided to begin implementation only in the form of a course with meetings due to the need to train active personnel in the offices of the Administration Councils, the Central State Administration Agencies, and entities on these issues.

The program began using a captive enrollment system, i.e., the call for applications is sent to the Municipal Administration Councils, which select and propose the people to be enrolled according to their priorities, sending their lists to the secretary of the University's Faculty of Economic Sciences, which is where the program is managed.

As can be seen in table 1, there has been low vertical efficiency, which can be explained by both objective and subjective reasons.

Table 1. Enrollment trends

Year	Initial enrollment	Final enrollment
First	23	11
Second	17	6
Third	20	10
Total	60	27

Source: Statistical information from the teaching secretariat of the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the University of Pinar del Río

Strengths

• A faculty that includes 18 PhDs and 6 masters
• Support from the CUM to develop the program.
• One hundred percent of the subjects are available on the Moodle platform.
• Achieving the support of local governments in municipalities with students.
• Experience and preparation of teachers in the different dimensions of local development.
• Availability of bibliography in digital format.
• Link to practice as an outcome of all subjects.
• Relevance, timeliness, and novelty of the program.
• Motivation of students currently enrolled in the program.
• Involvement of various areas of the university in the implementation of the program (CE-GESTA, Department of Marxism, Department of Defense Preparation, Department of Sociocultural Management, Department of Law, Center for Environmental Studies, CUM, as well as external institutions, mainly the Regional Directorates of Economy and Planning and Territorial Organization and the Municipal Administration Councils.

Weaknesses

• Insufficient response from the governments and institutions of all municipalities to the calls for applications, which is why only the municipalities of Los Palacios, Mantua, San Luis, Consolación del Sur, and Pinar del Río are represented.
• Lack of rigor in the selection of registrations by governments.
• Low vertical efficiency.
• The program is only scheduled on Saturdays, which makes it difficult to access the provincial capital, especially for the most remote municipalities.
• In the first two years, the number of face-to-face meetings was insufficient.
• Difficulties with students' computer literacy and connectivity to Moodle.
• Bibliography available only in digital format.

Main future challenges

• Open the program in more remote CUM with sufficient conditions and demand for its sustainability.
• Offer the program as a regular daytime course.
• Increase promotion and vocational guidance towards the program in all municipalities.

The results obtained in the implementation of the program are consistent with the findings of recent studies, such as those by Fernández González and Núñez Jover (2020); Aguilera García et al. (2023); Costamagna and Núñez Jover (2020); who have highlighted the importance of capacity building and the participation of local actors in sustainable development processes.

As concluding ideas, it is verified that:

The proposed training model is aimed at strengthening capacities and consolidating content and tools among local actors, which leads to better prepared and more competent professionals who are capable of managing their development and establishing networks based on the endogenous characteristics of their context, based on the principles of municipal autonomy, democracy, and heterogeneity that are assumed in the country for the local scenario, which coincides with the findings of Fernández González and Núñez Jover (2020), who also concluded that short-cycle higher education is a key tool for strengthening local capacities and promoting sustainable development in the territories.

This program addresses social needs based on the knowledge acquired, such as: harnessing local potential, protecting the environment, addressing gender- approaches, protecting heritage, caring for an aging population, training, and coordinating stakeholders. The competencies contribute to professional performance, mainly in project management, teamwork, self-management and innovation, diagnosis and analysis of local problems, and management of production processes and supply chains (Abreu González et al., 2021).

It contributes to changing forms, approaches, and methods of territorial and business management, identifying business opportunities and production chains, generating sources of employment, and supporting the territory in identifying and seeking alternative sources of financing, among other elements linked to improving the quality of life in the locality and knowledge-based social development.

The experiences gained in its implementation, beyond the objective problems that have affected its development, are very positive, and it is therefore recommended that it be extended to other municipalities in the province and other territories of the country.

REFERENCES

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Conflict of interest

Authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Authors' contribution

All the authors reviewed the writing of the manuscript and approve the version finally submitted.