We uncovered some fascinating insights curating our track at the Social Capital Markets Conference, Polycentric Solutions: Local in the World. We’re still buzzing here at CI with the interesting conversations and great people we met and worked with. On-the-ground leaders from Oakland to Sweden to Kenya came together to cross-pollinate best practices about local solutions to global problems. Facts and highlights from the track include:

• Co-ops: More US citizens are members of worker-owned businesses than are members of unions. Local governments are realizing the high local economic value of this model, and are building supporting mechanisms.
• Local Procurement: In the wake of disasters, relief organizations pay top dollar to rush supplies to effected areas, supplies that local companies are often more than capable of producing. Peace Dividend Trust is encouraging local purchasing for disaster response, pumping much-needed money into economic systems struggling to rebuild.
• Social Enterprise is the next wave: As a way of creating jobs that support communities, reinvigorating economic development, and solving social problems, more and more communities are seeing social enterprise as a way forward. The region around Malmo in Sweden is focusing on social enterprise as a cornerstone of its economic and community development strategies.