The BELLA II White Book (digital version) is now available to provide a conceptual background and a roadmap to guide the interactions among the stakeholders involved in the execution of the BELLA II project.
The authors of the first edition are Carlos E. Seaton Moore, an International consultant in Business, Innovation, and Knowledge Management, and Luis Eliécer Cadenas Marín, executive director of RedCLARA, the coordinating organization of the BELLA II project, which receives funding from the European Commission and aims to strengthen and expand the digital ecosystem (DE) in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to contribute to the strategic objectives of the region.
The White Book is a living document that will be nurtured by the DE stakeholder perspectives, over the four years of Project implementation and through the Open Strategic Dialogues, which began this month in Brussels (Belgium). The final version will be produced at the end of BELLA II to include all lessons learned and recommendations for future projects
“Unlike traditional static documents, which remain unchanged once created, we intend for this White Book to be a living document. A document that will be regularly updated, edited, and improved to reflect the latest information, insights, and developments. Considering the above, we encourage everyone to read the White Book with that mindset. By doing so we will enrich the open strategic dialogue process that will occur during the first year of the BELLA II Project”, said the document's introduction.
The White Paper has ten sections, opening with the introductory section. The second one addresses connectivity and its role in the digital ecosystem, specifically how BELLA II will contribute to consolidating the LAC digital ecosystem by promoting innovation in shared infrastructure, synergies among the stakeholders' infrastructures, human-centered connectivity, and meaningful connectivity.
The third section analyzes the state-of-the-art of the European Digital Ecosystems program, providing an overview of the current status of the meaningful and pioneering efforts made within the European Union (EU) to promote socioeconomic development based on the application of ICT technologies. Currently, the state-of-the-art regarding the evolution of European Digital Ecosystems is the result of the implementation of the 2021-2027 Action Plan conceived by the European Commission (EC), whose strategic areas, business models, and projects are in complete alignment with the general and specific objectives of BELLA II.
The fourth section describes the innovation as a BELLA II critical success factor, addressing the relevance of innovation within the project; the connection between the digital ecosystem and innovation; the different innovation modalities to be developed by stakeholders; and a summary of relevant initiatives in worldwide digital ecosystems.
The following sections (five to ten) presented the RedCLARA digital ecosystem: its design and construction roadmap, operational definition, human-centered and data-driven image, infrastructure, and governance to ensure the BELLA II project´s achievement.
The White Book is available in the documents section of the BELLA II website, where you can also find other publications related to the implementation of the project and the strategic dialogue spaces carried out in the framework of the project.
