The comments have in part been paraphrased and some are direct but anonymous quotes from individuals. The manifesto statement carries something of a top down paternalist flavour. These are not 'local' to each other but still form communities so should not be excluded. The technology and knowledge needs to be targeted at those who have a real passion of something and an established network of relationships.
Key points are variety, inclusiveness, mixed motivations, growth and decay, mergers and spin-offs.
They may be local or global, single purpose or multi-purpose, simple or complex. So champions need to be supported in 'spatially unrelated' communities and partnerships too. Need to use broad forums like the Virtual Resource Centre, but the term could apply equally to a National Resource Centre, Regional and Local Resource Centres. All of these have a part to play in sharing knowledge and best practice. It doesn't matter how much ideas are disseminated in cyberspace, communities will only be empowered when the capabilities of people who are passionate about doing something at a local level are developed.