Local economic conditions play an important role in both why sector programs are begun and how well they succeed. For example, programs in very isolated areas with very high poverty rates face greater challenges. This greater distance and smaller population make it harder to find expertise, training opportunities, potential partners and opportunities to bring people together to share information and ideas. All of this can be done, but often it takes more time and requires a broader range of expertise. At the same time, transformations in information and shipping are decreasing the disadvantages of distance.
Rural areas can be much more connected because of e-mail and the Internet.
Competition in the shipping industry has made it possible to send goods to distant markets quickly and relatively inexpensively. The importance of historical, cultural and geographic contexts . Programs often draw on local history and culture to add value to products, galvanize community participation, and influence what organizations do and how businesses are set up. The key is that a strategic analysis needs to focus not just on a region's industries and economic potential, but also the ways its history, culture and geography influence the economy. Building supportive partnerships and generating investment .