What’s the key to triggering and supporting new forms of development in mountain areas? A matter of scale

Mountain societies and economies have faced complex challenges in the last decades and some of them neglected their productive role within the national societies. Nowadays they are experiencing novel approaches of development which aim to reverse these negative trends. The new framework is characterized by economic models organised along multi-level sharing networks rather than the individual endeavours. A cohort of young entrepreneurs, operating in various economic sectors, are generating a series of innovative business, some of them never thought beforehand to be fit for mountains. This contribution presents the evidence from specific research activities carried out in Lombardy, Trentino and other regions of the Alps.