A.H.J. (Bert) Helmsing is an Emeritus Professor of Local and Regional Development at the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam. He earned his PhD (cum laude) in Economics from Tilburg University, focusing on the Processes of Regional, Urban, and Rural Change in Colombia. With nearly four decades of experience in development studies, he has provided education, capacity building, and policy advice on local and regional development in Latin America—particularly in Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru—and Sub-Saharan Africa, including Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, and South Africa. Bert has published over 30 articles in peer-reviewed journals, contributed 39 chapters to edited volumes, and published or edited ten books. His specialization includes regional economic analysis, fiscal decentralization, meso-level economic analysis of firms, chains, clusters, and the roles of NGOs and social entrepreneurship in local economic development. Currently, his research is centered on studying local institutional change.

Peter Knorringa holds a PhD in Development Economics from the Free University in Amsterdam and serves as a Professor of Private Sector & Development at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) at Erasmus University Rotterdam. His research primarily explores the diverse roles and impacts of business in development, particularly examining the potential for socially responsible and environmentally sustainable development within the context of capitalism. His empirical work delves into global value chains, industrial clusters, private governance, labor standards, frugal innovation, informal sector entrepreneurship, and strategies for supporting survival businesses. Additionally, he is a co-founder and the current Director of the Research Centre on Frugal Innovation in Africa, a collaborative initiative involving Leiden University, Delft University of Technology, and Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Jan Fransen holds a PhD and MA in Development Studies and serves as the Deputy Director of IHS, responsible for international education and training. He is a member of the advisory committee of the Africa Research Institute in Leiden and a visiting scholar at POLIS University in Albania. Dr. Fransen coordinates the urban theory course in the Master’s program on Urban Management and Development and co-coordinates a short course on Sustainable Local Economic Development. Previously, he worked for the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Eastern and Southern Africa. With over 20 years of experience in research, education, and consultancy, his expertise spans local economic development, particularly focusing on small firms, urban employment, capacity building, clustering, innovation systems, global value chains, labor-based technologies, institutional economics, evolutionary economics, and complexity theory. He has led numerous consultancy, training, and research assignments for organizations such as the World Bank, European Commission, UNDP, ILO, UN-HABITAT, and various NGOs and governments worldwide. Dr. Fransen has gained extensive work experience in over 20 countries, including Albania, China, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, the Netherlands, Namibia, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Georgina M. Gómez is an Associate Professor in Institutions and Local Development at the International Institute of Social Studies at Erasmus University Rotterdam. She earned her PhD with distinction for her thesis on Community and Complementary Currency Systems in Argentina. Her research focuses on monetary innovation, local economic development in Latin America, social and solidarity economy, and institutional and grassroots economics, and she supervises doctoral candidates in these areas. In 2012, she established a postgraduate diploma on Sustainable Local Economic Development in collaboration with the Institute of Housing and Sustainability at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Dr. Gómez also led the creation of a new Master’s program in Local Development Studies at the Universidad de los Llanos in Villavicencio, Colombia. She has directed development projects on Local Economic Development in Brazil, Nicaragua, Western Africa, and Colombia, funded by organizations such as The World Bank, Woord en Daad, and various other cooperation agencies.

Salomey Gyamfi Afrifa is an instructor at Erasmus University Rotterdam, where she teaches courses such as Local Economic Development. Her academic focus lies in the social sciences and education, with a particular interest in how institutional changes affect communities, especially in developing countries. Afrifa has contributed to the field through her research and presentations, including a notable webinar on "Policy Entrepreneurs and Policy Change in Developing Countries." She recently completed her PhD, defending her thesis on the processes of institutional change, highlighting her expertise in water supply systems in small towns. Her work aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice, providing valuable insights into local economic development strategies.