Approaches to supporting local and community development : Brazil and the Vale SA model of corporate interaction

Reflection about the role of corporate social investment in Brazil, associated with the presence of a large economic enterprise, is the major stimulus of this paper. It seeks to present how cross-sector governance can contribute to the social development of a city and how this process can be led by a partnership comprising a corporate foundation, government, and civil society. To this end, the case of Canaã dos Carajás will be introduced, a municipality in the State of Pará, Amazon region, where large-scale mining investment is being carried out by the mining company Vale SA.