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This report is part of a research program managed by Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN), the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University (SPS), and Statistics Canada. The program aimed to advance current understanding of: the factors contributing to human capital development (HCD); the connections between the acquisition of human capital and individual and societal outcomes; and the policy implications of these relationships. The program synthesised recent research on HCD in seven different academic disciplines (economics, sociology, psychology, education, public health, economic geography and political science). In each of the seven resulting synthesis reports, the authors identified areas for new research, in particular research that would cross disciplinary boundaries. This report notes the surge of renewed interest among researchers, governments and policy analysts in existing theories on regional specialisation, agglomeration and clustering over the last two decades. Recently, these theories have proposed the idea that ‘territory is important in shaping innovative and creative capacities’ or human capital. The author suggests that this interest is mainly because of the importance of innovation and creative capacity, which are seen as fundamental factors of economic development and prosperity in the knowledge economy. The report first presents the concepts of industrial districts, innovative milieux and clusters, which have common characteristics. It then focuses on the issue of governance, highlighting the type of transformations in public governance that can support cluster policies. The concept of proximity is also examined. The report then presents a review of the concept of communities of practice, which is an example of a ‘human capital development format that can be adapted to the cluster environment and that may therefore be useful for policy’. The report concludes with some general elements in terms of research issues and policy issues to be investigated. The author finds that ‘single-sector geographically concentrated ‘clusters’ of firms and organisations rely upon and contribute to the development of human capital in the region in which they operate’.