The conceptual framework presented in the Sustainable Systems now derives from the work of Global Urban Development (GUD) and Innovation Network for Communities (INC).  It has emerged from a fairly wide body of work and has been utilized to guide the formation of various Sustainable Economic Development Strategies.

However, Sustainable Economic Development is a new field and so it is important not to go to closure on a conceptual framework too quickly.  It would be very useful to identify other significant, comprehensive conceptual frameworks and undertake a comparison of them.