Collaboration in scientific research is vital not only to generate leverage between research teams, but also to help validate and generalize the research outcomes and its transfer to the society at large. Within a geographical region, scientific collaboration also allows researchers to address common problems and opportunities for that region. Thus, regional scientific collaboration becomes a possible source of solutions for its own social and economic needs. Posed to deal with this challenge, the LACCIR Federation was created in May 2007 with the participation of a selected group of universities, private enterprises, regional organizations and local government agencies from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). LACCIR promotes collaboration on ICT research focused on applications for social and economic needs that are common through the LAC region. This paper describes the LACCIR initiative, its main activities and its achievements to date. © 2012 Infonomics Society.