Regional Innovation Systems in the Lisbon strategy

Abstract

This contribution explores the framing of the concept of Regional Innovation Systems (RISs) within European economic policies. Regional innovation systems are analytically and empirically assessed within the policy context of the Lisbon strategy, with special reference to regional dimensions in the European Research Area. From both theoretical and empirical analysis it is concluded that RIS is not a one-dimensional concept. Although we adhere to RIS arguments as important determinants in economic development, the analyses presented in this article point out that the role of regional innovative capabilities must not be overemphasized. Economic development is in first instance dependent on national contexts.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the editors of this Special Issue for their helpful comments on an earlier manuscript. We are also grateful for the financial support offered by the Dutch Research Council NWO for undertaking the research underpinning this paper (Grant no. 450-04-004).

Notes

1. For national applications, see for instance Evangelista et al. (2002) (Italy; NUTS-2), Doloreux (2002) (Sweden; NUTS-2), Simmie (2003) (UK; NUTS-2) and de Bruijn's (2004) (shift-share potentiality estimates analysis of NUTS-5 regions in the Netherlands).

2. The data set is built on regional data on NUTS-2 level for the 15 countries which made up the EU before May 2004 and are derived from Eurostat's Newcronos database (2003), Domain Regio, and Eurostat's Science & Technology database (2002). As the national boundary conditions we used different OECD sources (2004a, 2004b, 2004c; available at http://www.oecd.org). Employment figures are given in full-time equivalents, using a definition of 1750 working hours per year, to overcome national differences in employment definitions.