Policies of related variety in practice: the case Innovation Session Method

ABSTRACT

The article describes the foundations of related-variety policies in practice, delineating the roles that related variety and fruitful distances may play in innovation policy. The main focus is on methods of managing related variety. Three types of regional collaboration and renewal processes are identified. By presenting empirical research on the Innovation Session Method developed in the Lahti region of Finland, the article provides insights into the practical implementation of innovation policy based on related variety. This study finds that Innovation Sessions appear to function quite well in the related-variety context, serving as a practical implementation of innovation policy that is in transition. The role of an optimal combination of distances is highlighted. This study contributes to the development of effective methods for innovation policy.

KEYWORDS:

• Related variety
• innovation policy instruments
• distances
• innovation methods

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The Lahti region, located close to the Helsinki metropolitan area, is the fifth largest region in Finland, and it has long been one of the most important industrial centres in the country. The Lahti region is by far the largest Finnish region without its own university, and its regional rate of R&D investments is relatively low (yearly inputs per person are less than one sixth of those in the Helsinki region). The region's middle size, the relatively low R&D intensity, the networked structure of the regional knowledge base, and the closeness of the most competitive Finnish regions have given rise to a regional innovation policy model that is arguably exceptional. During the last few years, the region has systematically implemented a network-facilitating innovation policy. The special task of this policy is to facilitate practice-based innovation processes and to enable efficient transfer of scientific knowledge and expertise to those processes. The policy emphasises the social nature of innovation environments, wherein innovations are found in unorthodox combinations and in the interfaces of actors, disciplines, institutions, industries and regions (see also Harmaakorpi et al., 2006). The Lahti region's innovation strategy defines the network-facilitating innovation policy as the main instrument for achieving the goals of the strategy. Practice-based innovation processes have been defined as “innovation processes triggered by problem-setting in a practical context and conducted in non-linear processes utilising scientific and practical knowledge production and creation in cross-disciplinary innovation networks” (Harmaakorpi et al., 2011). In such processes, there is a strong need to combine knowledge interests from theory and practice and knowledge from different disciplines. A new way to characterise expertise is also needed.