New directions for RIS studies and policies in the face of grand societal challenges

Autor(en)
Franz Tödtling, Michaela Trippl, Veronika Milo Desch
Abstrakt

The regional innovation system (RIS) approach has become a widely used framework for examining the dynamics of innovation across space and for crafting policies to promote the innovation capacity of regions. The dominant focus has been on technological and business innovation enhancing competitiveness and economic growth. In light of persistent environmental and social challenges such as climate change, aging and growing inequalities, this understanding appears to be too narrow. We argue that the RIS approach requires a critical reassessment for informing the next generation of regional innovation policies. We explore how RIS scholarship and policies could benefit from an alternative understanding of the innovation process. Inspired by recent work on mission-oriented and transformative innovation policies, we develop the notion of ‘challenge-oriented RISs’ (CoRISs). In contrast to conventional understandings of RISs, this approach embraces a more critical view of innovation, captures the directionality of change, opens up to new innovation actors at different territorial scales and pays more attention to the application side and upscaling of innovation within the region and beyond. Acknowledging that regions vary in their capacity for transformative change and challenge-oriented innovation, the article outlines new directions for place-based innovation policies.

Organisation(en)
Institut für Geographie und Regionalforschung
Externe Organisation(en)
Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien (WU)
Journal
European Planning Studies
Band
30
Seiten
2139-2156
Anzahl der Seiten
18
ISSN
0965-4313
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2021.1951177
Publikationsdatum
2021
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ÖFOS 2012
507026 Wirtschaftsgeographie, 507014 Regionalentwicklung
Schlagwörter
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Geography, Planning and Development
Link zum Portal
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/1017f715-27bd-4fa1-85bb-99391a5727e4