Some implications…. Competitiveness is not dependent upon physical connectivity Disparities in regional growth and competitiveness continue to widen Competitive regions are those whose public and private actors can collaborate within and beyond the territory The importance of partnerships – territorial and Europe-wide

Rural, peripheral, dispersed? Worldwide policies to improve the economic performance of rural regions are, by and large, not working. Ketels, C. (2004): Competitiveness in Rural Regions Are the challenges of rural and peripheral areas the same? What policy interventions do such areas need? Is there a generic lesson to be learnt?

Innovation in rural and peripheral areas Rural and peripheral areas often hold great problem-solving and innovative talent Mechanisms for mobilising that talent are fragmented and poorly connected Public interventions should concentrate on knowledge, not infrastructure Connections must be virtual, not only physical Retaining wealth becomes as important as creating wealth

Think locally, act European….. A territorial innovation strategy should focus on: Knowledge, not infrastructure People, not projects Connections, not competition Linkage with other EU regions offers: A collaborative approach to problem-solving Exchange of ideas and talent Business opportunities and trade links.

Case Study 1: the Tower programme Interreg IIIC Regional Framework Operation 5 partner regions Key themes: Strategies for sustainable economic growth in regions; Strengthened technology infrastructure in regions and transfer to SMEs; Competitive and knowledge- based entrepreneurship; Sustainable SMEs

Case Study 2: the CRIPREDE project EU Sixth Framework; Regions of Knowledge 2 Project aims: Analyse current RTD investment policy in our respective regions Identify the bottlenecks Develop an RTD investment policy and strategy for our respective regions

Conclusions Innovation is not only the process of companies developing new products and services; Innovation is the total of all of the new ideas and approaches that accumulate in a territory 2 key sources exist for those new ideas: Collaboration by the actors within a territory Collaboration with other regions in and beyond that country The two processes must not exist in isolation; they are mutually reinforcing