The fourth and final webinar of the Spring Webinar Series took place on Wednesday 10 June. James Wilson from Orkestra-Basque Institute of Competitiveness presented “Policy mixes for new place-based innovation policies”.
In this episode we explored:
- How place-based innovation works in practice
- Blending of different policy approaches
- Real and practical examples from the Basque Country
Access Wilson’s presentation here and additional information here. If you missed the session you can watch the recording below or catch up on our YouTube channel.
Abstract
The transformative innovation required to address pressing societal challenges has a strong place-based element as both the problems and the solutions are context dependent. This gives special relevance to implementation on the ground, where policy mixes and their governance across multiple actors are key. Based on a recently published book chapter and ongoing collaborative work, this seminar uses a set of examples from the Basque County and other regions to explore the potential for regional policy approaches that mix elements of direction-oriented industrial and innovation policy with elements of the emergent discovery processes characteristic of Smart Specialisation Strategies.
Bio
James Wilson is General Director at Orkestra-Basque Institute of Competitiveness and teaching faculty at Deusto Business School, University of Deusto. His research is focused on regional competitiveness, clusters, governance, regional strategy, and the roles of universities in territorial development. James has over 20 years of policy analysis experience, working with governments and institutions at different levels, and has edited numerous policy reports including the annual Basque Country Competitiveness Report. He has published widely in peer-reviewed academic journals and books and has played leading roles in several European research projects.