Arnoud Lagendijk

Regional institutions and knowledge - tracking new forms of regional development policy

This paper is concerned to explore the role of concepts in regional development. It attempts to apply some of the lessons of recent work in organisational theory and science and technology studies to the field of regional development studies. Specifically, we seek to outline a social constructivist perspective on knowledge in regional development studies. One issue which this perspective raises is how convergence of organisational forms and procedures in the area of regional development has been coupled with an increasing focus on regional uniqueness.

Proximity, Knowledge and Innovation in Peripheral Regions. On the Intersection between Geographical and Organizational Proximity

Abstract What role do various kinds of proximity play in the current and projected development of peripheral areas? In summarizing and drawing conclusions from this special issue on proximity, this paper elaborates on two core notions of proximity, geographical and organizational. It presents a framework in which the relationship between geographical and organizational proximity is conceptualized in a way that is somewhat different from previous contributions, notably by the French School on Proximity. The framework is used to evaluate the outcomes of the various contributions in this issue. The findings endorse the idea that economic performance relies more on localized capacities to build “global” connections, complemented with an adequate local resource base, than on local networking and clustering.

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.

A Theory of Institutional Change: Illustrated by Dutch City-Provinces and Dutch Land Policy

Since the early 1990s, planning theory has focused on the issue of institutional change. Not only does institutional change have clear bearings on processes of spatial planning, it is also, increasingly, seen as an object of planning. A core concept in the literature is the juxtaposition of ‘institutional design’ and ‘institutional evolution’. Yet, in understanding processes and the role of institutional change, this dichotomy does not appear to be very helpful. We therefore propose a more encompassing perspective that includes both ‘design’ and ‘evolution’ dimensions, invoking various components from theories of policy change, inspired by the work of Kingdon. We try to unravel, in particular, why, under seemingly comparable conditions, some cases show substantive institutional transformations while others do not. We briefly discuss two cases from the Netherlands to illustrate this point, namely the thwarted process of establishing city regions within the scalar fabric of territorial governance, and some instrumental changes in land policy.

The dilemmas of interregional institutional learning

In recent research and literature in which regional development concepts and regional innovation policy have been addressed, a strong interest in the role of knowledge and learning has been shown. In this, a strange phenomenon can be observed. Whereas much work is concentrated on learning within regions, and some reference is made to learning from external sources, scant attention is paid to the interregional dimension. This seems to amount to a dilemma: although development concepts and policy strategies are themselves the subject of constant exchange and learning processes at an interregional level, the interregional dissemination of such concepts, and concomitant processes of learning, are largely ignored. Even where a supraregional perspective is adopted, little is said, either analytically or empirically, about the nature and role of learning processes between regions. One basic message that follows from this, the authors conclude, is that researchers working on regional development and regional policy need to become more reflexive. In order to achieve this, a model of knowledge cycles is presented. The model not only helps our understanding of how observations taken from regional experiences can be translated into more general analytical concepts and policy prescription, it also draws the necessary attention to the way that such general abstractions are part, as well as catalyst, of processes of interregional learning.

The Role of Regional Development Agencies in Turkey : From Implementing EU Directives To Supporting Regional Business Communities?

Turkey’s step-by-step embedding in the institutional and policy environment of the EU is currently compelling the country to establish a fitting structure of regional governance. A key element in this structure is the creation of regions at the NUTS-II level which will be equipped with Regional Development Agencies (RDAs). Yet the present political and economic situation in Turkey throws some doubt on the scope and future for RDA development. To what extent will the central state be able and willing to devolve authority and resources to the local level? And to what extent do regional institutional and business settings hold fertile ground for RDA development? The article will address these questions, first, by focusing on the broader political-institutional context of region and RDA formation; and, second, through a detailed case-study of one regional setting, namely Istanbul. The outcomes indeed point to a fragile basis for RDA development from both political and economic perspectives. However, they also help identify certain areas where RDAs, in a more bottom-up way, could help to fill serious gaps in the fabric of regional economic development, and may find external resources to do so.

Three stories about regional salience: 'Regional Worlds', 'political mobilisation' and 'performativity'

Abstract Territoriality is an important dimension of knowledge production and application. Despite the ethereal nature of the product itself, knowledge is thought to originate from, and be anchored to, particular places. Over the last decades, studies on themes such as Innovation Systems and knowledge spillovers have pointed at and further explored the spatial dimension of knowledge production, suggesting that due to spatial boundedness of knowledge the region presents an essential site for innovation, production and policy-makers. To review this message of regional salience three stories are presented: The first story, the institutional-economic account, features the role of the economy. The second story features political actors and processes, and the way these have promoted and mobilised the region as a significant site of innovation, production and policy-making. The third story focuses on the message of regional salience itself, with as protagonists the authors of the message, namely academics. The conclusion will bring the various stories together, suggesting how the story of performativity bears on the story on political mobilisation, and how both these stories may serve to put the institutional-economic account into perspective.

What's Next in Researching Cluster Policy: Place-Based Governance for Effective Cluster Policy

Despite their immense popularity and rapid proliferation and development, local cluster policies have met mixed results, and often suffer from limited effectiveness. In this paper, we argue that an important reason for the limited success can be found in the way policies have been grafted onto a particular policy rationale, namely of “cluster building”. Responding to this critique, we propose an alternative rationale, that of “policy leverage”, and a governance model which, in the pursuit of “policy leverage”, presents a new approach to intelligence gathering and to collective strategy-making. The model assigns a key role to “civic entrepreneurs” who operate at the interfaces of public and private spheres, and, of endogenous and exogenous drives, in line with “place-based” approaches.

Global reversal, regional revival?

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Regional Studies on 19 January 2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00343404.2016.1255720.

Open Concepts as Crystallization Points and Enablers of Discursive Configurations: The Case of the Innovation Campus in the Netherlands

In this paper, we reflect on the role of concepts in spatial planning as reproductive devices of discursive configurations. In contrast to instrumentalist interpretations of spatial concepts, we start from the idea that spatial planning concepts are inherently political. Building on post-structuralist strands of thought, we discuss the theoretical concepts of “empty signifier” and “master signifier” and instead, after analysis, put forward “open concepts”, in order to grasp the richness of meanings and functions of seemingly vague concepts. This manoeuvre allows us to analyse the trajectory and performance of the spatial concept of the “innovation campus” in the Netherlands. This, in turn, opens the door to an analysis of planning concepts as crystallization points and enablers of discursive configurations. The Dutch innovation campus is shown to be a result of a confluence of various national and international discourses, an open concept, flexible enough to enable the continuation of the planning game within the familiar set of coordinates. Because of the particular set of expectations associated with the innovation campus, promising structural change, it is bound to produce disappointment.