No 2011/9 Policy coordination in systems of innovation

A structural-functional analysis of regional industry support in Sweden

Abstract

The framework of regional innovation systems highlights the systemic nature of economic development and the importance of coordination of policy activities. Such coordination presupposes an understanding of the underlying problems and how they can be addressed. Generic problems in innovation systems refer to issues of lack of resources, negative lock-in, and structural or functional fragmentation. In spite of this, there are few good examples of systematic analyses of innovation systems that take into account both structural and functional properties of the system. This paper addresses this issue by offering a framework for analyzing innovation system problems, functions, activities, and actors and, based on this, offers insights with regard to the role of regional actors as coordinators of innovation system activities.