Regional innovation policies in a globally connected environment

The encouragement of innovation at the regional level has been the subject of a series of EU initiatives, but there is, as yet, no overarching framework that provides clear, effective and widely accepted guidance for policy-makers. We identify some of the limitations facing innovation policy in Europe and put forward some ideas based on interdisciplinary thinking and methods which may help overcome these limitations. We propose two approaches to address the challenge of innovation policy formulation: first, an evolutionary life cycle approach to deal with the dynamic nature of innovation and the development of emerging sectors; and second, an approach to value chain and value system analysis to determine areas of potential growth or possible bottlenecks in the delivery of innovation. These two approaches address innovation challenges from the perspectives of policy-makers and of innovators, and can help to overcome the policy and societal challenges facing Europe.