Innovation in Peripheral Areas Sara Davies UK~IRC Innovation Research Initiative - Distributed projects meeting, 18 January 2011 Funded by the UK Innovation Centre (BIS, ESRC, NESTA and TSB)

Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde 2 Outline of the study Research ideas and questions –Proximity-based interactions drive innovation and geographical economic disparities –What kinds of innovation occur in peripheral, sparsely populated regions? What shapes innovation in such regions? Research design –Interviews with practitioners in UK plus Austria, Finland, Norway and Sweden –Two international events with practitioners & researchers –3 discussion papers (sectors, conditions, methods)

Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde 3 Initial findings (1): Evidence of innovation on the periphery A few exceptional peripheral places with leading firms in global markets (e.g. telecoms, oil/gas engineering) – role of policy in building conditions for innovation External/local expertise/R&D exploiting embedded natural resources (e.g. sea/tides, cold weather) Developing new ways of doing things to serve large external markets (home working, image-based marketing) – expansion of opportunities due to ICT Developing solutions to local problems (e.g. tele- medicine, social enterprise) with potential wider application

Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde 4 Initial findings (2): A different context for innovation Weaknesses linked to lack of / distance from critical mass of people & organisations Some strengths e.g. high self-employment, hidden skills, niche R&D, active networking Importance of openness to allow access to finance, research, competition, demand – so need ICT & human networking Importance of skills to create/exploit opportunities – so need to retain/attract people & build effective education & training systems

Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde 5 Initial findings (3): Methodological challenges Survey data not robust at regional level –Number of firms surveyed per region (e.g. CIS) –Number of firms active in each sector –Data on conditions (e.g. broadband) Possible solutions: –Expand existing surveys for regional coverage –Link regional case studies to robust national surveys/studies –Use alternative indicators of conditions or ad hoc (comparative) studies

Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde 6 Outcomes & next steps KE with practitioners & researchers –Workshop: practitioners from Austria, Norway, Cornwall, Scotland, Wales, [Ireland, Sweden] –Seminar: papers from Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, UK (England & Scotland) –Invitations to speak in UK (Scottish Parliament, Highlands & Islands) and Finland (National Innovation Forum) Publications: book chapter, 2 conference papers, 2 articles in preparation University funding (£18.5k) to develop further bids and publications

Sara Davies, European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde 7 Thank you for listening