Sustainable Regional Development in Austria- The role of regional institutions by implementing a sustainable regional pathway.

According to the current focus of the regional policy of the European Union on sustainable regional development the question arises- what are the key-elements to achieve a sustainable regional pathway? The identification of these key-factors is a challenge for the regional policy in each member state. One elementary key-factor is the promotion of new technologies as part of a regional innovation strategy. Regional institutions which support environmental improvements within regions can be identified as key-actors for achieving a sustainable regional pathway. The main research question focuses on the relevance of existing regional institutions and their ability of fulfilling the challenges of sustainable regional development goals. Their role within the regional innovation system and their flexibility to change their target group profiles seems relevant for successful applications of sustainable regional development strategies. This contribution focuses exclusively on regional management institutions which were established after the Austria’s EU accession. 2