University-Industry-Government Relations: Some reflections on methodological and policy issues in the context of less favoured regions

Since the beginning of the eighties we are witnessing a broad recognition amongst economists and policy makers of the importance of knowledge accumulation for the economic growth. This context explains the reinforcement of knowledge, technology and innovation centrality in the researchers agenda as well as in the design of the economic policy. As a result of the previous trends we need to consider two fundamental aspects from the viewpoint of regional and local development. First, the knowledge, technology and innovation play an important role on the performance of regional and local economy. Second, this means that the innovative activities emerge as a crucial vector of the process of convergence and inter-regional cohesion. In this case, we think that the contextual conditions of less favoured regions involve a reconfiguration of the methods of evaluating the innovative potential and analysing the role of the components of institutional structure, the working of that composite and varied set of actors involved in the different stages of the innovation and diffusion process. More attention should be drawn to the evaluation methodologies of the innovative process and its potential, the strategic role of university (missions, teaching activities, research activities, new organisational forms, the relations between the organisation of the university and its environment, ...) and to the design of the public policy ( financial support, demand-side policy, support to technological development and technological advice and guidance of local firms, regionalisation of technological policy, ...)