Regional Innovation Governance in the Context of European Integration and Multi-level Governance Challenges. A Case Study of North-West Region of Romania

AbstractIn the last 20 years European Union fostered the innovativeness of regions as a mean of growing competitiveness in the context of globalization. In Romania the innovation governance has been implemented and considered only recently, in the context of its imperative request from the European Union accession in January 2007. Up to this stage, there are serious deficiencies in the innovation governance at regional level, especially because of the “lack of regional focus” of the innovation policies in the context of European integration and multi-level governance challenges in Romania as EU New Member State. The present paper presents the case of North-West region of Romania as a leading knowledge region and uses its success story as a model for the other Romanian regions. The experience gained in this region, before EU accession of Romania, through implementation of Regional Innovation Strategies RIS, in the purpose of identifying the regional innovation potential and encourage technological transfer between research and business communities and create a regional innovation strategy and a future action plan, and after Romania's EU accession - through implementation projects funded by the 2007-2013 National RDI Plan, Regional Operational Programme and Increasing Economic Competitiveness Operational Programme etc., are convincing arguments to empower the role of regional innovation governance. According to the Romanian Innovation barometer, in 2008, the North-West region was the third region regarding innovation, after Bucharest-Ilfov, the region containing the capital city, and South-East region. The present paper identifies the determinants of success and sources of failures and makes policy recommendations for the local, regional and national government as well