Creative and innovative region – a case study of Nowy Sącz

The article presents the case of a town with sizeable location-specific challenges. During the 1990’s the town experienced spectacular economic successes, and is now preparing for a giant technological and civilisational leap forward on the basis of EU funding. It is difficult to estimate the long-run effects of this new initiative: only to ponder whether the effects will be huge or truly massive. The town, its authorities and WSB-NLU innovators decided to transform Nowy Sącz into the first Polish town of knowledge and undertake competing on the global scale