Territorial Knowledge Dynamics: Making a Difference to Territorial Innovation Models and Public Policy?

The concept of territorial knowledge dynamics (TKDs) has been introduced as an update to existing territorial innovation models (TIMs), questioning the focus of TIMs on technological innovation, as well as the traditional distinction between production and consumption. This paper considers whether the TKD concept can “make a difference” compared to traditional TIMs, in general, and, in particular, in relation to public policy played out at the regional level. This paper identifies three elements highlighted in the TKD concept, which have been introduced as additions to the literature on TIMs. These involve the necessity of acquiring a combination of different types of knowledge in innovation processes, establishing external relations and taking into consideration the complexity of producer and consumer relations. This paper analyses the role which has been assigned to the administrative region within the framework of three selected TIMs, the regional innovation system, clusters and the learning region, and the way in which policy has been implemented in regions in ways that relate to the three elements highlighted in the TKD concept. This paper suggests that the main way in which the TKD concept adds to existing TIMs is with its focus on active regional outreach, in establishing external relations and supporting producer--consumer relations. The TKD approach could be seen as a new “intermediate synthesis” in the ongoing process of the TIM concept development, much like the learning regions a decade earlier.