Regional development, universities and strategies for cluster promotion

David R. Charles*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Universities and clusters have both become central in economic development fashion in recent years. Both are also closely linked with a concern for the development of new industries and new technology-based firms, although the wider implications of both in economic development terms can be simultaneously overlooked. The cluster concept in particular has become an almost obligatory element in regional economic development policies, and its application is now spreading across all scales of economic policy in both advanced and developing nations. Definitions of clusters vary greatly, but one approach that has resonance for a number of possible policy applications is that of a ‘reduced scale innovation system’, as used in a recent OECD study group (den Hertog, Bergman and Charles, 2001). Using this definition I focus on clusters as groups of interacting firms and agencies that collectively enhance innovation performance through acting as a system. This has some resonance with national innovation systems (Edquist, 1997), but is sectorally or technologically more focused and usually operates at a territorial scale that is less than national.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationBright Satanic Mills
Subtitle of host publicationUniversities, Regional Development and the Knowledge Economy
EditorsAlan Harding, Alan Scott, Stephen Laske
Place of PublicationLondon
PublisherTaylor & Francis
Chapter4
Pages53-68
Number of pages16
ISBN (Electronic)9781315569970
ISBN (Print)9780754645856, 9780367603809
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 19 Feb 2007
Externally publishedYes

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