A new direction for regional university campuses: catalyzing innovation in place

Ideas about the importance of knowledge and innovation in the global economy have implications for the changing role of universities – but so too do ideas about the role of place-based knowledge in generating competitive advantage and innovation at the regional scale. As the concern to structure effective innovation systems intersects with the growing interest in distinctive, place-based knowledge, an opportunity emerges to reconsider the role of universities in regions. As institutions specialized in knowledge creation and knowledge transfer, regional university campuses are in a key position to catalyze regional development outcomes by bringing together different forms of knowledge, including place-based knowledge, in new ways. In line with current thinking about open and user-generated innovation, it is arguable that this kind of approach to co-creating knowledge in place can catalyze regional development outcomes. Yet for university campuses to take on this catalyst role, they must move beyond the limitations of their current “engagement” approaches. This paper explores some of the limitations and conflicts in current regional engagement approaches, then considers how the meeting-point between universities and complex regions may be operationalized in practice.     

Planning for knowledge infrastructure and capacity building in a distinct insular regional context (Cyclades-Southern Aegean): the role of higher education institutions’ research actions

This paper is based on the study of a distinct insular region in Greece: Cyclades Prefecture with reference to also to the broader Periphery of the Southern Aegean. It elaborates on the issue of island innovation systems and the role of actions driven by higher education institutions (HEIs) in knowledge infrastructure (KI) and capacity building (CB). The paper argues that an exceedingly high number of HEI research actions tend to develop with “relative autonomy” from local expertise, networks and knowledge patterns embedded in the insular setting. In addition, these actions are conditioned by the EU policy doctrine, the dominant central state perception of innovation policies and the adverse pattern of HEI development in the national territory. Its geographically scattered composition and scarcities in scientific specializations and research fields make the sole regional HEI feeble in its ability to assume a leading role in fostering KI and CB processes. From this context, a number of factors and obstacles militate against a knowledge area-wide integrated strategy, deriving from: (a) the local socio-economic setting; (b) the proliferation of HEI actions; and (c) the institutional-governance system. In parallel to such obstacles, however, there are indications of potential conditions of change emanating from the positive role of some HEIs actions, the relatively active presence of regional HEIs, the growth trends of the insular economy, the making of new niches and networks, the presence of international institutions and, above all, the building of an atmosphere of trust between local communities and HEIs.     

Identifying social innovations in European local rural development initiatives

Social innovation is attracting increasing attention in research and policy, heightened by continuing austerity across Europe. Therefore, this paper examines earlier research into community-led local development (CLLD) initiatives in rural areas of Europe to develop our understanding of the meaning and scope of rural social innovation. We draw on a Schumpeterian view where innovations emerge from new combinations of resources that bring about positive changes and create value in society. A Schumpeterian social innovation framework is derived as the basis for re-analysing data from previous evaluations of LEADER policy in five different national contexts. This elicits a clearer understanding of social innovation in a rural development context, identifying different processes and outcomes that create social value. As the CLLD agenda and the demand for innovation in Europe gather pace, our aspirations are to inform future research and other initiatives on how to integrate social innovation into the design and evaluation of new rural development policies and programmes.     

知识密集型服务业对城市创新的贡献:基于演进经济学和制度经济学的视角

本文的目的是建立理论定位,理解后工业化社会中服务业在创新中所扮演的角色。通过演化经济学和制度经济学的方法,理解创新中某些专业性服务业的角色并解析它们对英国和德国大都市地区经济发展的重要性。文章认为,可以从演化经济学和制度经济学的理论角度,理解知识密集型服务业（KIBS）在创新中所扮演的角色。从这个角度看,城市经济是随着时间的推移独立成长起来的、路径依赖的交互式学习体系,其显著特征是网络化的生产体系,在该体系中,KIBS在城市内外的行动者之间进行定制知识的转换中扮演关键角色。因此笔者认为,KIBS对其所在城市的创新有特殊贡献,应该建立系统的理论方法来理解目前仍处于实践层面的服务业尤其是KIBS在创新中的角色,同时指出专业服务业的选址也十分重要。     

Developing a conceptual evaluation framework for gender equality interventions in research and innovation

In this article, we discuss the development of a conceptual evaluation framework to design and assess gender equality interventions and their effects in research and innovation. The conceptual framework presented herewith embraces the complexity, gender-sensitive and theory-based evaluation approaches ensuring that design and evaluation of gender equality interventions consider the complex systems that constitute the context in which the interventions operate. The evaluation framework offers a non-linear concept, where the notion of contribution - not attribution - to achieve impact is central to the integration of team, organizational and system factors in policy design and evaluation. The paper opens the “black box” to address the question of how and why a policy intervention works and in which context and discusses a systematic process on how to approach the interwoven linkages between input, implementation and effects in gender equality interventions in research and innovation, accounting for context sensitivity and methodological pluralism. The evaluation framework may serve as reference for researchers, evaluators, policymakers and other stakeholders in designing and assessing gender equality interventions, and in further developing their evidence, and theoretical and methodological base.     

Innovation in user-centered skills and performance improvement for sustainable complex service systems

In order to leverage individual and organizational learning and to remain competitive in current turbulent markets it is important for employees, managers, planners and leaders to perform at high levels over time. Employee competence and skills are extremely important matters in view of the general shortage of talent and the mobility of employees with talent. Two factors emerged to have the greatest impact on the competitiveness of complex service systems: improving managerial and employee's knowledge attainment for skills, and improving the training and development of the workforce. This paper introduces the knowledge-based user-centered service design approach for sustainable skill and performance improvement in education, design and modeling of the next generation of complex service systems. The rest of the paper cover topics in human factors and sustainable business process modeling for the service industry, and illustrates the user-centered service system development cycle with the integration of systems engineering concepts in service systems. A roadmap for designing service systems of the future is discussed. The framework introduced in this paper is based on key user-centered design principles and systems engineering applications to support service competitiveness.     

“十二五”时期推进长三角夏域创新体系建设的思考

长三角是我国综合实力最强的区域。“十一五”以来,长三角区域两省一市不断增加科技投入,科技创业日益活跃,创新氛围日益浓郁,区域科技合作意识不断强化,技术产权市场和跨地区技术转移日趋高效,逐步形成了协同开放、运转有序的跨行政区域创新体系,其主要经验,对我国推进各具特色的区域创新体系建设具有重要的示范意义。“十二五”时期,长三角区域推进创新体系建设,一要建设应用导向、教研结合的区域知识创新体系,二要构建市场导向、企业主体的区域技术创新体系,三要打造政府引导、市场主导的区域中介服务体系,四要构筑开放协作、运转高效的区域创新环境支撑体系,五要构架服务为主、管理为辅的区域创新协同管理体系。     

基于演化理论的广州建设创新型城市政策思路研究

演化理论范式的发展为创新型城市建设政策研究提供了一种新视角。应用演化理论范式的基本哲学思想和分析框架研究创新发生和扩散的演化过程,可以得到与传统均衡范式有所不同的创新促进政策思路和原则,比如纠正系统失灵的政策主旨、政府的角色和作用更为重要、战略小生境的创新政策、至关重要的经济试验、数量型与质量型相结合的创新政策、创新政策的学习性和民主性等,这些政策思路对广州创新型城市建设大有裨益。     

基于区域合作的长三角城市创新体系

长三角城市要进一步提升竞争力,就必须在优势互补和利益共享的前提下不断强化合作协同机制,持续完善基于区域合作的城市创新体系,从而有效推进"创新驱动、转型发展"的城市发展战略,有力提升城市产业层次和发展潜力。要充分考虑城市创新体系之间的内在关联性、区域科技资源布局的"根植性"、技术能力的非流动性、技术溢出的"空间局限性"等条件,通过强化制度创新、组织创新等途径,优化整合本地创新体系内外创新要素,针对企业、高等学校、科研院所、中介服务组织和政府机构等不同的创新主体,不断完善和更新配套政策举措和实施办法,促进基于区域合作的城市创新体系日臻成熟。     

Social innovation indicators

This article provides the results of the Regional Social Innovation Index (RESINDEX), a conceptual and empirical model that explores indicators of social innovation at organizational and regional level. The RESINDEX model links absorptive capacity of knowledge and social innovation in four types of key regional agents: profit and non-profit organizations, universities, and technological centres. The pilot application of the RESINDEX model held in the Basque Country (Spain) during the year 2013. Within the framework of this study 282 regional organizations were surveyed. The article contributes to the conceptual and empirical discussion on indicators in social innovation.     

环同济知识经济圈发展知识服务业的战略思考

发展知识服务业是环同济知识经济圈优化产业结构、完善创新体系、提升区域竞争力的主要抓手。知识资源丰富、商业服务发达、区位交通便捷、人居环境和谐为环同济知识经济圈发展知识服务业奠定了坚实基础。环同济知识经济圈应紧紧抓住上海创新型城市建设的大好机遇,以科技服务业、教育服务业和创意设计产业为重点,发展知识服务业。     

The (social) innovation – subjective well-being nexus: subjective well-being impacts as an additional assessment metric of technological and social innovations

It cannot be assumed that technological innovations and social innovations are desirable per se. An innovation usually has positive as well as negative impacts on people, making its normative assessment a major research challenge. This has become increasingly recognized in the innovation literature. At the same time, subjective well-being (SWB) research has developed and matured largely independently of innovation studies. This paper puts forward a general conceptual framework of the (social) innovation – SWB nexus as a step towards the development of a unified normative “well-being theory of innovation” that applies to all types of innovation, e.g. social as well as technological innovation. Its main feature is the inclusion of multiple direct and indirect SWB impacts of processes as well as of outcomes. The framework can act as a focussing device that raises awareness of the many potential SWB impacts of innovation. SWB impacts should be used as an additional metric in the assessment of innovation, complementing other assessment approaches.     

Extracting the commons

This article investigates how resources that are perceived as common are turned into property through different interventions of extractivism, and how this provokes counter-activism from groups and actors who see their rights and living conditions threatened by the practices of extraction. The article looks at how extraction is enacted through three distinct practices: prospecting, enclosure and unbundling, studied through three different cases. The cases involve resources that are material and immaterial, renewable as well as non-renewable, ‘natural’ as well as man-made. Prospecting is exemplified by patenting of genetic resources and traditional knowledge, enclosure is exemplified by debates over copyright expansionism and information commons, and unbundling through conflicts over mining and gas extraction. The article draws on fieldwork involving interviews and participant observation with protesters at contested mining sites in Australia and with digital rights activists from across the world who protest against how the expansion of copyright limits public access to culture and information. The article departs from an understanding of ‘commons’ not as an open access resource, but as a resource shared by a group of people, often subjected to particular social norms that regulate how it can be used. Enclosure and extraction are both social processes, dependent on recognising some and downplaying or misrecognising other social relations when it comes to resources and processes of property creation. These processes are always, regardless of the particular resources at stake, cultural in the sense that the uses of the commons are regulated through cultural norms and contracts, but also that they carry profound cultural and social meanings for those who use them. Finally, the commonalities and heterogeneities of these protest movements are analysed as ‘working in common’, where the resistance to extraction in itself represents a process of commoning.     

Index insurance and climate risk management: Addressing social equity

Fair distribution of benefits from index insurance matters. Lack of attention to social equity can reinforce inequalities and undermine the potential index insurance holds as a tool for climate risk management that is also pro‐poor. The aims of this article are to: (a) examine social equity concerns raised by index insurance in the context of climate risk management, (b) consider how greater attention can be paid to social equity in index insurance initiatives, and (c) reflect on the policy challenges raised by taking social equity into account as a mechanism for climate risk reduction. The article draws on learning from the CGIAR's Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and presents the cases of the Index Based Livelihoods Insurance (IBLI) and Agriculture and Climate Risk Enterprise Ltd. (ACRE) in East Africa. It proposes a framework for unpacking social equity related to equitable access, procedures, representation and distribution within index insurance schemes. The framework facilitates identification of opportunities for building outcomes that are more equitable, with greater potential for inclusion and fairer distribution of benefits related to index insurance. The article argues that systematically addressing social equity raises hard policy choices for index insurance initiatives without straightforward solutions. Attention to how benefits and burdens of index insurance are distributed, suggests the unpalatable truth for development policy that the poorest members of rural society can be excluded. Nevertheless, a focus on social equity—facilitated by the framework—opens up opportunities to ensure index insurance is linked to more socially just climate risk management. At the very least, it may prevent index insurance from generating greater inequality. Taking social equity into account, thus, shifts the focus from agricultural systems in transition per se to systems with potential to incorporate societal transformation through distributive justice.     

广州发展战略性新兴产业路线图研究

从产业整体结构绩效评估看,广州正在延伸出各种增长潜力巨大的新兴技术和产业,基本趋势是技术创新驱动、服务业高端化和文化软实力提升。紧紧抓住建设国家中心城市的战略机遇,广州要推动国家中心城市优先领域发展,促进国际大都市竞争领域发展和奠定国家创新型城市长期发展领域基础。充分考虑战略性新兴产业活动的空间价值链分布,形成战略性新兴产业发展的区域合理分工格局,加快推进支撑战略性新兴产业的中心城区知识密集型服务业发展。     

A Subregional Analysis of Universities’ Contribution to Economic and Innovation Performance

In recent years several regions have created development strategies to strengthen the regional economic and innovation contribution of universities. Still, it is not at all obvious whether universities’ significant regional contribution is a rule or rather an exception, especially in transition and less developed areas. Present paper addresses three crucial fields that seem to be problematic in the literature. First, we analyze universities’ regional contribution in a transition economy, namely in Hungary. Second we attempt to capture territorial innovation performance by applying an innovation system based approach. Third, we carry out a nationwide analysis on a subregional level. We conclude that regional contributions of Hungarian higher education institutions are modest, way too forceless to catalyze the local economy.     

Linking departmental priorities to knowledge management: the experiences of Santa Cruz County's Human Services Department

Federal welfare reform, local service collaborations, and the evolution of statewide information systems inspired agency interest in evidence-informed practice and knowledge sharing systems. Four agency leaders, including the Director, Deputy Director, Director of Planning and Evaluation, and Staff Development Program Manager championed the development of a learning organization based on knowledge management throughout the agency. Internal department restructuring helped to strengthen the Planning and Evaluation, Staff Development, and Personnel units, which have become central to supporting knowledge sharing activities. The Four Pillars of Knowledge framework was designed to capture agency directions in relationship to future knowledge management goals. Featuring People, Practice, Technology and Budget, the framework links the agency's services, mission and goals to the process of becoming a learning organization. Built through an iterative process, the framework was created by observing existing activities in each department rather than being designed from the top down. Knowledge management can help the department to fulfill its mission despite reduced resources.     

Toward a Framework for Multicultural STEM‐Focused Career Interventions

Numerous federal and national commissions have called for policies, funds, and initiatives aimed at expanding the nation's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce and education investments to create a significantly larger, more diverse talent pool of individuals who pursue technical careers. Career development professionals are poised to contribute to the equity discourse about broadening STEM participation. However, few are aware of STEM‐related career development matters, career opportunities and pathways, or strategies for promoting STEM pursuits. The author summarizes STEM education and workforce trends and articulates an equity imperative for broadening and diversifying STEM participation. The author then offers a multicultural STEM‐focused career development framework to encourage career development professionals’ knowledge and awareness of STEM education and careers and delineates considerations for practice aimed at increasing the attainment and achievement of diverse groups in STEM fields.     

长三角区域文化的承接与发展

区域文化作为区域一体化制度建设中的非正式制度安排,是区域软实力的重要组成部分。对长三角区域文化的认同、整合与创新发展,已成为创新长三角一体化体制机制、推动区域一体化深度发展的一项重要的战略任务。凝聚主题、创新发展是长三角区域文化发展的必然趋向。区域文化发展对长三角区域一体化的推动作用表现为:区域文化认同为长三角区域一体化提供凝聚力;区域文化事业为长三角区域一体化提供持续动力;区域文化产业构成长三角区域一体化深入发展的重要抓手。地域文化冲突对推进长三角区域一体化进程产生负面影响。探讨区域文化发展的路径应从区域文化事业发展和文化产业发展两方面进行。     

Social Protection in the ‘Real World’: Issues,Models and Challenges

Social protection has evolved rapidly both conceptually and in practice, and is now a key policy issue in humanitarian and development debates. However, debates have sometimes been misled by approaches that pay inadequate attention to context‐specific factors, do not fully consider the sequence of interventions, and are too instrument‐centred. This article presents a conceptual framework to tailor social‐protection policy and implementation more closely to country contexts. Four stylised models of social protection are identified, corresponding to scenarios where social‐protection systems are absent, where elements of such systems exist, and where systems are emerging or have been consolidated. Each model is shown to lead to different challenges, implications and areas for further research.