Regional Innovation Systems: Which Role for Public Policies and Innovation Agencies? Some Insights from the Experience of an Italian Region

Increasing globalization, if properly exploited, can provide interesting opportunities for regional economies. Nevertheless, when they are not managed with a far-sighted approach, regions, and particularly those at an intermediate level of development, can lose their comparative advantages compared with regions of developing countries. Innovation is the main instrument for improving and ensuring competitiveness to enterprises and growth opportunities to local economies. The aim of this paper is to discuss the importance of public policies in reinforcing regional innovation systems and the role of regional innovation agencies. With this in mind, we describe the policies implemented by the “Regional Agency for Technology and Innovation” of Apulia, a region in Southern Italy, highlighting its main strengths and weaknesses.