Learning regions in Europe: theory, policy and practice through the RIS experience

This chapter is part of a collection that seeks to provide insight into the 'new economy' in which value is based on knowledge and human capital. The theme is that knowledge networks and learning are crucial to the global economy. The chapter examines regional economic development, learning networks, and systems of innovation in Europe. Insights from government-directed regional policies aimed at fostering innovation and economic development through collective learning and institutional innovation rather than basic infrastructure provision are discussed. An initiative of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the regional innovation strategy (RIS), is explained as a tool to 'translate knowledge into regional GDP [gross domestic product]' and a means of helping regions to help themselves. The impact of RIS projects is highlighted and a case study illustrates how the theoretical concepts of social capital, the learning region, and external economies of scale have been used and enriched by the development and implementation of a RIS in the West Midlands of England.