Structure and Strategy for Regional Learning and Innovation--Challenges for Regional Planning

Development of codified and tacit knowledge is important for capacity building in regional communities. To do so regions need active cooperation and trust building between public organizations related to research and education, private companies and organizations and the civil society so as to cross sector barriers and to mobilize to meet regional challenges proactively. Such processes must enjoy wide support in the regional community; mobilization for change must take place from below and across a broad front. Actors from outside can stimulate such processes, but they cannot take responsibility for them. The role in building out the community that is held by democratically elected bodies, make it natural to demand or expect that such actors take an initiative towards improvement, which brings challenges that are discussed later in this article.