Role of the Support Organisations and the the Universities in Regional Innovation Networking in the Peripheral Regions

The economic attraction of the regions depends on the spatially balanced network-based cooperation of different research bases, SMEs and support organisations involved in innovation development. The utilisation of the regional knowledge base, innovation potential and cooperation between businesses and universities & research institutions continues to play an increasing role in regard to business success and the competitive economic performance of the regions. Innovation is considered as an interactive and system-like process depending on traditions with definite spatial forms and it is manifested in the form of " networks " among the companies and among the different support and transfer organisations, which can stimulate university-industry linkages. For the backward regions, the utilisation of the new economic possibilities offered by the information society and the extension of their local knowledge base can be a breakout point, by increasing their innovation capacities. From this aspect, the development of the research and innovation transfer infrastructure is indispensable, with special regard to their relation to companies. The economic attraction of the regions and the spread of knowledge also depend, however, on the spatially balanced network cooperation of the different research bases, SMEs and bridge-building organisations involved in innovation development.