WP2: Community-led Territorial Innovation Models

Starting month: month 1
End month: month 9

Objectives

The main objective of this WP is to establish a theoretical basis for the main themes covered by the project and to define a conceptual model for the other WPs. This framework will enable a better understanding of the different dimensions of Territorial Innovation in the Centro Region, especially when Smart Specialization Strategies are at stake and are used to structure investment and development strategies for the region.

Thus, the specific objectives for this WP are:
● Promote a better understanding of the main theoretical models of territorial innovation;
● Enlighten the impact of smart specialization strategies in promoting territorial innovation;
● Map / identify best practices and case studies of territorial innovation that can potentially be transferred to the Centro Region of Portugal.

WP 2 is organized as follows: (1) literature review; (2) identify specific governance features and development strategies, with a special focus in the areas of tourism, health and well-being; (3) provide a conceptual model; (4) identify specific cases, data, agents and instruments for research in the areas of tourism, health and well-being.

Workpackages

Description of Work

Task 2.1 – Theoretical frameworks underlining territorial innovation
Given the innovativeness of the proposed analysis which combines distinct topics – territorial innovation, public policies and networks, social innovation and community mediation – the first task of the project will be to conduct an in-depth literature review on the main theories and conceptual frameworks related to these central topics. Besides the academic contribution to consolidate existing knowledge in these topics, this systematic review aims to allow the team to detail the theoretical structure of the project, the research questions and the most important variables to be included in data collection processes ( WP3 and WP4). This will allow the identification of studies that contain similar analyzes in other regional contexts, which will potentially enable a comparative analysis.

The first task will be accomplished through an inventory of the most relevant articles in journals relevant to the research topics, followed by a meta-analysis of those papers. In addition, the development of a theoretical framework is crucial to map the concept of Territorial Innovation and its different dimensions by exploring different definitions found in the literature.

Task 2.2 – Challenges of territorial development under smart specialization strategies

This task aims to understand the impact and the challenges of smart specialization strategies, considering, in particular, the complex governance architecture of the Portuguese territory and the specificities of the domains of tourism, health and well-being. Therefore, the objectives of this task are twofold: (1) to understand the impact and the challenges of smart specialization strategies in Territorial Innovation and (2) to map and describe territorial governance in the Centro region, with special focus on tourism, health and well-being.

The analysis of the governance structures of the Centro region will allow to obtain a relevant output for the project, since it will provide a tool for the analytical framework to be developed in the following tasks of this WP.

Task 2.3 – Map best practices and case studies of territorial innovation

The main objective of this task is to identify and characterize best practices and case studies of territorial innovation. This benchmarking analysis will focus on specific public policy strategies in a European and national context focusing on territorial innovation (mainly in tourism, health and well-being). The same approach will be followed for mediation tools and strategies (digital, social innovation experiences, formal and non-formal education contexts). This task will focus on reviewing existing literature and case studies in the context of territorial innovation.

Task 2.4 – Conceptual framework for public policy strategies and mediation practices in territorial innovation

This task aims to propose a conceptual model to identify, analyze and discuss policy strategies and relevant mediation practices to promote territorial innovation in the Centro region, and thus provide the empirical elements to develop a Territorial Innovation Model and a policy advice tool.

Emphasis will be given to networking and mediation strategies relevant for territorial innovation, including its nodes such as agents, channels, subnetworks, links and info-communication aspects (Lovejoy & Saxton, 2012); mediation strategies addressing contexts, scenarios, roles and leadership issues as well as good practice in low-density national and international territories (identified in task 2.1.3), adding research dimensions related to the creation of participatory dynamics, and the empowerment of populations through informal and non-formal learning contexts, and educational opportunities that exist or can be created in the territory.

The model to be created will also include provisions for the development and implementation of performance indicators for territorial innovation (developed in WP4). Validation of the model will be achieved through discussions with focus group of experts.

This task includes the following steps: (i) to diagnose the role and potential of networks and mediation practices through a set of case studies from the Centro region and relevant international cases from low density territories, with a focus in the areas tourism and health and well-being; (ii) proposal, validation and consolidation of a conceptual framework to promote and assess networks and mediation strategies in territorial innovation.