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Innovative strategies in remote areas Sara Davies, Jillian MacBryde and Rona Michie Seminar on Innovation in remote areas, UHI Centre for Remote and Rural Studies, Inverness, 21 st June 2010 Funded by the UK Innovation Centre (BIS, ESRC, NESTA and TSB). Outline. Background to the study

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  1. Innovative strategies in remote areasSara Davies, Jillian MacBryde and Rona MichieSeminar on Innovation in remote areas, UHI Centre for Remote and Rural Studies, Inverness, 21st June 2010 Funded by the UK Innovation Centre (BIS, ESRC, NESTA and TSB)

  2. Outline • Background to the study • Ideas behind the study • Sectoral structure and innovation • Conditions for innovation • Innovative strategies in remote areas • Initial conclusions • Future research directions

  3. Background to the study • UK Innovation Research Centre: exploratory study • Interviews with policy makers & business support organisations in UK ‘remote regions’ • Interviews with State ministries and agencies in Austria, Finland, Norway, Sweden, UK • Practitioner workshop May 2010 • Discussion papers: Sectors, Conditions, Methods • International academic seminar June 2010

  4. Ideas behind the study • Studies on innovation and geographical proximity • Policy focus on innovation ‘in the regions’ • What about remote/rural areas? • Case studies of innovation in remote areas • Social / organisational proximity • ICT opening up access to markets/knowledge • Concept of hidden innovation (NESTA, OECD)

  5. Sectoral structure and innovation in remote areas • Sectoral structure is different in remote areas • More agriculture/forestry/fishing and energy • Less manufacturing • Fewer business services • More tourism/hospitality & public services • Innovation varies across sectors • Traditional definitions of innovation are biased towards technology-based manufacturing

  6. Conditions for innovation in remote areas (1)

  7. Conditions for innovation in remote areas (2)

  8. Innovative strategies in remote areas • Negating aspects of remoteness • Using embedded natural resources • Exploiting an image of remoteness • Building on embedded human capital • Addressing the constraints of remoteness

  9. Innovative strategies (1): Negating aspects of remoteness • Eg. oil/gas-related engineering, electronics • Kinds of innovation • Can include R&D, technological, organisational and marketing innovations in specialist sectors • World-leading products for global markets • Conditions for innovation • Public funding for infrastructure, higher education, research, business aid • Attraction of dynamic, growing firms • Caveats • Few regions • Few sectors even in these regions

  10. Innovative strategies (2): Using embedded natural resources • Eg. renewable energies, Arctic technologies • Kinds of innovation • Can include R&D, technological, organisational and marketing innovations in specialist sectors • Focused on national/global markets • Conditions for innovation • Expertise and technology, often from outside • Natural resources that need to be used in situ • Caveats • Limited to resource-based sectors

  11. Innovative strategies (3):Exploiting an image of remoteness • Eg. food, creatives, tourism, outdoor goods • Kinds of innovation • Mainly organisational and marketing • Focused on national/global markets • Conditions for innovation • Value of remoteness in urban markets • Local human skills & expertise • Policy support for infrastructure • Caveats • Limited to certain sectors (some with low profitability)

  12. Innovative strategies (4): Building on local human capital • Eg. business services, creatives, tourism • Kinds of innovation • Mainly organisational, marketing, technological adaptation • Focused on national/global markets • Conditions for innovation • Depends on area’s natural, cultural, social attractiveness • Transport and ICT networks • Caveats • Some sectors may involve relatively low pay, long hours and poor job security

  13. Innovative strategies (5): Addressing the constraints of remoteness • Eg. e-health, community enterprise • Kinds of innovation • Mainly organisational, technological adaptation • Focused on local/national markets • Conditions for innovation • Public sector funding or policy commitment to universal services • Often depends on local expertise, skills and commitment • Caveats • Facilitated by potential for local solutions to be applicable in other places (more efficient/effective public services)

  14. Initial conclusions • There is innovation in (some) remote rural areas • Innovation potential in a remote area depends on • Its sectoral structure • Its conditions for innovation – which in turn depend eg. on national/regional policy decisions • Innovation strategies in remote areas include: • Negating aspects of remoteness • Drawing on locally embedded natural or human resources • Exploiting an image of openness • Addressing the constraints of remoteness

  15. Future research directions • Conditions for innovation in remote areas • Which conditions matter most for individual firms and sectors in remote areas? • How are conditions evolving due to technological changes or shifts in business strategies or policy decisions? • Innovative strategies in remote areas • How are firms and other actors innovating in peripheral areas? • What differences are seen across sectors and areas? • Methods for researching innovation in remote areas • What methods could be used for studying remote innovation?

  16. Thank you for listening! Sara.Davies@strath.ac.uk http://www.eprc.strath.ac.uk/irr/

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