Regional innovation systems in comparison
DIW Weekly Report 5/2014, pp. 79-87
Technological and organisational progress are the main drivers of economic growth.
So-called innovation systems are of crucial importance for the implementation of innovations. This is understood as the totality of organisations and institutions involved in the creation, dissemination and application of scientific or technological knowledge, as well as their linkages. Innovation systems have a strong regional component, especially with regard to knowledge transfer and cooperation between different actors. This study outlines how regional innovation systems can be analysed using various indicators, taking the example of the Darmstadt region and some comparative regions. The result shows that the Darmstadt region is clearly above the German average in terms of innovation performance and even surpasses leading regions such as Stuttgart and Munich in some indicators. However, this is not fully reflected in the economic performance.