LARS Learning among Regions on Smart Specialisation

The global value chains and increased sophistication of production constitute a large challenge for regional development efforts. There is a need to learn and up-grade the level of policy intervention. The regional innovation systems are different but  regional actors may learn from each other thru a process of transnational learning and exploit the complementarities..

LARS attempts to help the public sector in leading smart specialisation processes in their regions and to connect innovation networks across regions. The project  will also examine in what degree the collaboration between smart specialised regions could form the base for Macro regional strategies in Baltic Sea Region.

The project will be implemented in 6 steps:

1. Mapping of strategies in order to select the final intervention areas;
2. Triple-helix gap analysis with the purpose of finding deficiencies and also good cases of innovation network functioning; University of Vaasa is the leader of this working package.
3. Matching partners in transfer network based on the “good” and “bad” practices;
4. Learning on the transfers, essentially an innovation context analysis;
5. Piloting new activities in the regions with the purpose of improving the innovation networks;
6. Communicating the findings with a view on the wider implications of the project.

Name of the project: LARS
Project website: https://www.lars-project.eu/home/
Project coordinator at the University of Vaasa: University of Vaasa: Seija Virkkala, School of Management, Regional Studies;  LARS project coordinator: Jerker Johnson, Regional Council of Ostrobothnia
Project time: 1.10.2017 – 30.9.2020
Funding from: Interreg Baltic Sea, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland
Outside funding, University of Vaasa : 228 761€, Budget, University of Vaasa: 251 385€ 
(Total budget of the whole project 1,65 MEUR)

Project partners: Regional Council of Ostrobothnia, Finland, Region Västerbotten (Sweden), Regional Council of Päijät-Häme, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (Germany), Lithuanian Institute of Agrarian Economics (Lithuania), Ministry of Environmental protection and Regional Development (Latvia), Lithianian Innovaiton Centre, Oppland County Authority (Norway)

Associated partners: CPMR Conference of Periperal Maritime Regions, Office of the Marshal of the Pomorskie Voivodship (Poland)

Contacts, University of Vaasa: Seija Virkkala, Antti Mäenpää
Research group at the University of Vaasa:Research group of public policy and organisations