Innovative Cross-border eRegion Development: Possible Directions and Impact

Abstract

Regional development policy has to respond to the challenges of a global, informational and networked economy. In order to achieve a regional-innovation-focused competitive advantage it is important for the region to have the ability both to access and generate knowledge, and to access to knowledge networks faster than its competitive regions. In this paper, challenges in the area of eRegion development are discussed and some eRegion development initiatives are presented. Some activities from the period 2000-2006 are elaborated on, as are current initiatives in the Central Europe eRegion. Possible suggestions and some questions are concerning about a growing need in the eRegion for innovative ways of business, government and academic collaboration as part of a continuous process.