Creating advantage in peripheral regions: The role of publicly funded R&D centres

Regional investment in R&D, technological development and innovation is perceived as being strongly associated with productivity, growth and sustained international competitiveness. One policy instrument by which policy makers have attempted to create regional advantage has been the establishment of publicly funded research centres (PRCs). In this paper we develop a logic model for this type of regional intervention and examine the outputs and longer-term outcomes from a group of (18) publicly funded R&D centres. Our results suggest some positive regional impacts but also identify significant differences in terms of innovation, additionality and sustainability between university-based and company-based PRCs. University-based PRCs have higher levels of short-term additionality, demonstrate higher levels of organisational innovation but prove less sustainable. Company-based PRCs demonstrate more partial additionality in the short-term but ultimately prove more sustainable.

► The research examines publicly funded research centres (PRCs) as a policy instrument to create regional advantage.
► Although PRCs create positive regional impacts, business and university-based centres differ in terms of innovation, additionality and sustainability.
► University-based PRCs have higher levels of short-term additionality, demonstrate higher levels of organisational innovation but prove less sustainable.
► Company-based PRCs demonstrate more partial additionality in the short-term but ultimately prove more sustainable.