It is the objective of this paper to analyse the role innovation policy could play in the promotion of regional change, using Germany as a case study, and to develop a typology of structurally weak regions for tailored and regionally specific policy interventions.

The innovation system approach has become a current and frequently used tool for the assessment of innovative activities in different fields of study. So far, however, there is no unanimous agreement on the issue of the most relevant perspective which has to be taken when applying the approach...