In Germany, but in other countries as well, a trend towards a regionalisation in technology and innovation policy is clearly evident. This triggers the expectation towards universities to establish regional ties and networks and to exploit the advantages of spatial proximity to other research...

According to the Barca report and the OECD, the place-based development approach is a new paradigm of regional policy. It underlines the necessity to distribute policy design and implementation among different policy levels in order to tailor policy measures to the specific local conditions....