Appearance of Innovation Research in Regional Analysis – The Issue of Innovation in Regional Perspective

Abstract

In the lant decade the researches in the West Hungarian Research Institute focused on the study of spatial aspects of different socio-economic phenomena and factors of regional development. Within this field of research the employees of the institute – led by Prof. Rechnitzer – tumed attention to the research of regional innovation and the observation of different aspects of innovation process becoming more complex and interactive. Nevertheless this study could not take neither the review of all the innovation research programmes have been carried out in the institute and nor their results. It focuses three determinant subjects. It starts with the presentation of the place and the role of innovation oriented regional policy connected to the theoretical, foundational works. These works were parts of the settlement system research aiming at exploring the Hungarian relations of innovation emerging and spreading. The results of our company's researches – following the first part – are embedded in the system of the statements of the Hungarian innovation researches on the business sector. III the third block there are principal statements of regional innovation strategy development, which is built on the situation analysis, empirical researches. It also contains the technology policy proposals, which promote innovation at regional level. Finally the most important features of regional technological foresight programmes present the new tool types assisting the spatial planning and regional policy.