Regional Development Agencies: The Next Generation?: Networking, Knowledge and Regional Policies

Across Europe, regional development agencies (RDAs) have become a central feature of regional policy, both as innovative policy-makers and as the implementers of programmes and initiatives originating from the national or European level. In short, without well-functioning RDAs it would be difficult to imagine public policies that could make a difference for regional development in most European regions. Since the first generation of RDAs were established in the 1970s and 80s, major changes have swept through the policy arena but now a new set of challenges have presented themselves. The aim of the book is to develop a profile of the next generation of RDAs that will identify key issues and trends regarding: - policy aims, strategy-making and the new role of knowledge - the organisation of policy delivery, with emphasis on interactive knowledge brokerage - the organisational shift towards smaller and more flexible RDAs - the political governance of regional policy, within regions and through multi-level relationships The book provides a new point of reference with regard to RDAs and bottom-up regional policy that will replace the off-quoted, but now rather dated, notion of '¬Ümodel RDAs'¬" by identifying key features of the current, and, indeed next, generation of regionally-based economic development organisations.