Handling regional research, development and innovation (RDI) disparities in Hungary: New measures of university-based innovation ecosystem
Handling regional research, development and innovation (RDI) disparities in Hungary: New measures of university-based innovation ecosystem

Summary/Abstract: According to the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS2) level data from Eurostat and the Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS), a strong geographical concentration in the field of RDI can be observed in Hungary. Regional disparities are more significant than in most European Union (EU) member countries and have not changed for a long time. The development of regional innovation capacity is a fundamental aspect from an economic policy point of view; therefore, the Hungarian RDI policy considers higher education institutions that play a major role in the region and have a strong knowledge production capacity, as potential key players in knowledge transfer. According to the intervention logic of the introduced new measures, university-based project- and system-level programs launched can have an impact on local actors through several channels. The university’s knowledge base can be exploited, local businesses can increase their competitiveness through access to technology and RDI services, and their innovation performance can be improved. The key result of this study, based on a review of innovation policy measures, is to show how the new programs launched and the new institutions created under this new innovation policy paradigm will contribute to a longer and more sustainable way of reducing regional disparities in RDI capacities and enhance regional innovation performance through their impact on economic development.

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