smart specialisation, strategic networks, regional economics, East Netherlands

This chapter provides a study of the regional-economic collaboration in the Dutch provinces of Overijssel and Gelderland. The study is part of a larger assessment of the economic strength (‘kracht’) of the East-Netherlands (‘Oost’), constituted by Overijssel and Gelderland, called ‘Kracht van Oost’ (‘Strength of East-Netherlands’). The aim of the study was to detect all cases of formal networking between businesses, government and education (including research), from the more local (business networks) to larger strategic partnerships. Consequently, the results were compared with the findings on regional-economic performance stemming from other studies in ‘Kracht van Oost’, notably on innovation, growth and specialisation. So, the main question is to what extent can differences in economic orientations and performance between subregions in Gelderland and Overijssel be explained through variations in networking activities and intensities? We place this empirical question in a broader debate on networking and collaboration in bolstering (sub)regional economic performance.

This chapter provides a study of the regional-economic collaboration in the Dutch provinces of Overijssel and Gelderland. The study is part of a larger assessment of the economic strength (‘kracht’) of the East-Netherlands (‘Oost’), constituted by Overijssel and Gelderland, called ‘Kracht van Oost’ (‘Strength of East-Netherlands’). The aim of the study was to detect all cases of formal networking between businesses, government and education (including research), from the more local (business networks) to larger strategic partnerships. Consequently, the results were compared with the findings on regional-economic performance stemming from other studies in ‘Kracht van Oost’, notably on innovation, growth and specialisation. So, the main question is to what extent can differences in economic orientations and performance between subregions in Gelderland and Overijssel be explained through variations in networking activities and intensities? We place this empirical question in a broader debate on networking and collaboration in bolstering (sub)regional economic performance.