Place-based innovation ecosystems : Boston-Cambridge innovation districts

Rissola, G; Bevilaqua, C; Monardo, B; Trillo, C

Abstract

This report focuses on the case study of the Boston area and identifies the key success factors in the Boston regional innovation ecosystem. It discusses how the macro-innovation eco-ecosystem is composed by a variety of interconnected micro-innovation ecosystems, mutually reinforcing each other and making the entire “territorial” system successful. The spatial configuration of these micro-innovation ecosystems at the urban scale has been specifically investigated, thus leading the authors to theorize that the Innovation District may act as an enabler for place-based innovation.

Evidence from the Boston case study shows that there is not a single magic recipe for the successful implementation of place-based and social innovation-driven strategies. On the contrary, the variety of place-grounded combinations of micro and macro initiatives, embedded in the social and spatial fine grain of places and encompassing a diversity of actors, can create the conditions that enable places to thrive and local economic activities to grow in a sustainable way.

Citation

Rissola, G., Bevilaqua, C., Monardo, B., & Trillo, C. (2019). Place-based innovation ecosystems : Boston-Cambridge innovation districts

• Report Type: Technical Report
• Online Publication Date: Jan 1, 2019
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Apr 23, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 23, 2019
• Series Title: JRC Technical Reports
• ISBN: 9789276019503
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.2760/183238
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.2760/183238
• Additional Information: Projects : MAPS LED