Across the globe, more powers are being devolved to local and regional levels of government. This book provides an innovative analysis of such decentralisation in transition states in the Balkans. Using new and rich data, it shows how political elites use decentralisation strategically to ensure their access to state resources.

Building on the experience of more than one hundred innovation strategies for smart specialisation, this book uncovers insights into their recent implementation by regional and national governments in the European Union. Although designed to boost the competitiveness of Europe and its regions, chapters analyse why the implementation of this policy model was much more complicated than expected. Offering an in-depth understanding of territories and their complexity, and highlighting why this is crucial to the topic, this timely book explores the importance of place-based innovation policy instead of a one-size-fits-all variety. It provides new reflections on the conceptual approaches for the identification of innovation priorities, the data required, the methods through which the data can be turned into useful information and the mapping of the information available. This book's insights into how the economic, scientific, innovative and societal potential of cities, regions and countries can be measured will be useful for policy-makers looking to learn from the smart specialisation of Europe. Public policy and economic innovation scholars will appreciate the strong case studies analysed in the book combined with in-depth analysis of different methodologies. Contributors include: R. Capello, A. Conte, N. Cortinovis, T. Dogaru, S. Franco, E. Fuster, C. Gianelle, H. Hollanders, A. Kleibrink, H. Kroll, C. Lenzi, G. Mandras, F.A. Massucci, M. Matusiak, A. Murciego, J. van Haaren, F. van Oort