Research Network summary
This research network aims to promote research on regional development in South America, focused on knowledge flows and innovation capabilities. Knowledge capabilities are unevenly distributed within national and subnational territories in South America, a region characterized by a peripheral but significant role in the global production of knowledge. These countries have a rich background of research in this field, associated with urban development, production agglomerations, emigration fluxes, and the role of universities, among others. It is highly relevant to articulate research activities aiming to advance our understanding of the regional development processes which promote knowledge creation and improve access to global knowledge flows. This network aims to contribute to facing these challenges by producing relevant evidence and discussing it with policymakers.
Aims and ambitions of the Research Network
Aims and objectives
This Research Network is the first regional development research network in South America, with all the challenges and opportunities that this implies. First, the territorial dimension is particularly relevant. South America has been widely identified as an economic and cultural unit (Cimoli and Katz, 2003; Bértola and Ocampo, 2012). These countries share patterns of economic specialisations, macroeconomic constraints, and a strong heterogeneity within each country. In addition, there are common practical aspects of research, such as the university tradition and some restrictions on access to funding and databases (Arocena and Sutz, 2001; Sutz, 2003; Dutrénit and Arza, 2010). In this sense, research can be enriched through exchange within the network The network aims to bring together regional sciences researchers interested in regional development in South America, working in South American countries or abroad. It is expected to integrate different geographical perspectives: local level, interaction to national specific contexts, and a continental perspective. South America has historically characterized by an heterogeneous development. In this sense, previous experience of members and speakers have shown the relevance of the national and subnational context to understand the process of knowledge creation, innovation and entrepreneurship (e.g. Rapini et al., 2009; Yoguel et al., 2009; Porras-Paez & Schmutzler, 2019; Britto et al., 2020; Ferraz et al., 2020; Galaso & Rodríguez Miranda, 2021; Bianchi et al., 2021).
Proposed plan of events and activities
The network will organize seminars and conferences, with the participation of leading researchers in the field, promoting the discussion of relevant research results to the network’s objectives. In addition, it is expected to coordinate some activities with the RSA Latin-American division. Moreover, these events will promote the integration of researchers who do not belong to the RSA, to invite them to become part of the network and enrich it. These activities will integrate policymakers’ roundtables, aiming to promote the discussion of the research findings as potential policy inputs. In addition to these academic meetings, the network will organize training workshops on data analysis. These workshops will focus on the challenges posed by the availability of comparable regional data due to the lack of statistics at the supranational level. Finally, the network will promote special roundtables at the regular meetings of the RSA, focused on the network’s thematic area.
Themes of the proposed events
• Seminar/Conference 1: Innovation challenges in South America. Insights from regional studies. Montevideo (with streaming) – date tbc.
• 2023 RSA Conference, Open Special Session: Challenges and development opportunities in South American regions. June 2023.
• Workshop 1: Introduction to SNA using R and igraph, with applications to RSA. Online, September2023.
• 2024 RSA Conference, Open Special Session: Transitions in South America: between the need for a just transition approach and the potential of twin transition. June 2024.
• Workshop 2: Using patent data for collaboration network analysis. An application with USTPO data in Patents View. Online, September 2024.
• Seminar/Conference 2: Recent developments in regional studies for South America. The road ahead. Florianopolis (with streaming), December 2024.