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Local innovation systems (LIS) constitute a relatively new term as usually the discussion about the systemic approach to innovation has focused on the level of countries, and most of all - regions. In this article an attempt was made to assess Polish municipalities from the perspective of their potential for development of local innovative systems. The performed factor analysis allowed characterization of five types of institution networks which may impact creation and development of LIS. The study was completed with case studies in selected voivodeship cities as centres of the highest concentration of institutions usually building local innovation systems, three of which were capitals of the poorest regions in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to reveal crucial factors (political, administrative and financial) that influence the attitudes of local governments in the internationalisation process. The paper's conclusions are based on a study referring to various types of analyses, both quantitative and qualitative, of official documents, databases as well as in-depth interviews. The study was conducted in Lublin, Poland and Nancy in France. The research shows that the local governments' attitudes towards international cooperation depend greatly on political factors. In both cases (Lublin and Nancy), despite the differences in political and administrative systems; the nature, activity and range of the existing cooperation is governed much more by the mayor's ability, his/her individual attitude and approach than by the city's councillors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]