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This short paper serves as an introduction to the special issue published in Geografiska Annaler B on the topic of innovation in the periphery. In addition to summarizing the main contributions included within the special issue, this piece reflects on the current state of knowledge in this sub-field and where the gaps are that need to be filled by research going forwards. This collection represents one step in this direction and pushes forward an interdisciplinary and varied approach to studying innovation in the periphery. There are three particular themes relating to innovation in the periphery that this piece picks up: defining peripheries, beyond technological innovation in the periphery and discourses of crisis in the periphery. It finishes with some suggestions for a roadmap, looking forward as to what the future of research in the periphery might be. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on geographies of violence and the (in)visibility of colonialism and basic concept of the Trans-Saharan Railway project, famous for its ambitious colonizing endeavor through which it aimed at unifying the French West and North Africa. It mentions railway schemes embody the fever for colonization that culminated in an obsession and fascination with projects and Adolphe Duponchel's geographical report, published in 1878. It also mentions Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871.

Based on evidence of a growing number of regions in Europe at risk of becoming sparsely populated, this article argues that further policy attention should be drawn to sparsely populated areas. We present experiences from case studies in the UK and Sweden asking how digitalization supported local actors in providing tools to promote collaborative planning for their communities. The article propounds the European added value of these experiences by raising the awareness of regional policymakers about future solutions for territorial planning and governance linked with the 'sparselization' of Europe, which we deem is the 'other side' of the continent's continuing urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the pathways to agri-food sustainability in the context of the historical broadacre farming region of Mid North South Australia. Using notions of sustainable agriculture and multifunctional rural transitions to explore the geohistorical development trajectory of the region, it discusses the tensions and opportunities inherent to the future of farming in the Mid North and their impact on community development. We aim to contribute to a wider reflexion on the role of territoriality in the sustainable food transition debate, and its relevance in a traditionally productivist but marginal landscape. The paper proposes an extensive review of the historical, agricultural, socio-economic and institutional contexts of regional Australia before discussing the farming future(s) of the Mid North. We use a typology of 'modes of occupance' to reflect upon the compatibility between the emergence of differentiated multifunctional rural spaces in the Mid North and the realisation of agri-food sustainability transitions across its territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The policy priorities of European Union Regional Policy, particularly the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), shifted significantly between the 2000–06 and 2007–13 programming periods. The former period was based on a redistributive mechanism favouring the least favoured regions; the latter period was based mainly on growth-oriented objectives for all regions across the European Union. Focusing upon islands, mountains and sparsely populated regions, this paper explores the extent to which the shift in policy focus towards promoting 'growth' influenced the way in which the ERDF was used (or not) in these regions. The findings raise a number of policy insights related to addressing the inherent 'territorial tensions' in European Union Regional Policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses to what extent Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) are applicable in sparsely populated areas (SPA) departing from the S3 concept's theoretical background and the experiences of S3 implementation in five European SPA. It was found that S3 has induced a transition in how innovation is addressed, for example, through a more decentralized support system and more proactive approaches to natural resource management unlocking new market opportunities for bio-based innovations. Finally, the research noted a drive to find new governance mechanisms (multi-actor, multi-sectoral and multilevel), in order to sustain human capital development, the most critical resource in the SPA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The smart specialization literature has hardly addressed the role of geography in promoting novel approaches to local and regional innovation processes beyond classic clustering approaches. Based on empirical observations from five sparsely populated regions, the present article proposes original insights that contribute to the theoretical debate on the place-based nature and spatial dimension of entrepreneurial discovery, the key functional mechanism behind smart specialization. First, it advocates the added-value of integrating strategic spatial planning approaches at different stages of smart specialization implementation, from design to operationalization. Second, it suggests that more effective ways of creating domains through shared knowledge bases of existing sectors should aim at promoting collaboration between second-tier economic agents. Finally, the specificity of the territorial preconditions found in sparsely populated regions brings to the fore new forms of proximity relations based on institutional, cognitive and organizational proximity rather than on geographical clustering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The establishment of inter-firm networks is a key resource for the competitiveness of small firms. The literature on small firm networking stresses the importance of building a balanced network of regional and extra-regional networks in order to engender optimal levels of firm performance. In peripheral regions, the academic debate is focused on understanding how geographical remoteness affects the spatial orientation of networks of small firms. Based on the analysis of survey responses and financial accounts of 26 small manufacturing firms located in Sweden's northern periphery, the study investigates how the spatial configuration of networks, and particularly their regional and international components, is related to other aspects of the firms, such as geographical location or level of performance. The study shows that increased geographical remoteness tends to promote the establishment of international relations instead of hindering them and that peripheral small firms able to penetrate international markets tend to achieve higher levels of productivity. The subsequent discussion stresses the need to rethink the spatiality of policies promoting small firm networks, from a locally-bound to a more diversified, internationalised one. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article explores the reasons behind the success on the use of polycentric development in processes surrounding the implementation of the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESPD), then investigates how the notion of polycentricity could be further developed. It also describes the situation of the issue of polycentricity as it relates to the rise of a European spatial policy discourse and planning debates.