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A case study of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship is presented in this article. From the European Union’s perspective, Lower Silesia is an example of a less developed region; however, it is also an example of a region that has improved significantly in regards to development due to a change in its innovation model. The purpose of this article is to identify the factors that have had an impact on the change in the region’s development path (stimulants), as well as to indicate the weaknesses and barriers limiting further development. This article is based on a review of the literature, statistical data analysis as well as structured, in-depth interviews that were conducted with representatives of regional and local authorities, scientific units and business-related institutions. Recommendations for the regional policy of Lower Silesia have been formulated on this basis.

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.

The article presents the process and effects of the emergence of smart specialisations in the Silesian and Warmian-Masurian Voivodeships. The starting point is the analysis of smart specialisations in the context of the development theories, which is followed by a discussion of the specialisations of the two voivodeships. This leads to the establishment of several doubts concerning the future situation of the peripheral region presented in the article.