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Regional development is a complex challenge for policymakers in government, business, and industrial leadership. The Fourth Industrial Revolution, labeled Industry 4.0, has created integrated opportunities for a circular economy involving actors from different society strata. This paper presents an integrated approach that combines conventional strategic planning methods with tools adapted to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The regional development methods discussed here are demonstrated with a real‐life case study from a major regional development project initiated by policymakers. The integrated approach presented here lists opportunities and challenges in regional development applications with interest to both researchers and policy makers. The case study is from the North of Israel, which also is called the Galilee. The Galilee is considered a geographical and social peripheral region in Israel, and, as such, it creates significant complexities and challenges for regional development policymakers. As a peripheral region, the Galilee suffers from major weaknesses such as low income, low productivity, poor services, and negative migration, especially of young populations. The paper presents the theoretical foundation of an integrated approach which includes an assessment using the Industrial Maturity for Advanced Manufacturing (IMAM) tool developed at the Samuel Neaman Institute, Technion, Israel. The IMAM scale assesses the maturity and ability of industrial companies to adapt and implement innovative and advanced manufacturing technologies and processes. We suggest that an integrated approach combining a strategic plan and an IMAM assessment can be replicated in other industrial zones.

Conceptual‐Design is an early development phase, where innovation and creativeness shape the future system/product. Model‐Based‐Conceptual‐Design (MBCD) attempts to use best‐practices of Model‐Based‐Systems‐Engineering (MBSE) to gain the envisioned benefits of model connectivity. Using MBSE supporting tools can transform Conceptual‐Design into a digital‐engineered process but may impede creativity and innovation. Concurrently, the design domain offers specific methods and tools for innovative Conceptual‐Design. In the current study, we explore an existing Conceptual‐Design framework and offer MBSE interpretation and tools extensions needed for its digital implementation. Through such exploration we highlight MBCD specific insights and discuss modeling‐innovation interrelations. The implementation was accomplished using a domain‐specific enabling software package on top of a market‐accepted UML/SysML platform, extending the language definitions, where appropriate. The framework guided extensions allow generation of innovative bottom‐up alternatives, solution integration, and solutions' comparison. The use of modeling is shown to offer clearer process definition, specific methods assistance, and alternative ranking—both manually and automatically. Consequently, MBCD is accomplished, which supports innovation, while being digitally connected to full‐scale‐development models and the organizational assets at large. Through integration into the orderly Systems‐Engineering process, traceability is maintained, and repeated iterations are supported, where conceptual decisions may be revisited. Additionally, through the introduction of an assets' catalog, cross‐organizational knowledge sharing is accomplished. The paper presents samples of the extensions, using a simplified example of technology design for Future Firefighting. The value of incorporating Conceptual‐Design specific methodology and tools is evaluated through feedback from multiple domain experts. Discussion and future research directions are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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