The study, commissioned by the Israel National Council for Research and Development (MOLMOP) at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Space, was aimed at providing decision makers with an updated account of the innovation and R&D activities in Israel’s peripheral areas. The study, completed in 2016, identified the potential of Israel’s peripheral areas to stimulate innovative activities, while providing an understanding of the challenges and barriers.
The theory on the geography of innovation indicates that peripheral regions suffer from structural disadvantage, as the emergence of innovation tends to diminish with the distance from metropolitan areas. A series of indicators, variables, and models presented in the study, confirm this tendency in Israel. Despite the gap, there is an increase in innovative activity in the periphery, in particular in the fields of high technology. This could attributed to government policy, which in recent years has increased its support of innovative activity in the periphery. However, it is not clear whether sufficient support is given, in light of the needs and limitations of the periphery, as shown by the study.
The study recommends possible policy directions, mainly aimed at establishing a regional innovation authority that will be responsible for forming and updating an innovation database focusing on the periphery. This database is necessary for policy-making outlined by this regional authority.
