Roland Scherer

The paper analyses cross-border co-operation with regard to its degree of formalization. Herewith, the focus is not on single cross-border organizations, but on the encompassing governance systems in the respective regions. That means that the specific combination of differently organized cross-border arrangements is analyzed. Cross-border governance systems are facing multiple governance challenges which ask either for a certain degree of institutionalization or for more informal solutions. Based on an empirical comparison of the two experienced, but differently organized, cross-border regions in Europe the Lake Constance Region and the Upper-Rhine Region, the paper illustrates that the organizational variation of cross-border governance systems show specific patterns. From these findings, first arguments are deduced for balancing formalized and more informal co-operations in cross-border governance systems.

During the last decades a paradigmatic change in regional policies has occurred: Cohesion oriented policies gave place to policies focusing on economic growth by innovation. In consequence also the consignees of regional policies changed: in the past public institutions responsible for infrastructural measures received most of regional funding; now mainly enterprises are addressed. Though, located enterprises do not automatically get involved with regions' development processes. How can they be mobilized for these issues? Primarily on the base of the Swiss experiences with ist innovation oriented New Regional Policy (NRP) the article first illustrates the status quo, which role enterprises currently play in regional innovation policies. Secondly, the crucial factors are discussed which determine the interplay of entrepreneurial and public rationalities in the context of regional innovation policies. And third the article derives suggestions from these assessments for the design of regional innovation policies and corresponding regional governance structures.