A Preliminary Study of Innovation Governance of Local Governments in Taiwan
Bao-Chung Han*
Abstract
In the 1970s, Taiwan’s central government started to develop high-tech industries through a centralized approach. It created large-scale high-tech clusters which highlighted strong networks among the state, academia, labs and industries. The centralized way of developing the high-tech sector in Hsinchu area was lauded as the cornerstone of Taiwan’s national innovation system. The HsinChu experience was later imitated when Taiwan established similar technological parks in central and southern Taiwan. Now, many counties and cities in Taiwan have set up their local science and industrial parks, nurturing many distinctive industries and gradually developing them into regional innovation systems. As local government agencies were strengthened, innovation was no longer monopolized by the central government. Many local governments invest heavily in innovation for the sake of increasing competitiveness and tax revenue. The fruitful results of innovation would be regarded as an achievement of the local government, which plays three roles in innovation sphere in Taiwan -- reactive accommodation, active participation and proactive innovation. The academic studies of innovation systems in Taiwan mainly concentrate on national and regional levels, the industrial perspectives, cluster effects, and innovation management and little attention has been paid to the innovation governance and policies of local governments. This article, as a preliminary study, reviews innovation studies in Taiwan and demonstrate the importance of innovation initiatives of local governments. This paper concludes with some reflections on the research related to innovation and governance.
Keywords: national system of innovation, regional system of innovation, local government, local governance
* Associate Professor, the Center for General Education, National Central University.
http://www.exam.gov.tw/public/Data/311279401571.pdf