Policies aimed at stimulating innovation in less developed regions (LDRs) have become central to European regional policy in the past decade, especially since the introduction of the concept of smart specialisation (RIS3), and more broadly, of the idea of place-based policies (Barca 2009, Foray 2015, Morgan 2017). The predominance of innovation policy within regional development frameworks is the result of trends both in academic and policy circles. Theoretically, since the late 1980s most concepts and approaches within economic geography and regional studies have focused on the endogenous characteristics of regions as an explanation for regional performance (Pike et al 2016, Scott 2000). Among these characteristics we find the presence of a culture conducive to innovation and entrepreneurship, degrees of openness and networking, or interpersonal trust. Policy has also evolved in the same direction, after the end of the post-war Keynesian consensus with its emphasis on regional redistribution, and a shift towards stimulating entrepreneurialism, innovation, and export-led growth in LDRs (Pike et al 2016, 2007).