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Abstract
In recent decades, research has begun to examine the concept of the regional policy mix and its implications for regional innovation. While this has highlighted the role of interactions between multilevel policy instruments and the potential for duplication and synergies, it has tended to underplay the contribution of policy actors to managing such policy mix processes. This paper seeks to add to this literature by introducing the concept of boundary work, viewing it as a form of agency practice seeking to create, maintain, and disrupt instruments within the policy mix. Through a case study of digital technology diffusion instruments in Wales (UK), this paper examines the actors, practices, and effects of boundary work in the regional policy mix. The findings show that boundary work can help manage tensions in the policy mix through anticipatory practices but that complexity and uncertainty in the regional innovation policy mix present ongoing challenges to policymakers.

AbstractPolicy entrepreneurs have been identified as playing an important role in the emergence of public policies for innovation. Despite the growing number of studies, the role of context has only recently begun to be explored in detail. This article contributes by investigating the interplay between the institutional context and the strategies of policy entrepreneurs, in the successful introduction of new policy ideas for services innovation. Building on insights from institutional theory, it argues that policy entrepreneurs are embedded in a multidimensional context of field-level conditions, multi-level standard operating procedures for policy development, and the social position of actors. It explores the activities of policy entrepreneurs in two countries—Finland and Ireland—and finds that differences in the institutional context help explain why some entrepreneurs are able to develop and implement new policies, while others fail. The article draws on comparative case study evidence including documentary analysis and interviews.

This paper examines the policy mix for broadband infrastructure deployment, and asks what role is there for coordination agents. While research has begun to examine coordination of policy, analysis has largely focused on organization and structures. This paper seeks to develop this further by examining the informal role that coordination actors play in managing synergies and tensions in the policy mix. The research highlights shared synergies in policy objectives for broadband deployment at multiple levels of governance – EU, UK, regional and local authority. Tensions, however, are found in the deployment process at the regional level, as broadband policy objectives interact with those for highways and planning agendas. In seeking to manage these tensions it highlights three coordination roles – champion, troubleshooter and monitor - and shows how these help to address conflicts and tensions that emerge. While the research suggests such tensions are impossible to fully eliminate, the findings show how the work of these informal actors helps to mediate their effects and support the deployment of broadband. These findings are drawn from an in-depth study of broadband policy in Wales between 2012 and 2017, including interviews with the policy community, analysis of news articles and review of policy documentation.

In spite of a growth in interest in the implications of networks for regional development, those studies which closely examine applications of learning networks to peripheral regions are still few in number. The authors review how peripheral regions are less favoured in terms of technological adaptation and innovation, and they identify key tasks that network programmes need to perform. The authors consider two typical models of networks that target an industry, one programme calling for participation from all relevant sectors in the industry and the other focusing on a particular firm and its suppliers. Two network programmes in Wales are closely examined. The authors suggest that compared with the other model the 'supply-chain model' is a more reliable option for peripheral regions in producing tangible benefits to a wider population of its members in the relatively short

Across the United Kingdom public (and private) resources have been targeted on improving broadband infrastructure. While this has served to provide new opportunities for households and firms, there has been some debate around the ability of firms to take full advantage of the opportunities that arise through this evolving infrastructure. In this respect, there has been particular debate on how far small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have taken up the challenge of effectively engaging with the resource. Drawing on the case of Wales, this paper explores the digital maturity of a sample of Welsh SMEs. The paper provides evidence of how far SMEs are successfully engaging with the new opportunities available through broadband, and develops a typology of firms according to their engagement. The paper then explores how these differences produce policy implications.