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The question of how universities do stimulate regional economic development is mainly inquired in studies focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship. In these studies universities are seen as important actors within regional innovation systems (RIS). Within these RIS universities fulfill besides their training and education (human capital) function a knowledge production and transfer function. Studies on sustainable regional development are additionally focusing more and more on governance issues and the role of different stakeholders within governance networks and their ability to contribute to a more sustainable development at the regional level. Universities are important governance stakeholders, since their administrators and faculty members are eligible partners for regional governments. Here it is mainly their research capacity which is often used for expertise, e.g. to contribute to regional economic development plans. The role of institutions in fostering sustainable development at the regional level gained, especially in Europe, major importance since multi-level governance (MLG) is the number one concept in the European Union regional policy. The focus on institutional cooperation and how this network cooperation leads to a more effective implementation of sustainable development is the subject of several research agendas focusing on governance for sustainable development. There is a lack of knowledge and expertise with respect to the links between certain institutions and the broader society, and hence their ability to foster sustainable regional development. In this regard universities can serve as facilitators between societal and other institutional actors. In order to fill this gap the question of how the sustainable policy implementation process could be supported by universities acting in partnership with other institutional actors will be addressed. We will introduce an analytical framework which would allow us to test hypotheses extracted out of existing theoretical and empirical literature about universities as key actors in advancing sustainable development. The goal is to filter both factors enhancing sustainable development and obstacles and barriers that are hindering sustainable development.

Innovation processes and related spillovers are of eminent importance in a modern economy. How do they relate to spatial structures and environmental factors? The papers analyse innovation processes and spillovers in the economy from various angles, focussing mainly on regional and environmental aspects. Among others they touch issues on university spillovers, urban tourism, highway investments, industry clusters, and econometrics. An introductory chapter sets the stage for the following discussion, and a concluding chapter evaluates the achievements. Contributors from Austria, other European countries and from the U.S.A. discuss this question from various angles: among others universities, urban tourism, highway investments, and industry clusters. The volume demonstrates the relevance of the concept of spillovers, particularly in the context of innovations, and stimulates future work in this area.

The paper is based on an institutional survey in Austria. The aim of the survey was to identify different types of regional institutions - traditional versus new innovative institutions. The main research focus concentrated on new challenges in regional development processes resulting from the EU-strategy to foster sustainable regional development in the member states. As a consequence the question of the relevance of completely new types of institutions arises on the one hand. These new types are directly linked to the EU structural fund policy, e.g. LEADER+ manager, EU regional manager. With respect to this focus these institutions mainly concentrate on EU programmes and initiatives. On the other hand the traditional institutions have their specific focus on e.g. tourism, economic development etc. not necessarily with any direct link to EU-programmes. Therefore this contribution starts with a general institutional analysis (i.e. organisational attributes, activity profiles, regional embeddedness, position in the regional stakeholder network, etc.) to find differences between traditional and new innovative institutions. Based on these attributes we will present the institutional landscape in Austrian regions. This landscape consists of the above mentioned traditional and the new innovative institutions. Are these co-existing institutions able to concentrate the top-down (i.e. regional policy) and the bottom-up (i.e. project initiatives) interests in order to foster sustainable regional initiatives' For answering this question we haven chosen several case-studies in different Austrian regions. This case study analysis will be presented as follows: * Strengths and weaknesses of different institutional settings (e.g. various competing institutions versus one strong institution) * Comparison of strategic decisions in the case study regions * Is there any ideal solution identifiable for other regions'

According to the current focus of the regional policy of the European Union on sustainable regional development the question arises - what are the key-elements to achieve a sustainable regional pathway? The identification of these key-factors is a challenge for the regional policy in each member state. One elementary key-factor is the promotion of new technologies as part of a regional innovation strategy. Regional institutions which support environmental improvements within regions can be identified as key-actors for achieving a sustainable regional pathway. This contribution focuses mainly on the analysis of these institutions within Austrian regions that are analysed within a research project funded by the Austrian National Bank ("Jubiläumsfonds der Österreichischen Nationalbank"). The main objectives are the following: (a) Identification of those institutions relevant for fostering new technologies to achieve a sustainable regional development. (b) Typology of these institutions to gain an appreciation of the relevant policies and activities of the regional development agencies in regions in fostering within companies new technologies which support environmental improvements, both in their own regions and elsewhere in the European Union. (c) Analysis of the institutions activities (activity profiles) (d) To foster an exchange of information on policy in these activities between the agencies. (e) Identification of network activities between different types of regional institutions. The main research question focusses on the relevance of existing regional institutions and their ability of fulfilling the challenges of sustainable regional development goals. Their role within the regional innovation system and their flexibility to change their target group profiles seems relevant for successful applications of sustainable regional development strategies. The question of the relevance of completely new types of institutions or only adapted profiles of still existing institutions needs to be answered. The paper will focus on the Austrian institutional landscape. Several types of regional institutions will be analysed within a survey based on standardised questionnaires. Within a second step of analysis those types of institutions with explicitly focuses on sustainable regional projects will be further analysed with in-depth case studies.