Spatial perspectives on knowledge brokers: Evidence from Brussels

Nicola Francesco Dotti and Andre Spithoven

ULB Institutional Repository from ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles

Abstract: Knowledge brokers have emerged as a new type of actors shaping scientific production, influencing science–policy relationships, and thereby contributing to regional competitiveness. Yet, the spatial dimension of these knowledge brokers has received little attention. Using Framework Programme participations in European cities, we analyse and discuss the location strategy of knowledge brokers, highlighting the importance of co-location with the funding source. Our findings show that knowledge brokers are clustered in Brussels, and not elsewhere, to be closer to the European Commission in order to access strategic, informal and tacit information, while contributing to the construction of transnational R&D networks. While this ‘local buzz’ has positive side effects on the regional innovation system of Brussels; knowledge brokers emerge as a new type of spatially clustered actors shaping the distribution of EU funding for ‘European knowledge pipelines’.

Keywords: Brussels; Europe; Framework Programme; Knowledge brokers; local buzz (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cse, nep-geo, nep-knm, nep-sbm and nep-ure
Note: SCOPUS: ar.j
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published in: Environment & planning A (2017) v.49 n° 10,p.2203-2222

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
Journal Article: Spatial perspectives on knowledge brokers: Evidence from Brussels (2017)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ulb:ulbeco:2013/260690

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
http://hdl.handle.ne ... lb.ac.be:2013/260690

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in ULB Institutional Repository from ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Benoit Pauwels ().