Development of Innovation Economy - Activity of Local Government in Poland

Purpose: The paper aimed to check the activities of local governments contributing to the development of the innovation economy in Poland as well as to find the answer to the questions if local governments both support innovations, as well as implement innovations themselves. Moreover, the purpose of the paper was to find out if activities of local governments depend on their type (rural, urban, urban-rural) or not? Approach/Methodology/Design: In order to achieve that the method of desk research, quantitative and qualitative research were used. The first part of the research was based on a literature review and the second concerned the development of the survey questionnaire based on the literature review. The questionnaire survey was developed and the whole population (2479) of local governments in Poland, was investigated, in early - using the CAWI method. Findings: We have got the answers from 453 local governments. The conducted analysis showed what kind of innovation is undertaken by Polish local governments frequently, we also find out what kind of activities they undertake to increase the innovation economy. Practical Implications: LGUs should continue implementing the innovations resulting from ICT infrastructure and e-government at local level development. Both the world trends as well as last pandemic time confirmed the need of boosting innovations in this area. Secondly, the LG authorities should cooperate with business actors, coming from the other public sector, academia, and civil society. Originality/Value: The research has enabled to develop a conceptual understanding of the relationship between local government and innovative activities.