Decentralisation of science and innovation policies in emerging countries: three key challenges that deserve further attention

Previous research analysing the decentralisation of science and innovation policies has focused on the experiences of developed countries. The objective of this article is to explore the implications for emerging countries, which have decentralised innovation policies more recently than high-income countries, but face more acute shortages of critical mass and institutional capacities. Building on the notions of multilevel governance, policy mix and smart specialisation, the aim of this exploratory study is to discuss three key challenges associated with the decentralisation of innovation policies in emerging countries: 1) finding the right division of responsibilities between levels of government; 2) implementing national-regional coordination mechanisms; 3) using regional innovation policy to reduce cross-regional income gaps. These challenges are illustrated through several examples and short case studies from different emerging countries.