Social and institutional impacts of mersin regional innovation strategy: Stakeholders' perspective


Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Mimarlık Fakültesi, Şehir ve Bölge Planlama Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2010

Öğrenci: HÜLYA METİN

Danışman: SERAP KAYASÜ

Özet:

This study explores the Regional Innovation System (RIS) approach which is an efficient policy tool for the achievement of regional development in the global competition environment and aims to evaluate the social and institutional gains of Mersin RIS following the implementation of Mersin Regional Innovation Strategy (RIStr). An analysis of Mersin RIStr, which is the first and the only RIStr of Turkey, has been taken as a case study. Mersin RIStr, as being a project supported in the context of European Union 6. Framework program, aims to improve the regional innovation infrastructure and capacity of Mersin. RIS is not only technological but is also a social process and accordingly requires intense regional interaction networks. In this context, the impact of RIStr on the improvement of RIS in Mersin has been evaluated through the determinants of new institutional structures, improvements in lobor market conditions, newly occured cooperation networks and newly produced project-products-services-skills. Indepth interview method has been used for the survey. Interviews were carried out with the stakeholders of strategy project. Throughout the survey, gains of the region in general terms and gains of the specified leading sectors; i.e. tourism, logistic and agro-food, have been evaluated from the perspective of stakeholders. Social and institutional achievements of Mersin RIS have been evaluated in detail with the aim of presenting the effectiveness and weaknesses of strategy as being a new model case for the other regions in Turkey.