Abstract
The aim of this case study was to show that the targeted effort of key stakeholders knowledgeable of the state-of-the-art conceptual developments in the sphere of regional development and innovation support can bear substantial fruits in case the trust of key regional public authorities as well as of major private companies is gradually built. Nowadays, the South Moravian Region ranks among the relatively developed Czech regions.
The importance of the South Moravian Region is primarily based on a strong position of Brno, which is the second most important Czech administrative, economic and cultural centre with a high concentration of advanced activities (ICT, specialised services, research, etc.). Moreover, the region has become attractive for the localisation of direct foreign investments with a focus on the activities with a higher value-added (precision instruments, power engineering, and industrial engineering producing technology for complete plants).
These achievements are at least to a certain extent attributable to a long-standing support from the regional authorities (esp. the Regional Office), where one can see a distinctive effort at further development of the regional innovation policy. Currently, the fourth generation of the regional innovation strategy designed under the "smart specialisation" flag is being implemented.
However, to succeed, it is vital to achieve a real understanding and consensus on the mission and vision of the region in the years to come among key stakeholders. Recently (May 2018), a new, quite ambitious vision of JIC was presented at a gathering celebrating 15th anniversary of JIC when more than 300 regional stakeholders come together.
In particular, the following new vision has been accepted: "to built an open innovation ecosystem that will become a home to global entrepreneurs, and which will inspire the world".