Peter Nijkamp, Loet Leydesdorff and Bjørn Asheim presented papers that linked regional growth with wider issues, including 'territorial capital', the production of different forms of knowledge, and the different competitive issues regions face.
Peter Nijkamp presented an analysis of the relationship between knowledge development and regional growth, and asked why the two were not always linked. He went on to argue that different regions had different forms of 'territorial capital' (marked by levels of interaction, exchange, co-operation), adn that this territorial capital was strongly linked to regional growth.
Loet Leydesdorff talked about the challenges of developing a knowledge based economy within a global system, showed how the triple helix model could be used both as an analytical strategy and a development strategy within a knowledge economy, and showed how the model linked manufacturing and knowledge based services.
Bjørn Asheim talked about the different issues regions face in trying to remain competitive, and about how regions can identify their strengths and develop them through an analysis of their people climate, their business climate and their knowledge bases.