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It is now widely accepted that process-oriented measures are to be preferred to specific goals in measuring sustainable development(SD). The dynamic nature of SD makes the process an indefinite one, and makes it imperative that mechanisms for continuous learning be in place. Building adaptive capability into a system characterized by uncertainty and unpredictability calls for innovation based on stakeholder participation, the use of local skills and knowledge, the creation of supportive institutions, and a social milieu of cooperation and trust. In view of the emerging phenomenon of powerful regions particularly in North America, Europe, and Asia, we focus on the regional level in this paper and posit that Regional Innovation Systems (RIS) are critical to a flexible and learning-based sustainable development. RIS build on capabilities, recent or historical, by taking advantage of global market opportunities and by creating a competitive advantage based on economic, social, political, and cultural commonalities. Regions are spatially more spread out than clusters, resulting in a need for wider stakeholder involvement, greater barriers to sharing of knowledge, tendencies to strike separate deals with external stakeholders, a greater need to overcome the “tragedy of the commons” syndrome, and so on. The concept of “foresight” in regional governance could contribute significantly to the creation of vibrant, absorptive, and sustainable regions. The paper provides an overview of RIS, the basic elements of their successful functioning, and strategies to address challenges and achieve competitive advantage. After offering our perspective on sustainable development, we develop the relationship between RIS and SD articulating how the performance of the former would go toward the achievement of the latter.

Stream: Cultural Sustainability

Paper: A paper has not yet been submitted.

I have been at LeMoyne for about 20 years during which time I have taught Strategic Management,International Business and Cultures,Leadership,etc.I am presently holder of the first endowed Chair in Business at LeMoyne.During 2002-'03,I was on a Fulbright Professorship to Poland.
I have published articles on Technology Strategies for developing Nations(East-West Journal of Business,Apr04, 05),Technology Strategy for Poland(Technology in Society,Nov 05),On Management Information Systems specific to cultures(Journal of Computer Information Systems,2004),and so on.

The Centre for Japanese and East Asian Studies of which Prof. Taplin is Director won Exporter of the Year in Partnership in Trading/Pathfinder for the UK in the year 2000. She received her doctorate from the London School of Economics and is the author/editor of 14 books and numerous articles. The most recent are, Exploiting Patent Rights and a New Climate for Innovation in Japan (London: Intellectual Property Institute 2003); Valuing Intellectual Property in Japan, Britain and the United States (London RoutledgeCurzon:2004); Risk Management and Innovation in Japan Britain and the United States and Japanese Telecommunications Market and Policy in Transition both published by ( London: Routledge/Curzon 2005, 2006). Prof. Taplin's next edited volume
to be published by Routledge in October 2006 is Innovation and Business Partnering in Japan, Europe and the United States.

Prof. Taplin has been Editor of the Journal of Interdisciplinary Economics for 11 years. Currently she is a Research Fellow at Birkbeck College, University of London and the University of Leicester. She was recently appointed Visiting Professor at the School of International Business and Management, University of Warsaw, Poland.