Introduction

This book is written in the intersection of territorial development (TD) and action research (AR). Our main thesis is that territorial development is constructed through the engagement of the people living and working in the territory. Innovation, which we will relate closely to development, is a result of social processes. We believe that people have the ability to break historical trends and patterns and establish new institutions and economic order. Action research fits with this approach to territorial development because action research is research carried out in real time with participants in change processes. We also believe that researchers, research organisations and universities have a responsibility to engage in their host territories. It is through participation, collaboration and responsible engagement that a common future can be constructed. This can only be done through micro actions by people who trust each other and are aligned despite having conflicting perspectives. There are no recipes for territorial development. Territories are different, and it is not possible to copy and paste successful policies. One-size innovation policies do not fit all territories (Tödtling and Trippl, 2005), and learning from differences is as important as learning from success (Ennals and Gustavsen, 1999). One of the roles of research is to engage in territorial development processes with policy makers and other regional actors so that a socially responsible common future can be created for the people who are working and living in a territory.