ABSTRACT
The triple helix model was derived from New England university-industry-government efforts, from the 1920s, to renew a declining industrial economy, convened by the region's political leadership. This chapter argues that in nature and human society many phenomena are self-organized, but it needs an organized acceleration process and innovation organizers to fulfill innovation-driven economic development strategy. The triple helix dynamic from university-industry-government interactions drove the development, if not the origins, of Silicon Valley. The lesson of the triple helix is to examine strengths and weaknesses and fill gaps in "Innovation Systems", whether publicly recognized as highly successful, declining or emergent. The chain-link innovation model, linking demand-side firm innovation to supply-side academic invention, captured only part of this dynamic. The cluster of firms that emanated from this triple helix interaction acquired the label of Silicon Valley in 1971.
