Regional Science and Industry: From Consultancy to Technology Transfer

In this paper an attempt is made to demonstrate how conventional regional science methods can be adapted for use in business, commerce, and public-sector planning. It is argued that the route to achieving this goal rests, not in developing new methods, but, rather, in gaining a better understanding of the needs of potential users and the environment in which they operate. The argument is developed from the author's considerable experience in constructing intelligence and planning systems for clients in a wide variety of sectors, including retail, financial services, automobile, health, resources, and employment applications in both the United Kingdom and Europe over the past six years. A substantial part of the paper is a reassessment of the contributions that model-based methods can make in a variety of areas. The conditions and attitudes that need to be created and adopted to enable technology transfer to take place are discussed, along with the neglected importance of technology transfer as a worthwhile academic activity.