Il rinnovamento dei sentieri di sviluppo locale in Italia: il modello 'University research-centric district' fra difficoltà e opportunità

The socio-economic benefits produced by the university and released into the economic system through higher education, research and technology transfer activities have long been recognized as fundamental inputs for industry innovation. More recently, the focus has progressively shifted to the importance of university-industry relations for local development. A review of the relevant literature has enabled the authors to identify a "university research-centric district" (UCRD) model, which combines some of the basic suggestions proposed by the two threads of literature. The challenges and opportunities of the UCRD model are discussed with reference to the Italian context.