Emerging Process of Rural-Based Innovation System: A Taiwan Case Study of "Yilan Experience"

Abstract

Recent studies of "regional innovation system" (RIS) are mostly on technology- driven clusters, but few on demand-driven "rural-based RIS." From the perspectives of value co-creation, there are still few discussed on the rural-based RIS by culture and creative motives. To integrate such theoretical gap, this study grounds on RIS and PPP (publicprivate-partnership) from qualitative research approach, to interpret the case of Yilan- a rural northeastern county in Taiwan- dealing with poverty and financial burden, held a flagship local festival since 1996 International Children's Folklore & Folkgame Festival, to transform its value creation into local economic and social development in the following decades. From the case of Yilan, this study examines the value creation amongst stakeholders from different sectors, and thus induct to the process, approaches, and model of rural-based RIS. Finally, this research elaborates the theories through rural-based RIS, and thus contributes the theoretical and practice implications.