Selected models of innovation governance worldwide and an adaptive policy framework for Vietnam

Abstract

This article analyses selected models of local-level innovation governance and proposes an adaptive policy framework for Viet Nam. Against the backdrop of a global shift from national innovation systems (NIS) to regional innovation systems (RIS), the paper argues that Viet Nam’s main bottleneck lies not in a lack of policies, but in the persistence of a hierarchical, administrative “management” paradigm that conflicts with the inherently risk-taking nature of innovation. Using comparative case-study and systems-analysis methods, the paper examines three representative international models: (1) the “Developmental and Experimental State” model of Shenzhen (China); (2) the “Distributed Network and Specialisation-Oriented Coordination” model of Baden-Württemberg (Germany); and (3) the “Public-Private Partnership and Smart Specialisation” model of the European Union/Basque Country. The study identifies three major institutional bottlenecks in Viet Nam: (1) rigid public finance mechanisms for R&D; (2) fragmented cross-sectoral coordination; and (3) weak linkages among universities, research institutes and enterprises due to the absence of effective intermediary organisations. Building on these findings, the paper proposes an “asymmetric innovation governance” framework for Viet Nam that differentiates among localities according to their innovation capabilities. For leading provinces and cities, the paper recommends piloting Local Innovation Councils and institutional sandboxes to enable controlled policy experimentation. For follower localities, it recommends adopting Smart Specialisation (S3) processes and restructuring intermediary organisations along Fraunhofer-type governance principles to strengthen application-oriented R&D and enterprise linkages.

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