Nanotechnology as a proxy to capture regional economic development? New findings from the European Union Framework Programmes

The European Union has included nanotechnology in the Key Enabling Technologies helping countries to tackle current and future societal challenges thanks to their applications in multiple industries. Furthermore, one theme named “Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and New Production Technologies” was included in the Sixth and Seventh Framework Programmes with the purpose of financing organizations specifically involved in nanotechnology activities. The empirical analysis presented in this paper aims to reconstruct the participation of the Italian private, public and public-private organizations at the regional level in the European Union nanotechnology network. The hypothesis is that a high share of private organizations and a well-balanced proportion of private and public entities are beneficial for knowledge circulation potentially leading to innovation. This paper confirms the findings of other recent studies by revealing that the participation of private, public and public-private organizations at the European Union level overlaps the distribution of the nanotechnology activities in Italy and the regional disparities in the country. More in general, this paper strengthens the concept that the interdisciplinary nature of nanotechnology and the collaborations fostered by the Framework Programmes enable researchers to capture regional economic development from a global viewpoint.