Review of Municipalities and Local Governments Roles in Developing Regional and Urban Innovation Ecosystems (A Comparative Study with Focus on City of Tehran)

Innovation and its dynamics in local and regional economies have brought about widespread changes that have led local governments and municipalities to pursue appropriate policies in the development of innovation. In this regard, cities and local governments, in which the pace of development and implementation of innovation is sometimes more than national levels, has also taken an active interest in supporting innovation (through initiatives such as smart, creative, innovative, etc.). On this basis, this paper proposes a framework for supporting, developing and disseminating innovation that include diverse dimensions: individual entrepreneurs, talents and innovative businesses, infrastructures (smart city and communications), policymaking and governance, market shaping and stimulation, synergy and networking, financing, commercialization infrastructure, education, and research. Based on these dimensions, municipalities have important roles in supporting urban innovation by shaping the market and stimulating innovation demand, providing a platform for the development of innovative businesses, financing and capital provision, promoting innovation and entrepreneurship culture, providing physical and commercialization infrastructure, supporting training, research, networking. A couple of cities with a focus on Tehran have been analyzed in the aforementioned roles