Conceptualising the opening phase of regional development as the enactment of a ‘collective identity’

This paper argues that processes of regional development have to be conceptualised in a novel way. The dominant approach displays a bias towards a macro-perspective, often reproduces a centre — periphery model, and favours an economism that aims at the production of instruments for policy makers and academics alike, both enjoying the convenience of (bureaucratic and analytical) distance. Instead we propose a constructionist approach. This is developed through a critical discussion of the received view, and builds upon the central concepts of ‘enacted collective identity’, ‘articulation/translation’, and an upgrading of the importance of time in the sense of timing. We limit this study, which includes two empirical cases, to the ‘opening phase’ of a regional development process. We identify a new role for the researcher in articulating the need for and opportunities of a regional development, and we stress a more decentralised form of public support.