A Develop a comprehensive model for evaluating the performance of regional innovation systems (Case study: Science and Technology Special Region of Yazd)

According to the evidence, there are unbalanced distributions in different geographical areas in terms of level and type of innovative behavior. Regional innovation system, as one of the theories in this field, considers innovation as a process resulting from various factors inside and outside companies. Researchers and government agencies have provided many models for monitoring their regional innovation systems, taking into account the specific characteristics of each region. In this research, by a comprehensive overview of the regional innovation model, has been tried to provide a model based on the context and conditions of the regions in Iran for monitoring of regional innovation systems. In the first stage, after reviewing the literature, interviewing the experts and then thematic analyzing the content of the obtained data, initial Dimensions and indicators were identified Then, a Fuzzy Delphi technique and a seven-scale questionnaire were used to test the results and expert opinion. Finally, after the extraction and correction of the indicators to evaluate the regional innovation systems, a comprehensive model was identified in 5 dimensions, 20 indicators and 180 sub-indicators. The proposed regional innovation system assessment model consists of firms' behavior and regional interactions, economy, Human Capital, Innovative outputs, Locational Features, that each dimension has its own indicators and sub-indicators, each one is discussed in the paper. Finally, the regional innovation system of Yazd province as a special science and technology region was evaluated using this model. The evaluation results showed that the Locational Features and firms' behavior and regional interactions are in a better position than other dimensions, although the progress rate of all dimensions is less than 50%. Also, according to these results, the dimensions of innovative outputs and economy have the least amount of progress.