A Primer on Innovation, Learning and Knowledge Flows

The desire to create innovation and adapt to an increasingly knowledge-­‐intensive society has re-­‐energized scholarship on learning and learning systems within the field of regional development. Parallel to rapid innovation in products and processes, social-­‐ecological changes also are occurring at an increasing pace. This requires that our ability to learn, innovate and adapt also rapidly change. In short, knowledge economies and, more broadly, knowledge societies require networks or communities of learning. This ‘primer’ created by the Canadian Regions project unpacks concepts related innovation and learning in rural regions.