Paper prepared for Presentation at the 44 th Annual ISA Convention on “The Construction and Cumulation of Knowledge”, February 25 th – March 1 st 2003, Portland, Oregon Innovating Nations and Regions 1 For the panel entitled “Globalization of Knowledge, Regionalization of Power” Lee W. McKnight, Syracuse University Pratana Vongpivat, Thai Ministry of Science and Technology Audrey Selian, Tufts University Diana Anius, Tufts University Introduction ‘Mobile regions’ are defined by their information infrastructure, and by the nature of the policies, regulatory frameworks, and social capital that underpin the existence of that infrastructure. (McKnight, Vaaler, Schrage, and Katz, 2002) They are built upon the activities and attitudes of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, small/medium-sized enterprises, and larger private sector players that differentiate the national and regional innovation systems that lie at the core of these critical infrastructures. This paper * will argue that political and economic environme nts have a critical impact in defining levels of technology adoption and innovation in a given nation or region, and that this innovation in turn is a determining factor in industrial growth and national development. 1 Based on a previously published paper entitled Mobile Regions and Nations: Entrepreneurship in Information and Communication Technologies in National Innovation System Models for Trends in Communication Special Issue on “ICT Clusters: Entrepreneurs, Venture Capital, & Networks” * This paper builds upon and applies the theoretical framework of the national innovation system developed by Pratana Vongpivat (See: Pratana Vongpivat, A National Innovation System Model: Industrial Development in Thailand, Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, May 2002), and applies it at the regional level of analysis to better understand the roles of ICTs within technology innovation and economic development.