The Northern Netherlands has a strong innovation ecosystem around a number of established sectors where there are robust relationships between HEIs and companies with innovative infrastructure. In the long-standing culture of collaboration of the regional innovation ecosystem, the introduction of the RIS3 has constituted an opportunity to a concerted effort to streamline innovation governance and to integrate activities to stimulate innovation. The key regional economic development issue remains the fact that it is a relatively sparse economic environment, which challenges the regional innovation governance.

The Northern Netherlands has the potential to function as a knowledge economy more efficiently at the level of the North through a better integration of the provincial knowledge economies. The connectedness of SMEs into regional innovation networks can be improved building a natural “innovation escalator” by which individual connections with SMEs grow, become networks and evolves into key regional strengths. The region attracts a growing number of talented students, which can help build stronger connections between HEIs and regional innovators to strengthen firms’ innovation capacity and help in their retention. Finally, HEIs occupy a strong position in the existing regional innovation ecosystem, as a site for experimentation and reflection, and it is key that they are encouraged to continue that work.

• Improving the connectedness of SMEs into regional innovation networks and activities is one important challenge. The introduction of a natural “innovation escalator” by which individual connections with SMEs grow, become networks and evolve into key regional strengths needs to be addressed. It requires the management of the “micro-discouragements” or individual disincentives to SMEs to be connected that together add up to create a substantive drag in the evolution of the regional innovation ecosystem.  
• The “brain drain” is identified as a challenge and is not an easy one to address. International and local students choose the Northern Netherlands to acquire a high-quality, good value and prestigious education, however in many cases international students decide to go back to their home countries and local students look for wider opportunities in capital cities or bigger urban areas.  Students can serve to provide “temporary-permanent” connections between HEIs and regional innovators, creating a virtuous cycle which upgrades demand, increases firm innovation, and indirectly increases students’ retention in participating businesses.  
• The key challenge for the Northern Netherlands in the coming period is achieving a higher degree of integration, and in particular ensuring that regional innovation strategies stimulate positive synergies across the region. The role for HEIs is key in contributing to these collective activities in stimulating regional cooperation. They occupy a strong position in the existing regional innovation ecosystem, as a site for experimentation and reflection, and it is key that they are encouraged to continue this work.