Consolidating Mechanisms for Co-creating Innovation in Rural Areas: How Universities and Public Institutions Can Bring Value to the Territory Through Collaboration and Knowledge Exchange

This article explores the mechanisms enacted to co-create innovation in rural areas, focusing on how universities and public institutions can collaborate and add value to their territory. The case study investigates three agrifood projects carried out in the Marche region between 2017 and 2022 to analyse the impact of university-public institution collaboration on knowledge sharing and on the development of a regional innovation ecosystem. In particular, the university appears to act as a facilitator in the knowledge co-creation process, supporting the analysis of bottom-up community issues, and identifying strategies to enhance rural innovation capacity. The study employs qualitative research methods, particularly the key informant technique, to understand collaboration opportunities, approaches for knowledge exchange, and evaluation of outcomes. Following this framework, the results are expected to contribute to a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses emerging from this collaboration, as well as consolidating the multi-stakeholder approach to enhance the effectiveness of co-creation strategies.