Dima Yankova and co-author Milad Abbasiharofteh have published an article in a spacial issue of Spatial Economic Analysis. Their study looks into the collaborative behaviour of EU Framework Programme beneficiaries in regional R&D networks, showing that they are more active in forming regional ties than non-FP firms, especially when academic intermediaries are involved. The analysis further indicates that beneficiaries tend to collaborate primarily among themselves, which limits opportunities for knowledge diffusion among firms that do not benefit from the international collaboration premium.

European innovation policy combines place-based and spatially blind instruments that operate under distinct logics. Building synergies between them requires not only regulatory alignment, but a better understanding of how economic actors interact across policy levels. This study examines how companies’ participation in the European Framework Programmes (FPs) influences their propensity to engage in regional research and development (R&D) partnerships, supported by cohesion policy. We analyse longitudinal data on Valencian firms using inferential network analysis (i.e., temporal exponential random graph models). Results indicate that FP beneficiaries are more active in regional tie formation than non-FP firms, especially when academic intermediaries are involved. Yet, they also tend to collaborate with each other, limiting opportunities for knowledge diffusion among firms that do not benefit from the international collaboration premium.