Jason Deegan

PhD Fellowship in Innovation and Regional Studies (285983) | University of Stavanger Job title: PhD Fellowship in Innovation and Regional Studies (285983), Employer: University of Stavanger, Deadline: Thursday, October 16, 2025

PhD fellowship in #Innovaton and #Regional Studies at @unistavanger.bsky.social. Study the #Green Transition and its implications. Join RENOVATE, where true intellectual calibre meets genuine collegiality and warmth.
Deadline for applications: 16 Oct.
Full info: www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...

(På norsk 🇳🇴)

We talk a lot about the future of Norway’s green industries but less so about who will actually build them. Maybe it’s time to focus less on the industries and more on the people and skills behind them in the Green Transition.

www.energiogklima.nomeninger-og-analyse/debatt/vi-sn...

An image showing a Google Scholar profile which has passed 100 citations

Always lovely to see a little progress, and to see research I’ve been involved in, find its place in the academic community 🎉

Onwards and upwards 😊

Something like that 😉

I recognise that visualisation very well 😄

Congrats with the publication 😊

Not my website I’m afraid - somebody just bought the domain.

Looks to be a really interesting new paper - looking forward to checking it out as it’s certainly a question I’ve wondered about quite a lot re: the effects of Smart Specialisation.

Regional #development strategies should identify a place's unique assets & potential—not merely echo its neighbours, say Pylak, @jay-deegan.bsky.social & @tbroekel.bsky.social in @regionalstudies.bsky.social.
Innovation thrives on place-sensitive strategies, not on imitation.
doi.org/10.1080/0034...

Smart Specialisation or smart following? A study of policy mimicry in priority domain selection This paper explores the phenomenon of mimicry in the selection of economic domains for Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) and discusses the regional policy implications of strategic mimicry. By a...

6/ Overall, I really enjoyed working on this paper with @tbroekel.bsky.social & Korneliusz Pylak, and I would encourage you to check out the paper in full:

www.tandfonline.com/eprint/CD4C5...

6/ Such approaches, while perhaps less risky on the surface, undermine the core of the logic for a Smart Specialisation intervention. A particularly relevant question as the concept of Smart Specialisation develops.

5/ So, why then do regions follow peers or role models? It’s oftentimes practical.

Aligning with neighbours or national strategies reduces complexity and feels less risky. But this can lead to homogenisation—regions choosing the same priorities and overlooking what makes them unique.

4/ Follow the Indicators seems like the most logical approach—prioritising strengths, related industries, and economic potential.

It's also much more likely to align closely with the logic of Smart Specialisation.

3/ We found three common approaches to how regions choose their focus areas in S3:

1️⃣ Follow the Peers: Align with neighbours or similar regions.

2️⃣ Follow the Role Models: Emulate successful or popular regions.

3️⃣ Follow the Indicators: Base decisions on data and regional strengths.

2/ Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) are meant to help regions focus on industries where they can have a competitive edge.

However, often, regions rely on what others are doing—aligning with neighbours or successful regions—rather than fully basing their choices on data or unique strengths.

1/ I seem to recall that new research threads were all the rage on that 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦, so lets try one for Bluesky!

𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠? 𝐀 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐌𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
(just published in 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴).

Curious why regions copy each other? Let’s dig in. 🧵

How the world’s biggest offshore wind company was blown off course Denmark’s Ørsted was once seen as a model for how oil and gas giants could go green. Its recent troubles suggest that things may not be so easy

How the world’s biggest offshore wind company was blown off course

https://www.ft.com/content/5130251d-06dd-40f5-a5d7-edf24ec1e571

#Discontent is born of #decline.
#Europe’s angriest regions aren’t its poorest, but those stuck in #development traps—stagnating while others surge ahead.
Europscepticism thrives in economic neglect, as much as culture wars.
The remedy? #Innovation, #education, and #reform.
doi.org/10.1080/0013...

This answers my question of why I had 36 BlueSky notifications just today having had very little happen beforehand 😅

Great idea though 🤩

The Intelligence: Workers of the world, delight! | The Intelligence from The Economist Gain a fresh perspective on the events and trends shaping your world with our daily podcast.

The twenties (potentially) roar again 🤔

Quite an interesting discussion on the economic situation we find ourselves in

shows.acast.com/theintellige...

NEW: analysis of millions of books published over the centuries suggests western society is shifting away from a culture of progress, and towards one of caution, worry and risk-aversion.

I think this is one of the most important challenges facing us today.

An orcid that is not quite thriving on a window ledge.

Same Orcid… same 🫠

P.s. anybody know how to reanimate orchids? It’s casting a shadow on my ability to raise things successfully 🫣

BP and Equinor scrap New York offshore wind contract as costs rise - on.ft.com/4aN8a7m via @FT

I’m by no means a sun-hound but this cold is far too much cold 🥶

Cool chart courtesy of the @nytimes.com showing the direction and size of power system decarbonisation in 2022.

Apologies to New Zealanders!

Really enjoyed reading this, as a geography nerd, particularly the maps and how far and fast we’ve come to where we are 🗺️

The future of work looks bright 🤩🫠

Former #AcademicTwitter Rockstars seeing the potential of Blue Sky..

(Of course this is not about me 🫣)