The US Mission in Italy's ‘Partnership for Growth’

Abstract

This paper first examines key differences between the traditional approaches of the USA and Italy in relation to innovation and entrepreneurship. The authors then turn to the specific example of southern Italy, which has experienced higher rates of unemployment, lower US investment and fewer educational and cultural exchanges than the rest of the country. After setting out various reasons behind the relative lack of development of the Italian South, the authors describe how cross-cultural programmes can help such regions to realize their potential for economic growth through innovation and entrepreneurship. Using the case of the US Mission in Italy's ‘Partnership for Growth’ programme and brief case studies of outstanding research commercialization in southern Italy, they show how the aims and activities of the programme fuse with the potential of research in the region which has traditionally been underexploited.