In this article we raise the question: who is actually responsible for and competent in regional economic development? The discussion builds on a Scandinavian empirical base and a British understanding of the concept ‘enterprise development’, but is also linked to a cultural understanding of the concepts of responsibility and competence. By referring to experiences based on the action research method we discuss the probable roles of four different groups of actors in a given region. That is: citizens, environmentalists, the local authorities and the local enterprises. Our conclusion is that a fifth group of actors-the highly educated unemployed and graduate students (potentially unemployed)-are the problem owners of regional development, because they are the actors who may work innovatively in interdisciplinary groups and thus overcome the barriers to innovation mentioned in the text