IC was an exciting project. It began soon after the Baltic States and Poland joined the EU, so it was a new beginning, not only for the IC Partners but for the EU itself. It grappled with the future of small towns in rural regions in Europe’s periphery, one of the most challenging long-term problems facing the continent. Innovation was not just a fancy title for the project: innovation defined the way the project worked.

When I first learnt about the Innovation Circle project my understanding of innovation was shaped by sterile academic debates in economics, public administration, and political science. I had read about innovation but I had never seen how innovations were actually produced. That’s why I decided to stay in touch with the IC by attending Innovation academies and follow the whole process by watching and listening carefully. To find out how partners used the opportunities offered by the IC to promote local and regional innovation and development in their own communities I interviewed 27 community members, and I reflect on some of my observations in this article.