The European Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) with its underlying aim to support regional growth, cohesion, and innovation has by now been widely applied to European Sparsely Populated Areas (SPAs). Previous works have identified that intra-regional stakeholder networks are important for a successful S3 implementation, and that their establishment is related to the level of proximity between stakeholders; however, the nature of such networks in the context of developing S3 in SPAs deserves further investigation. This paper explores how different dimensions of proximity are associated with intra-regional networks aimed at implementing S3 in a Northern European SPA (Lapland, Finland). The results suggest that geographical and cognitive proximity are positively associated with both formal and informal networking, while institutional proximity is negatively related with informal networking, suggesting that effective policy interventions require multiple relationships to be activated through supporting greater diversity between SPAs stakeholders.

欧洲智能专业化战略（S3）的基本目标是支持区域增长，凝聚力和创新，目前已广泛应用于欧洲人口稀少地区（SPA）。先前的工作已经确定，区域内的利益相关者网络对于成功实施S3至关重要，并且其建立与利益相关者之间的接近程度有关；但是，在SPA中开发S3的背景下，此类网络的性质值得进一步研究。本文探讨了不同程度的邻近度如何与旨在在北欧SPA（芬兰拉普兰）中实施S3的区域内网络相关联。结果表明，地理和认知接近度与正式和非正式网络都呈正相关，