ABSTRACT The literature on path development is increasingly concerned with providing targeted policy recommendations for different regional innovation systems. This paper examines the case of Ruta N, a regional innovation agency operating on the knowledge periphery in Medellin, Colombia. The municipally owned intermediary organization Ruta N stimulates new industrial path development by facilitating the acquisition, diffusion and absorption of extra-regional knowledge within the regional innovation system. To do so, Ruta N acts as a knowledge gatekeeper, engaging in the ‘tropicalization’ of extra-regional knowledge to facilitate its absorption. Its experience is indicative of one possible path connecting local elites with international leaders, increasing absorptive capacity, and facilitating knowledge transfer.

中文翻译：

---

知识守门人和知识外围领域的发展路径：以哥伦比亚麦德林市的Ruta N为例

摘要关于道路发展的文献越来越关注为不同的区域创新系统提供有针对性的政策建议。本文研究了位于哥伦比亚麦德林知识外围的区域创新机构Ruta N的案例。市政中介组织Ruta N通过促进区域创新系统内区域外知识的获取，传播和吸收，促进了新的产业发展道路。为此，Ruta N充当知识守门人，参与区域外知识的“热带化”以促进其吸收。它的经验表明，一条可能的途径是将地方精英与国际领导人联系起来，提高吸收能力，并促进知识转移。