The Limits of Change Agency: Establishing a Peripheral University Campus in East Tyrol

Abstract

Many peripheral regions aim to upgrade their knowledge base by attracting universities to increase their competitiveness, but also to tackle emigration and demographic ageing. However, the successful implementation of a peripheral university campus is challenging. Usually, generous public financial support is necessary, putting pressure on locations that do not develop as intended. Hence, the setup of the regional place leadership and the different forms of agency are crucial. Drawing on in-depth interviews, this paper provides a case study based on the Technik Campus Lienz, a peripheral satellite campus in East Tyrol/Austria, which has failed to meet the expectations of regional and extra-regional policymakers. It identifies different phases of agency and develops a framework of agentic and structural misalignments, providing important insights for peripheral regions with similar ambitions.