Smart Region Specialization: Toward a More Competitive Cooperation Between Magelang and Kulon Progo Regencies

Inter-regional cooperation that is not based on competitive advantage mapping will only lead to social and spatial disparities in its implementation. The concept of smart specialization emerged as an alternative for innovative approaches in a region's development. Previous studies have discussed more about evaluating the application of smart specialization in improving the economy and employment in the European Union. We examined two regencies in different provinces, but administratively directly adjacent, namely Magelang and Kulon Progo. We use data from the cooperation agreement document between the two, as well as the Smart City Master Plan document, to identify the forms of cooperation that have been established, and then group the forms according to the smart region/smart city model and elements from the Ministry of Communication and Information. The final output of this research is a policy recommendation that is suitable for the increasing cooperation between Magelang and Kulon Progo Regencies.