it had been argued in the past riba and leyersdorff that catalonia s innovation system lacked some of the essential features deemed characteristic of effective regional systems this is why knowledge flows as well as the market and nonmarket processes that facilitate such flows were emphasised in the third plan however spanish level regulations limit catalan academic institutions ability to develop their third mission in response to real deficiencies and to such regulations catalonia has taken a number of institutional initiatives aimed at overcoming the resulting systemic weaknesses and limitations suffered by universities in the course of the third research plan the number of catalan research centres grew from in to by and the number of icrea researchers from in to in