they foster the innovation capacity of individuals and firms located in peripheral regions as well as in disadvantaged neighbourhoods within large urban areas for example the encouraging rd in traditional industries programme in israel offers both financial support in the form of giants and nonfinancial support in the form of professional counselling services to firms in traditional sectors that decide to undertake an rd project this is to ensure that firms make the most of the funding provided and to guide them in the design of a more innovationfocused business strategy