Special Issue of RPER on Digital Infrastructures and Regional Competitiveness in the 21st Century

Title of the Special Issue:

Digital Infrastructures and Regional Competitiveness in the 21st Century

Presentation of the Special Issue:

The ongoing digital transformation is reshaping the fundamentals of regional development and competitiveness. Digital infrastructure - ranging from broadband connectivity and cloud platforms to AI and smart systems - now serve as enablers of innovation, productivity, and territorial cohesion. However, uneven access to these infrastructures creates new digital divides and reinforces existing regional disparities.

This special issue aims to investigate the strategic role of digital infrastructures in promoting inclusive, smart, and sustainable regional development.

Proposed thematic subtopics:

• Smart regions: from vision to implementation;
• Bridging the urban-rural digital divide;
• Digital public services and regional governance innovation;
• The role of regional innovation ecosystems in the digital era;
• Digital entrepreneurship and SME development in lagging region;
• Infrastructure investment strategies for regional digital transformation;
• AI, automation, and labour markets in regional economies;
• Resilience and sustainability through digital infrastructures

This issue will provide a platform for multidisciplinary insights and evidence-based policy discussions grounded in regional science.

Guest Editors:

Mykola Biloshkurskyi

• PhD in Economics, Associate Professor at the Department of Finance, Accounting and Economic Security. Pavlo Tychyna Uman State Pedagogical University, Ukraine. 
• ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2826-3983
• Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com.ua/citations?user=5juYThsAAAAJ&hl
• Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=57205639656
• Web of Science: https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/B-4501-2018

Zoriana Buryk

• Doctor of Science of Public Administration, Professor, Department of Public Administration, Hryhorii Skovoroda University in Pereiaslav, Pereyaslav, Ukraine.
• ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4394-6766
• Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com.ua/citations?user=fjI8asEAAAAJ&hl=uk
• Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=57210978143&origin=recordpage
• ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Zoriana-Buryk

Expected deadlines of the publication process:

• Manuscripts submission (deadline): September 2026
• Authors notification: December 2026
• Manuscripts final version: January 2027
• Publication of the issue: March 2027