Systems of innovation that are conducted within national borders can preserve inefficient solutions and prevent development. This has led to a feeling that transnational learning strategies are more and more desirable.

In practice, the field of transnational learning has been dominated by various policy-making institutions, such as the OECD and European Union, working through different types of policy instruments and programs such as structural funds, open methods of coordination, as well as international research institutions and networks set up by cooperating national governments working on comparative analysis, benchmarking and indicators.

This book lays out a set of methods which can further enhance the experience of transnational learning, starting from the sociological ideas promoted by Charles Sabel of learning through monitoring, and by Marie Laure Djelic and others of the "translation" of experiences between different countries. Case studies and examples are collected from three fields: industrial development, tourism and local government.