Since the financial crisis, peripheral zones in Europe have experienced unequal development, facing economic, social and political problems. According to the EU regional and innovation policies, peripheries should compete with core regions to be economically sustainable. However, a serious study into institutional aspects of regional innovation systems (RIS) only recently started. The EU-funded PeripheRIS project will conduct research to uncover mechanisms of institutional support for innovation policies in EU peripheries focusing on policy implementation. The project will concentrate on the interaction between institutions and actors, develop a case study on the innovation system of Italy's South Tyrol region and compare it with prior cases in Central and Eastern Europe.