In the context of crisis recovery, countries and regions seek to boost growth with increasingly limited public spending. They are also seeking to promote sustainable development, taking into consideration new approaches to economic challenges. Many countries and regions strive to promote not only economic efficiency, but also social issues so as to not exacerbate inequalities, as well as environmental factors to ensure resources for the future. Conditions for a better life vary within the same country. Regions are therefore the “places” where policies come together. Place-based approaches, such as those promoted by regional development policy and regions themselves, can bring out the complementarities that mutually reinforce these three goals. Place-based approaches are a complement to, not a substitute for, economy-wide and people-centred policies.