The mobility of highly qualified people is a major issue for regional development and represents a matter of particular concern for peripheral regions, which tend to be characterized by the out-migration of their graduates (brain drain). While regional policies have
traditionally focused on the labor market and framework conditions in order to foster territorial development, a new kind of instrument
is emerging: the regional social network. This approach to policymaking no longer considers highly qualified people leaving their home
region as a loss, but sees them as potential resources to be mobilized and capitalized at a distance. Based on six case studies, this paper elaborates a typology of regional social networks and analyzes their governance and management. It situates this new approach in a more general debate on regional innovation policies with regard to the specific needs of peripheral regions in a time of growing spatial mobility and the ubiquitous use of e-technologies.