Ontario's
Regional Economic Development and Innovation Newsletter
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to Ontario’s
Regional Economic Development and Innovation Newsletter. The newsletter
is published by ONRIS and jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Economic
Development and Trade and the Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology.
The purpose of the newsletter is to share news and information on research
initiatives, publications, and events related to regional economic development
and innovation in Ontario. It is intended to create a digital forum
for information sharing and dissemination across the research community,
the private sector and government.
***WILL YOU BE ONE OF OUR REGIONAL REPORTERS?***
Yes, you! In an effort to improve our coverage of Ontario's regional
economies in this newsletter, we are looking for a few people who are
'plugged in' to the latest local economic development and innovation
happenings in their regions. All we ask is that you send us a short
message once a month highlighting recent news and research initiatives
from your region - please forward items that you would like to share
with newsletter recipients, as well as other items of interest, to: onris.progris@utoronto.ca.
In addition,
please forward this newsletter to anyone you think will find it of
value. We look forward to collaborating with you on this initiative.This
newsletter is also available on the web at: http://www.utoronto.ca/onris/newsletter.htm.
Please contact onris.progris@utoronto.ca to be added to or removed from the distribution list.
The views and ideas expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily
reflect the views and policies of the Ontario Government.
This Newsletter is prepared by Matthew Lucas and David A. Wolfe
PLEASE NOTE
THAT THE NEXT EDITION OF THE NEWSLETTER WILL BE RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER
5.
ANNOUNCEMENTS / NEWS
Ontario Science and Innovation Council
The Ontario government has established the first science and
innovation council in the province. This independent arms length
body is to provide the government with long-term strategic advice
on science, technology and innovation policy. On June 8th Energy,
Science and Technology Minister Jim Wilson appointed Dr. Suzanne Fortier
as chair of the Council. Dr. Fortier is a renowned researcher in chemistry
and computer science at Queen's University and a vice-president of
NSERC. For more information see:
http://www.est.gov.on.ca/english/index.html
Biotech
Commercialisation Centre in Toronto
The Ontario
government will invest up to $9 million to help create a biotechnology
commercialization centre in Toronto to boost competitiveness and create
jobs in the biotechnology industry. The announcement of the initiative
was made on 19th of June by Energy, Science and Technology Minister
Jim Wilson. The project leader is the Toronto Biotechnology Commercialization
Centre (TBCC), a consortium of public and private sector research
groups which represents most of the medical research organizations
in Toronto. Announcements of other approved centres will be made by
the end of the month. Contact:
http://www.est.gov.on.ca/english/index.html for
further information.
Ontario
Centre for Genomic Computing
MEST announced an Ontario Research and Development Challenge
Fund investment to expand the Ontario Centre for Genomic Computing at
The Hospital for Sick Children (HSC). The Fund's commitment to genetic
research has reached $75 million. For more information see:
http://www.ontariochallengefund.com/english/news/04052000.shtml
New
Legislation to Strengthen Electronic Business Opportunities in Ontario.
Electronic Commerce Act
For information on the Ontario government's proposed Electronic
Commerce Act see the news release and fact sheet at the following site:
http://e-com.ic.gc.ca/english/20.html?he=y
Canadian
Consumer Information Gateway
The Canadian Consumer Information Gateway is a pilot project
that currently involves over 25 federal government departments and agencies
that have an interest in consumer issues. This cooperative effort is
co-chaired by Industry Canada and Public Works and Government Services
Canada (PWGSC), in partnership with Service Canada. As an information
portal, this initiative characterizes Service Canada's primary goal,
which is to organize access to government services in ways that reflect
the needs of Canadians who use them.
http://ConsumerInformation.ca/cgi-bin/main.cgi?Language=E?he=y
Industry
Directory
Version 2.0 of bookmarks, the guide to the Canadian Digital
Media Industry, will be published this August by newmedia.pro Magazine.
Version 2.0 of bookmarks is a comprehensive and cross-referenced guide
to the many companies, institutions and individuals that provide products
or services to content creators and media distributors. For more information
about bookmarks, contact Trish King at 416-442-2114 or visit:
http://www.newmediapromagazine.com
RESEARCH
INITIATIVES / PUBLICATIONS
Ontario Economic Outlook, April 2000
This bi-annual Industry Canada publication highlights Ontario's
economic performance over the past year. The report is available
at:
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/ra01755e.html?he=y
The Changing Work Force in ICT Industries in Canada
This series of three reports was prepared by Wendy Hansen for
Industry Canada, Statistics Canada, and the Maastricht Economic Research
Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT). They examine how
the work force in ICT industries in Canada has been changing during
a period of deregulation, structural change, global competitiveness
and increased person mobility. A copy of the papers is available at:
http://meritbbs.unimaas.nl/publications.html
Science
Statistics, Vol. 24 #2, Biotechnology Research and Development (R&D)
in Canadian Industry, 1997
Recently published by Statistics Canada, this report highlights
the R&D performance of the Biotechnology Industry in Canada.
The report (88-001-XPB) is now available through paid subscription at www.statcan.ca under Products and Services,
Downloadable Publications ($).
http://www.statcan.ca:80/english/IPS/Data/88-001-XIB.htm
Monthly Economic Indicators, May 2000
Industry Canada's Monthly Economic Indicators for May 2000 is now available.
The report presents a variety of analysis and data on the Canadian economy.
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_ecnmy/mera/engdoc/03.html?he=y
The New Economy
Two new reports from the National Governers' Association (NGA),
"Using Research and Development to Grow State Economies" and "Building
States Economies By Promoting University-Industry Technology Transfer,"
identify research and development (R&D) as a fundamental economic
development building block in the new economy and call on states to
invest in universities and the private sector as ways to ensure that
they have strong R&D bases. For more information see:
http://www.nga.org/Releases/PR-7June2000Research.asp
New
Reports from the Advanced Technology Program of the National Institute
of Standards and Technology
"Reinforcing Interactions Between the Advanced Technology
and State Technology Programs: Volume 1: A Guide to State Business
Assistance Programs for New Technology Creation and Commercialization,"
was prepared by Marsha R.B. Schachtel and Maryann P. Feldman. The report
illustrates, through selected examples, the types of business and technology
development services and programs offered by state governments to assist
start-up companies and small firms in business development or in the
development and commercialization of new technologies.
"Managing Technical Risk: Understanding Private Sector Decision Making
on Early State Technology-based Projects," was prepared by Lewis
M. Branscomb, Kenneth P. Morse, and Michael J. Roberts. This report
to NIST-ATP from workshops held in June and September 1999 has two main
sections: 1) the report of the project team; and 2) the collection of
contributed papers.
"Capital Formation and Investment in Venture Markets: Implications
for the Advanced Technology Program" by Paul Gompers and Josh
Lerner. This study focuses on the special problems of new high-tech
firms that are highly dependent on external sources of funding for
the R&D.
These and other reports are available at:
www.atp.nist.gov/atp/pubs.htm.
eTech Transfer 2000. Making Partnerships Work
Published in February by the Office of Technology Policy within the
U.S. Department of Commerce, this paper reviews the activities of government
agencies and the private sector under U.S. Technology Transfer laws.
A copy of the paper is available at:
http://tapreview.nist.gov/PRel/cd110a.pdf
Discovery and Innovation: Federal Research and Development
Activities in the Fifty States, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico
This report was prepared by RAND for the White House Office
of Science and Technology Policy. The report analyzes the nature, magnitude
and whereabouts of the individual activities that make up the federal
government's R&D portfolio. Organized on a state-by-state basis,
the study identifies and describes virtually all federally funded R&D
activities within the states and provide estimates of funding and employment
numbers for each operation. A copy of the report is available at:
http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1194/
U.S. Metro Economies: The Engines of America's Growth
The United States Conference of Mayors and the National Association
of Counties released their third annual report report entitled "U.S.
Metro economies: The Engines of America's Growth" in May. This year's
report was prepared by Standard & Poor's DRI and documents the contribution
of urban centres to total American economic output. According to the
report:
-U. S. metro areas
account for 85% of the nation's gross domestic product;
-Metro
areas are now generating 84% of the nation's employment and 88% percent
of the nation's labor income;
-Metro
economies are responsible for 86%, or more than $2.4 trillion, of the
nation's economic growth from 1992 to 1999; and
-95%
of high tech, and 94% of business services jobs created between 1992
and 1999 are in metro areas.
The full report is available at
http://usmayors.org/citiesdrivetheeconomy/
University
of Texas Annual Report on the Internet Economy
According to this recently published report,the Internet Economy
supported an additional 650,000 jobs in 1999 as revenues soared to over
half a trillion dollars. The report claims that the Internet
Economy now directly supports 2.476 million workers and that revenue
for Internet Economy companies grew at an annual rate of 11 percent
from 1998 to 1999, nearly three times the growth rate of the economy
as a whole. The report is available at:
http://www.internetindicators.com/
The
Internet and the New Economy
In this policy brief published by the Brookings Institute, Alan
Blinder addresses the question, are we in a new economy?
http://www.brookings.edu/comm/PolicyBriefs/pb060/pb60.htm
Europe 2002: An Information Society for All
The eEurope initiative was launched by the European Commission
in December 1999 with the objective to bring Europe on-line. This
draft action plan was prepared by the European Commission in June.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/information_society/eeurope/pdf/draftactionplan_en.pdf
The Learning Economy - Firms, Regions and Nation specific
Institutions
On June 15, 16 & 17 the Danish Research Unit for Industrial
Dynamics (DRUID) held its Summer 2000 Conference in Rebild, Denmark.
Conference proceedings are available at:
http://www.business.auc.dk/druid/summer2000/papergal.htm
The
Dynamics of Collective Invention
This paper was prepared by Robin Cowan and Nicolas Jonard for
the Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and
Technology (MERIT). The authors develop a "formal model that accounts
for the dynamics of knowledge and collective invention, and examine
how the architecture of the network of agents influences patterns and
rate of innovation." A copy of the paper is available at:
http://meritbbs.unimaas.nl/rmpdf/2000/rm2000_018.pdf
Mapping
the Two Faces of R&D. Productivity Growth in a Panel of OECD
Industries
This paper was prepared by Rachel Griffith, Stephen Redding
and John Van Reenen for the Institue for Fiscal Studies. The authors
argue that there has been convergence of total productivity factor
within a panel of industries across thirteen OECD countries since 1970.
R&D and human capital are identified as important factors in this
convergence. A copy of the paper is available at:
http://www1.ifs.org.uk/workingpapers/wp0002.pdf
Enhancing
the Competitiveness of SMES in the Global Economy: Strategies and Policies
This Conference took place in Bologna, Italy on 14-15 June 2000.
It aimed to increase the understanding of issues and policies related
to SME competitiveness in the global economy – in particular, with regard
to innovation, clusters and industrial districts, and electronic commerce
– and to propose concrete and feasible initiatives through which the
globalization of SMEs may be facilitated. Conference proceedings
and related publications are available at:
http://www.ocde.org/dsti/sti/industry/smes/news/bologna.htm
HYPERLINKS
Ministry of Economic Development, and Trade, Office
for Urban Economic Development
The Office for Urban Economic Development has its own Website, which
provides many links to economic development resources across the province. Click
here for link
Association
of European Regions of Industrial Technology
RETI is an association of industrial regions in Europe. In 1984
these regions, having found themselves facing similar economic and social
challenges, created a common forum to share experience, ideas and know-how;
and to serve as a strong and coherent voice in the arena of European
Community policy.
http://www.association-reti.org/
Electronic Commerce in Canada
This new site brings together information from the Canadian E-Business
Opportunities Roundtable.
http://e-com.ic.gc.ca/eteam?he=y
Events
Impact of University Research on Innovation
The Science & Technology Councils & Coordination Office
of the Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology has invited Dr. Cooper
H. Langford Professor at the University of Calgary to speak as a part
of the Ministry's Seminar Series on Science, Technology and Innovation.
The topic of Prof. Langford's talk is: Measuring the Impact of University
Research on Innovation. The Seminar will take place on July 10th. For
more information and to register for the Seminar contact Shannon Brennan
at: brennash@est.gov.on.ca
Managing Innovative Manufacturing 2000
The Technology and Operations Management Research Group at Aston
University, Birmingham, UK, will be hosting the next "Managing
Innovative Manufacturing" conference (MIM 2000) from the 17-19 July
2000. The conference theme will be "Responsive Production and the Agile
Enterprise". For more information see:
http://tom.abs.aston.ac.uk/mim2000.html
Fourth
International Conference on Technology Policy and Innovation :
Learning and Knowledge Networks for Development
This conference will be held in from August 28-31 in Curitiba,
Brasil. The main objective of this series of international conferences
on Technology Policy and Innovation is to bring together leading representatives
of academic, business, and government sectors worldwide to present and
discuss current and future issues of critical importance for using science
and technology to foster regional economic development and shared prosperity
at home and abroad. For more information see:
http://in3.dem.ist.utl.pt/curitiba2000/
CITO's
Knowledge Network Conference - Beyond the Edge: Road Mapping Innovation
This annual advanced research event will be held on October
2 & 3, 2000 at the Centurion Conference Centre in Ottawa.
The conference will explore issues surrounding "longer term technology
planning and the identification and direction of relevant research.
It is an opportunity to look 'beyond the edge' to the ideas, technologies
and people shaping tomorrow's state-of-the-art technology." For
more information see:
http://www.cito.ca/events/events/kncoct22000.shtml
Benchmarking Industry-Science Relationships
This joint German-OECD conference will be held in Berlin on
October 16 & 17. The following themes will be discussed:
- the role of universities and public research institutions in the innovation
process
- new mechanisms for financing research and new ventures at the industry-science
- interface including spin-offs
- the impact of globalization
- the role of science in fostering clusters of new industries and in
revitalising mature sectors;
- the contribution of human capital and talent
- the evaluation of private and public initiatives to foster industry-science
linkages
For more information see: http://www.industry-science-berlin2000.de/
Innovation 2000 - The Grand Challenges in Managing
and Sustaining Innovation
Hosted by a partnership of The Conference Board of Canada, the Ontario
Centres of Excellence, and the Innovation Management Association of
Canada, this conference will take place on November 2 &3 at The
Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto. "Innovation 2000 will bring
together the major innovation players in Canada to address the challenges
of managing and sustaining innovation. This conference will focus on
how leading organizations design, implement and evaluate their innovation
strategies." For more information see:
http://www.cito.ca/events/events/innovation2000.shtml
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