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Issue #19 June 1, 2001
Studies
& Publications: Announcements | Editor's Pick | Innovation
Policy | Clusters and Local Dev.
Events
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This newsletter is published by ONRIS at the Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto, and jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and the Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology. The views and ideas expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Ontario Government.
Next issue: June 15, 2001
ANNOUNCEMENTS [Table of Contents]
The
Future Challenges of Economic Development : Bricks and/or Clicks ?
Presentations from the 5th
European Congress of Development Agencies held in April 2001, are now available
for downloading. Topics include "The challenges of e-economy for
the Regional Development Agencies and regions", "The needs in infrastructure
of the new economy", and "E-marketing of a region".
EDITOR'S PICK [Table of Contents]
INNOVATION & RELATED POLICY [Table of Contents]
Services
Innovation: A Reconfiguration of Innovation Studies
I. Miles, PREST
This paper examines some
major trends in, and results of, the burgeoning literature on services
innovation. The author finds that services do indeed innovate, technologically
and organizationally, though there are substantial and intelligible differences
in innovation propensity and style across different classes of service
firm and sector. Large-scale service firms in many service branches
play important roles in orchestrating innovation (mainly through their
supply chains) as do Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS) which
play important roles in facilitating innovation across the economy.
Overview
of Canada’s Service Economy
Here are the latest figures
on Canada's service economy. The briefing, prepared by Industry Canada,
looks at technology, innovation and R&D in service industries as well
as human resources, investment and trade.
Growth
and the territorial configuration of economic activity.
P. Maskell, DRUID
This paper, prepared for
the upcoming Nelson and Winter conference, investigates
the nature of the geographical agglomeration (or cluster) when knowledge
creation becomes key. The author suggests a way of structuring our understanding
of how the cluster partakes in knowledge creation, arguing for the need
to establish a specific theory of the clusters that places learning on
center stage and is based on the competitive advantages of co-localization
in an emerging knowledge-based economy. For a complete listing of
conference papers, please visit the
DRUID website.
The
Shape of Things to Come
Prepared by the Toronto
Dominion Bank, this report assesses Canada's overall growth prospects up
to 2010. Among the findings is that the
upward trend in the relative size of the service sector has occurred in
spite of the slipping prominence of the public sector over the past decade,
a trend attributable to the burgeoning IT industries. As to the slump
in the IT sector observed in recent months, it is likely to run its course
by the end of 2001 as the long-term (or structural) shift in demand towards
these “new economy” industries remains intact during the 2002-10 period.
How
variations of economic activity can push or pull innovative activity
C. le Bas, Universite
Lyons
Building on the idea that
economic activity can 'push' or 'pull' innovative activities, this
paper identifies the channels by which the variations of economic activity
acts on innovative activities. The links between the business cycle
and both innovative activity and firm creation are examined along with
the relationship between demand growth and the persistence of innovative
behaviour.
CLUSTERS AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT [Table of Contents]
3rd
annual Forbes-Milken Institute Best Places Ranking
This year's ranking places
San Jose, Austin, San Francisco, Boulder and Dallas as the top five American
cities to do business and advance a career. Cities are ranked in
eight categories including wage and salary growth, job growth and growth
in high-tech output.
EVENTS [Table of Contents]
European
Union - Canada Science & Technology Cooperation
Toronto, June 5, 2001
The European Commission,
in association with federal and provincial R&D funding agencies, is
convening a series of seminars to inform Canadians about the procedures
for partnering with consortia involved in the European Union's (EU) five-year
Framework Programs on Research and Development. Technical experts and program
officers from the European Commission will present cooperation opportunities
for the 2002/2006 Sixth EU Framework R&D Program. The partner identification
process, matchmaking and technical cooperation procedures will be described.
Canadians who have participated in the EU Framework Programs will provide
testimonials of their experience.
CITO
Toronto TechTalk Workshop: The Interactive Digital Technologies Shaping
What We See, How We See It & Where We See It
Toronto, June 6, 2001
This talk takes a look at
interactive digital media technologies, exploring how they will shape what
we see in the future, where we see it and how we see it. The impact
of advances in digital media technology and techniques will be examined
in three application areas: industry, education and entertainment offering
broad overview of the influence that digital media technologies are now
having.
IASP
World Conference: Science and Technology Parks in the Knowledge and Digital
Economy
Bilbao, Spain June 10-13th,
2001
The main objective of this
conference is to make an overall assessment of the role to be played by
Science Parks, incubators and universities faced with the challenges and
opportunities of the Knowledge Society and Digital Economy. Speakers
include Stephen Denning, Programme Director of Knowledge Management at
the World Bank, Manuel Castells, Professor of City and Regional Planning
at the University of California-Berkeley and, Jill R. Felix, President
and CEO of the University City Science Center of Philadelphia.
Bridging
the Investment Gap Conference
Montreal, June 13-14,
2001
The Bridging the Investment
Gap Conference will explore the new ideas, best practices and lessons learned
by 22 pilot projects established under the Canada Community Investment
Plan (CCIP) of Industry Canada. CCIP has created bridges between entrepreneurs
and angel investors, facilitating a reported $150 million in risk capital
for 250 businesses outside the main financial centres.
Nelson
and Winter Conference
Aalborg, Denmark,
June 12-15, 2001
To commemorate the 20 years
since Dick Nelson and Sid Winter published their seminal book An Evolutionary
Theory of Economic Change DRUID (Danish Research Unit of Industrial Dynamics),
in collaboration with the journals Research Policy and Industrial and Corporate
has organized this conference to address six main themes. These include,
'Growth, Development and
Structural Change', 'National Systems of Innovation, Institutions and Public
Policies' and, the 'Production and Use of Knowledge.'
The
5th International Conference on Technology, Policy and Innovation
The Hague, Netherlands
Congress Centre, June 26-29, 2001
Theme: Critical Infrastructures
The conference focuses on
how infrastructures such as those enabling transportation of goods and
people, telecommunications, and the supply and distribution of energy and
water have become vital to the daily functioning and security of society.
Proposals are invited for workshops or presentations dealing with vulnerability,
institutional management, historical lessons, innovation, and methodologies
for interdisciplinary analysis and design, all related to critical infrastructures.
Canadian
eBusiness Leadership Forum: Canada's Internet Future
Toronto, June 26-28
At this Forrester two-day
Event, industry leaders and Forrester analysts will focus on what is needed
to: compete in the new arena of Canadian eBusiness; build strong and collaborative
B2B relationships; and deliver products and services to online Canadians.
Speakers include: Jean C. Monty, Chairman and CEO, BCE, Marty Lippert,
Vice Chairman and CIO, Royal Bank of Canada, and John D. Wetmore, President
and CEO, IBM Canada.
Knowledge:
the New Wealth of Nations?
Amsterdam, June 28 -
July 1, 2001
The 13th Annual Meeting
on Socio-Economics will focus on the role of scientific knowledge in the
economy and in innovation and, the role of social scientific knowledge
in social and economic policy.
The
Future of Innovation Studies
Eindhoven , September
20-23, 2001
The Center for Innovation
Studies (ECIS) at Eindhoven University has organized a conference on 'The
Future of Innovation Studies' which will host a number of plenary sessions
featuring some of the key contributors to the field of innovation studies.
Invited speakers include Giovanni Dosi, Ranjay Gulati and Bengt-Åke
Lundvall. The conference will include topics in all areas of the
social sciences perspective on the innovation process. Special emphasis
will be placed on contributions in the area of the economics of technological
change, innovation management, and sociology of innovation processes.
WILL YOU BE ONE OF OUR REGIONAL REPORTERS? [Table of Contents]
SUBSCRIPTIONS & COMMENTS [Table of Contents]
This newsletter is prepared
by Tijs Creutzberg.
Project manager is David
A. Wolfe.
