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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: October 15, 2001
ANNOUNCEMENTS [Table of Contents]
On September 21, 2001, federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for research, science and technology met to discuss ways to improve research and development performance and make Canada one of the most innovative countries in the world. Key topics discussed included the crucial role of both university-based and industry-based research and development and the importance of information sharing among governments. Ministers concurred that innovation is key in raising Canada's standard of living and agreed on the goal of making Canada one of the most innovative countries in the world. To do so, efforts by both the public and the private sectors must be undertaken to: create, adopt and commercialize knowledge; supply highly qualified personnel; and, provide a business climate which supports industrial competitiveness and excellence in innovation. Ministers also agreed that the completion of the provision of high-speed internet broadband capacity is an urgent and high priority for the innovation economy. [Industry Canada]
EDITOR'S PICK [Table of Contents]
Papers from The Future of Innovation Studies Conference
A wide range of papers presented at the Future of Innovation Studies conference at Eindhoven University of Technology, 21-23 September 2001 have been made available. Sessions from this three-day conference spanned a range of topics including ‘Historical Analysis of Technological Change’, ‘Knowledge Flows in European Regions’, ‘Innovation, Productivity and Economic Growth’, and ‘Knowledge Flows in Clusters and Networks’.
INNOVATION & RELATED POLICY [Table of Contents]
Measuring Invention in Canada: The Geographic Dimension
Observatoire des sciences et des technologies
This paper describes Canada's inventive activity through patent analysis, comparing the country to the rest of the world. It provides indicators for invention and intellectual property rights and also develops a technology exchange indicator that measures the balance between the number of inventions that a country produces and those that it owns.
The Conference Board of Canada
Under the sponsorship of Human Resources Development Canada, The Conference Board of Canada has published a report on the views of key players in regard to building and sustaining a culture of innovation and entrepreneurialism. Four common themes emerged from their research: i) a need for greater collaboration, partnerships and interconnection, ii) a need to make lifelong learning a reality, iii) a need for cultural change (attitudes, beliefs, values and behaviors) and, iv), a need for action and tangible progress. Included are recommendations addressing each of these themes.
This paper investigates the comparability of the 1999 Canadian Survey of Innovation with the European Community Innovation Surveys for 1997/1998 through comparing Canada with France, Germany, Ireland and Spain. The study finds that different innovation indicators show different results across countries. Canada leads by a significant margin when primacy is given to the percentage of innovating firms. With regard to sales of innovative products however, Canada comes in last place.
Firm clustering and innovation:
determinants and effects
Oerlemans et al, Eindhoven Centre for Innovation Studies
In this paper, the authors ask why innovator firms engage in innovation networks, and which factors explain the spatial dispersion of these networks. Benefits of the use of internal and external knowledge resources for innovative performance of firms were partially confirmed. Especially the utilization of external competences drawn from buyers and suppliers had stronger effects on innovative performance if complexity of innovation projects was high. Spatial concentration of innovation networks of buyers and suppliers turned out to have a reciprocal, positive relation with interaction intensity between firms. Interaction enhances spatial concentration of relations and vice versa, although the strength of effects differs for ties with buyers and suppliers.
Innovation and learning in a national
system - in industries and firms
Lundvall BA, Department of Business Studies, Aalborg University
Here are exerts from the author’s forthcoming book the purpose of which is
to demonstrate the potential of studying innovation and learning in its
interaction with competition, organizational change and labor market
dynamics. The book is a revised
and updated version of a report published in Danish in the fall 1999 (the
DISKO report) that brought together the results of a big interdisciplinary project
on the Danish innovation and competence building system in comparative
perspective.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY [Table of Contents]
Productivity growth in ICT-producing and ICT-using industries
D. Pilat & F.C. Lee
This OECD working paper examines the roles of the ICT-producing sector and of key ICT-using industries in overall productivity growth in OECD countries. The findings show that the ICT-producing sector provides a considerable contribution to productivity growth in several OECD countries and explains some of the pick-up in productivity growth in the United States in the second half of the 1990s. ICT manufacturing, in particular, has been characterized by very high rates of productivity growth in many countries. The authors note however, that there is still insufficient evidence to attribute productivity improvements in ICT based sectors directly to their use of ICT.
UNIVERSITY RESEARCH [Table of Contents]
University Research Evaluation and Funding: An International Comparison
A. Geuna & B.R. Martin, SPRU
Through comparing the approaches to the funding and evaluation of university research in 14 countries in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, the authors identify the pros and cons of university research funding systems based on performance assessment versus those where funds are distributed on the basis of the volume of teaching activities. The paper points to the higher costs associated with performance-based funding systems noting that while benefits may justify the cost in the shorter term, over time diminishing returns are likely to set in, raising questions about the continued use of comprehensive research assessment exercises.
STATISTICS [Table of Contents]
Federal Funds (U.S.) for Research and Development: Fiscal Years 1999, 2000,
and 2001
Data in the tables of this publication were derived from the American Survey of Federal Funds for Research and Development and cover fiscal years 1999--2001. They reflect research and development (R&D) funding levels as reported by 30 US Federal agencies in February through November 2000. All agencies that were identified as conducting R&D programs were surveyed.
EVENTS [Table of Contents]
CITO’s Knowledge Network Conference
Ottawa,
October 10-11, 2001
This year’s Knowledge Network Conference brings together academic and industrial researchers, technology leaders and CITO's top electrical engineering and computer science graduates to share research and technology ideas and develop future research strategies in the fields of communications, IT and digital media. The two-day conference explores the issues affecting long-term planning for communications, information technology and digital media technologies - and provides a forum to chart the course for the development of future research strategies.
Innovations for an e-Society- Challenges for Technology Assessment
Berlin, October 17-20, 2001
This conference, organized by the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis at the Research Centre Karlsruhe, is concerned with all aspects of society making better and increased use of information and communication technologies, with special emphasis on the roles of knowledge and information. There will be sessions on the following topics: e-Commerce, New Media and Culture, Electronic Governance, e-Health Services and New Approaches of Technology Assessment and Forecasting.
Toronto, November 5-8, 2001
The 2001 IBM Centre for Advanced Studies Conference invites researchers and developers from IBM, universities, government agencies, and their industry partners to present their latest technological undertakings. One of the key components of CASCON is the technology showcase where CASCON provides an interactive forum for researchers and developers to meet and interact in a friendly atmosphere. The deadline for registering posters and demos for CASCON 2001 is Monday, October 1, 2001.
Meeting Canada's R&D Challenge: Moving from 15th to 5th in Global
R&D
Ottawa, November 13, 2001
RE$EARCH MONEY, Canada's leading source of news and analysis for the R&D community, in partnership with NSERC, CFI and others, will bring together some of Canada's most influential thinkers to debate how Canada can improve its R&D performance over the next decade. Meeting Canada's R&D Challenge is a must for anyone who is involved in research, development or policy. If you want to participate in helping Canada become Number Five in Global R&D, this conference is for you.
Implementing Clusters in Practice: Academic and Practical Perspectives
Newcastle upon Tyne, 17 October, 2001
The Regional Studies Association in conjunction with the ESRC are organizing a half day seminar in Newcastle upon Tyne, as part of the ESRC Cluster seminar series. The focus of this seminar will be to look at how cluster policies have been implemented in practice. Particular emphasis will be placed on the way in which academic and practitioner analyses of these policies and the clusters have advanced understandings of local, regional and national economic development. Speakers will be drawn from academic, practitioner and policy-maker communities, with the opportunity for a lively and engaging debate alongside the main presentations to build on and extend the interim findings of the seminar series.
2001 Innovation Conference: Investing In Innovation
Montreal, November 19-20, 2001
This Conference Board of Canada event focuses on the critical necessity to increase investment for innovation, presenting helpful tools and lessons learned from practitioners, and discussing what it means for the country, organizations and individuals. The conference will help executives, managers and entrepreneurs in any organization to create the kind of culture that encourages the constant effort to find and invest in new answers, new ideas and new products. Stakeholders for this event include the business community, the financial community, the education system and all levels of government.
5th Annual 'European Network on Industrial Policy' (EUNIP) Conference
Vienna, November 29th - December 1st, 2001
This EUNIP Conference will focus on the cutting edge topics in industrial and structural policy, including policies promoting growth, competitiveness and employment. Topics include industrial economics and policy, innovation policy and theory and, regulatory issues in network industries. A special session will focus on industrial policy in a knowledge-based economy.
Creating and Applying Vision in the
Regions: Towards Agile and Networked Regions through Foresight
Dublin, 13th December 2001
This EC Conference focuses on regional foresight and seeks to explain how such activities may help regional policies achieve their major objectives (e.g. improvement of competitiveness, job creation, sustainable development). It will examine what good practice is in Foresight, and will unveil a practical guide for regional foresight developed through the FOREN initiative. FOREN is an EC-supported network, under the STRATA program, which has brought researchers and policymakers together to share experiences in regional foresight and to learn from each other. The conference will also showcase keynote speeches and in-depth presentations by leading figures in regional futures thinking and action.
Regional Governance in an Age of Globalization
Stuttgart, Germany, March 8-9, 2002
This conference aims to examine and advance theories and practices in understanding regional governance in an age of globalization. The focus will be on globalization and its impact on subnational governments around the world with a particular interest in the intersection of the international with the local and regional and how this phenomenon is affecting the development of international and transnational relations on the one hand, and governance internationally, nationally, and subnationally on the other. The influence of unprecedented technological change on globalization and governance is also of interest to the conference organizers.
Rethinking Science Policy: Analytical Frameworks for Evidence-based Policy
Brighton, March 21-23, 2002
This conference focuses on new models for science policy, exploring the European context where traditional foundations for science policy have been increasingly questioned during the last few decades of science policy research as policymakers search for new methods of harnessing scientific investigation. Twenty-six new papers, including eight invited papers by leading authorities in the field of science policy, will be presented. Final date for acceptance of abstracts 1st November, 2001.
WILL YOU BE ONE OF OUR REGIONAL REPORTERS? [Table of Contents]
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.
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