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This newsletter is published by ONRIS at the Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto, and sponsored by the Ministry of Enterprise, Opportunity & Innovation. The views and ideas expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Ontario Government.
Next issue: April 1, 2003
ANNOUNCEMENTS [Table of Contents]
NRC To Open
Industry Partnership Facility in Saskatchewan
The National Research Council has launched its Plant Biotechnology Institute's (NRC-PBI) Industry Partnership Facility (IPF) in Saskatoon. The IPF will foster growth of agricultural biotechnology companies who wish to establish research operations in Saskatchewan and Canada by providing companies with access to state-of-the-art equipment and NRC-PBI's research expertise.
Atlantic Canada’s Institute for Information Technology - e-Business opens for business
The National Research Council’s new Institute for Information Technology – e-Business is now underway, operating from a facility located on the University of New Brunswick's Fredericton campus. The program will be supported by smaller research centers in Moncton and Saint John linked together via a high-speed broadband network, including a link to the New Brunswick Community College in Miramichi. Research will focus on e-Learning, e-Health, Human Web interaction, Internet logic and e-Government and will deal with such issues as the security of electronic health records, the management of digital rights, and effective on-line ordering and supply processes for businesses on the web.
EDITOR'S PICK [Table of Contents]
What the IT Revolution Means for Regional Economic Development
P. Sommers and D. Carlson, University of Washington Evans School of
Public Affairs
With the goal of understanding what regional leaders can do to support technology-based development, this paper, drawing on interviews with 28 U.S. firms examines how IT is affecting their operations. By enabling firms to split off key functions and relocate them elsewhere, for instance, IT is giving metropolitan areas new opportunities to specialize for various firm functions such as R&D, sales or logistics. Also IT has generated new criteria for firm locations, such as possessing extensive broadband capacity, a skilled labor force, and a good environment in which to live and work. And having helped firms go ‘global’, IT has put pressure on regions to market themselves internationally for firms, portions of firms and employment. Regions with particular niche capacities, and the ability to market them globally, argue the authors, have an opportunity to cultivate linkages with corporations abroad which ultimately may facilitate specialization in higher skill/higher wage operations, while revealing new markets for companies’ products or services.
INNOVATION & RELATED POLICY [Table of Contents]
Insights into Services and Innovation in the Knowledge-Intensive Economy
J. Kuusisto and M. Meyer, TEKES
This report describe knowledge-intensive service businesses, focusing on the types of service business models that exist, the significance and role of services in the major clusters, and how technology can be utilized to enhance existing services and create new service business fields. The authors argue that the prominent role of services in the innovations process is becoming evident and there has been a shift in the innovation balance from products to non-tangible innovations. Moreover, service firms can be as R&D-intensive and technologically innovative as are high technology manufacturing firms and can often play an important role in cluster development.
Lluis Navarro, European Commission
This paper provides a brief overview of recent theoretical developments in the broad economic literature that have industrial policy implications. From neoclassical economics with its new growth theory and strategic trade policy, to evolutionary economics with its concern for disruptive change, knowledge and innovation and finally, to the systemic approaches, systems of innovation and clusters, the report highlights the many insights from various sub-fields of economics.
Understanding Innovation: The Need for a Systemic Approach
D. O’Doherty, InterTrade Ireland and E. Arnold, Technopolis
Here is a summary of the innovation systems approach and the challenges it presents to policy makers. The paper is based on a theoretical review for the Impact of Research on Competitiveness and Employment study, and discusses such aspects as social capital, absorptive capacity, path dependency and systems failures and bottlenecks.
REGIONAL INNOVATION & CLUSTERS [Table of Contents]
2002/2003 Great North Alliance Opportunity Forecast
D. Petty, The Great North Alliance
This report benchmarks the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul and the Minnesota metropolitan region) against 11 of the fastest growing regions in the U.S in an effort to predict future competitiveness and opportunity. Of the 58 objective indicators representing four stages of the innovation economy (Current Resources, Resource Flow, Innovation Capacity, Development Capacity), the Twin Cities ranks in the top quartile in 18 and the top half in 35. The Great North Alliance is a regional civic leadership organization that networks CEO level leaders from business, labor, government, academia and non-profits to advance the region’s competitiveness.
E. Jackson and R. Khan, Carleton University
This paper argues that for technology clusters to deliver sustainable livelihoods, community economic development strategies should be considered. Technology clusters, claim the authors, can only deliver sustainable livelihoods when knowledge workers have the opportunities and tools to cope with inevitable sector volatility, and when economically marginalized citizens are included in the new economy. This thesis is examined from the experience of Canada’s National Capital Region (Ottawa-Gatineau).
STATISTICS [Table of Contents]
The educational attainment of employees as an indicator the innovation capacities of enterprises
T. Sandven, STEP
This statistical study examines the feasibility of using data on educational attainment of employees as indicators of the innovation capacities of enterprises. With reasonably strong and meaningful correlations with standard innovation variables, the authors conclude that such a variable does indeed reflect important aspects of innovative capability and activity and thus would be worthwhile to include alongside other innovation data.
EVENTS [Table of Contents]
Knowledge And Economic And Social Change: New Challenges To Innovation Studies
Manchester, 7-9 April, 2003
The purpose of this conference is to bring together the innovation studies community to focus on the current developments in the global economy, in technologies, and in political systems that are continuing to pose new challenges to analysis. Topics include: the increasing importance of the role of knowledge in the operation of the global economy; and the qualitative change in the conditions under which knowledge is exploited to create wealth, to improve the quality of life, and to move towards a sustainable ecosystem, economy and society. The conference is organized by Advances in the Economic and Social Analysis of Technology and the Institute of Innovation Research.
Knowledge
transfer from university to industry
Balearic Islands (Spain) 10-11 April, 2003
This workshop, sponsored by Innovating Regions of Europe (IRE), brings together University-Industry co-operation schemes that have been successfully implemented in several European regions to exploit academic knowledge in favour of local companies. The event will present both direct ways of knowledge transfer from universities to firms, such as companies’ research promotion schemes and technology services; and indirect ways, for instance through research centres and university spin-off companies. The workshop will demonstrate, in depth, the critical factors lying behind the success of the regional schemes presented.
The Knowledge-based Economy: New Challenges in Methodology, Theory and Policy
Augsburg, Germany 9-12 April 2003
This 3rd European Meeting of Applied Evolutionary Economics focuses on the most important aspects of knowledge-based economies within the framework of evolutionary economics. Conference themes include: knowledge and learning; dynamics of technological and qualitative change; industrial organization in a knowledge-based economy; evolution of institutions financial markets in knowledge-based economies; and policy in a knowledge-based economy. Deadline for submission of extended abstracts: October 18, 2002.
Evaluation of Government Funded R&D Activities
Vienna, 15-16 May, 2003
The aim of this conference is to discuss recent scientific contributions to the understanding of the effects and implications of government funded R&D activities. It will focus on recent theoretical, qualitative and quantitative studies and the exploration of different approaches to evaluate their effects. An applied workshop with policy makers will be organized on “What we know and what we should know about evaluation of technology policy” at the end of the conference. Deadline for submission of abstracts: February 2003, 15th.
Innovation through Collaboration: Clusters, Networks, Alliances
Manchester, 8-11 June, 2003
This conference aims to address the issues associated with collaboration in the context of recent research which suggests that as many as 50-70% of strategic alliances will fail within four years due to a vast array of cultural, political, technological and commercial factors. It will provide a forum for academics, business people and consultants to discuss these issues in depth by presenting the latest academic papers, delivering company presentations on the subject and running interactive workshops. Selected proceedings will be published in a special edition of The Journal of Enterprising Culture. The conference is organized by the International Society for Professional Innovation Management.
Creating, Sharing And Transferring Knowledge: The role of Geography, Institutions, Organizations
Copenhagen, 12-14
June, 2002
The conference has four main objectives: to contribute to a more satisfactory understanding of the mechanisms underlying the way in which knowledge is created, shared and transferred; to examine the promoting or inhibiting effect of particular circumstances of organizational context, institutional setting or geographical configuration, such as cities and agglomerations or clusters; to investigate arrangements particularly capable of enhancing, capturing and utilizing end consumer knowledge; and to consider the implications for managerial strategy and public policy. Both senior and junior scholars are invited to participate and contribute with a paper to the conference.
5th
Berlecon Workshop on the Economics of IT
Berlin 13-14, June, 2003
This conference is focused on improving the understanding of the economic aspects of information technology and its role in our economy. The program not only covers IT in the strict sense, but it includes communication technologies that converge with traditional IT. Each year the workshop focuses on a single topic, which is analyzed in its different facets. This year’s workshop topic is “e-business: economic impact and policy implications”.
Communities and technologies (C&T 2003)
Amsterdam or Bonn, 19-21 September, 2003
This international conference is a forum for stimulating and disseminating research into all facets of communities and information technology. Attendees represent multidisciplinary research efforts from applied computer science and social science. The 2003 conference will focus on presentations and discussion of empirical and conceptual research on a wide range of topics including (Virtual) Community formation and development; Virtual communities vs. location-based communities; Digital cities, and Design methods for communityware. The deadline for submission of full research papers is March 14, 2003.
What Do We Know About Innovation? A Conference in Honour of Keith Pavitt
Brighton, 13-15 November, 2003
This conference is in recognition of the lifetime contribution of Professor Keith Pavitt to the study of innovation. Keith's work was based on a deep empirical understanding of innovation and firm behaviour, and he placed particular emphasis on the development of new data, methods, and taxonomies. His contributions spanned economics, management and science and technology policy. The conference is organized around the major themes of his work, including the structure, dynamics and management of innovation processes, the relationship between basic research and technical change, knowledge and the theory of the firm, the globalization of R&D, and science and technology policy.
WILL YOU BE ONE OF OUR REGIONAL REPORTERS? [Table of Contents]
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SEARCH THE OREDI NEWSLETTER [Table of Contents]
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This newsletter is prepared by Tijs
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A. Wolfe.
