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Ontario's Regional Economic Development and Innovation NewsletterIssue #131
June 15, 2006
Studies & Publications: Announcements | Editor's Pick | Innovation Policy |Clusters
and Innovation Events
This newsletter is published by ONRIS at the Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto, and sponsored by the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. The views and ideas expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Ontario Government. ANNOUNCEMENTS [Table of Contents] Premier Announces New Innovation Fund The McGuinty government is helping innovative companies develop cutting-edge technologies that will strengthen Ontario's economic advantage and provide high-value jobs for the future. The four-year, $24-million Innovation Demonstration Fund helps companies develop promising new technologies by supporting them at the pilot or demonstration project stage. The fund focuses on new bio-based products (made from biological or renewable materials), environmental and alternative energy technologies. Six science and technology platforms across Canada will receive more than $18.6 million in funding from Genome Canada over the next 15 months. The platforms provide the tools and expertise to analyze genomes in various ways and include services such as DNA sequencing, mapping, genotyping, microarrays, genetic analysis, proteomics and bioinformatics. Genome Canada-funded projects and platforms require the most up-to-date technology to be internationally competitive, and in some cases require new tools and devices that are not available from commercial vendors, often because they represent very specific applications with a limited market. In response to this need, science and technology platforms were established to allow the mutual sharing of equipment, expertise, and engineering resources. The funded platforms are located in Vancouver (2), Victoria, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal.
MaRS Centre Receives the "Intelligent Building of the Year" Award The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) announced MaRS Centre as the winner of its Intelligent Building of the Year at the annual Intelligent Community of the Year Awards in New York City on Friday, June 9th. MaRS Centre was selected among three finalists that included the University of Sherbrooke, Quebec, and Ballantyne Village, Charlotte, North Carolina, which represented a North American sweep of the category. ICF cited MaRS as a development that would feed innovation and economic progress for the community. The Intelligent Community Forum is a global think tank, formed by World Teleport Association in 2000, that focuses on the uses of broadband and information technology for economic development by communities large and small. Its annual awards give a significant profile to communities leading the way in the Digital Age.
Enhancing Competitiveness: A Review of Recent State Development Initiatives 2005 National Governors Association This issue brief examines governors' economic
development initiatives launched over the last year, which continued
to focus on creating quality jobs and boosting the economic competitiveness
of their states. States are focusing on the new economy by promoting
and rewarding innovation, building state university systems and encouraging
research and development. Governors are emphasizing successful strategies
from the 1990s—such as providing education and training to improve
workforce skills and aiding the development of new small businesses.
Most governors' new economic development initiatives focused on enhancing
state and regional "clusters of innovation"—fast-growing
groups of businesses that share markets, labour, new ideas and products.
To enhance these clusters and exploit the unique advantages of the
region's labour pool, educational resources and research capacity,
most development initiatives emphasized one or more of the following
strategies: promoting research and development by leveraging public
funds and encouraging partnerships; building a skilled workforce by
providing training and education to meet industry needs; supporting
entrepreneurs by providing seed funding and incentives for job creation;
developing rural areas by supporting innovations in agriculture and
business development; improving business attraction through revitalization
activities and quality of life initiatives; and marketing the state's
businesses through outreach campaigns and international missions and
offices.
INNOVATION & RELATED POLICY [Table of Contents] How is Canada Faring in the Competition for Internationally Mobile Highly Skiller Workers? Surendra Gera and Thitima Songsakul, Industry Canada The international market for some segments of the high skilled population is becoming more competitive as industrialized countries compete strategically for these talents. In Canada, given a high demand for skilled workers and the unfavourable demographic change with aging population, competing in the international arena for skilled workers is becoming crucial to maintain its success in innovation, economic growth and prosperity. Attracting and retaining skilled workers is now one of the most important challenges facing Canadian policymakers. The key objective of the paper is to assess how Canada is holding up in attracting high-skilled workers in comparison to our key OECD competitor countries. The paper addresses three issues: first, it examines international mobility in terms of stock and flows of highly-skilled workers in selected OECD countries and assesses whether Canada attracts a “fair share” of internationally mobile skilled workers; second, it explores the importance of key economic factors, in particular the knowledge intensive factors that may contribute to a country’s success in attracting foreign highly skilled workers; and third, it discusses recent policy measures in selected OECD countries that influence a country’s ability to attract these workers from abroad.
Phillip Phan and Donald Siegel In recent years, there have been numerous studies
of the effectiveness of university technology transfer. Such technology
transfer mechanisms include licensing agreements between the university
and private firms, science parks, incubators, and university-based
CLUSTERS & REGIONS [Table ofContents] BioRegions in Germany: Strong Impulses for the National Technological Development Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Bio-Regionen A current snapshot of the biotech industry in Germany this report outlines the strengths and successes of a variety of biotech clusters and regions. It outlines the key federal policy interventions - including amendments to the Genetic Engineering Act (1993) and the BioRegio Competition (1995) - that have led to the relatively rapid development of these biotech centres. The report profiles each biotech region and also provides profiles of some of the key high performing companies.
State of the Industry 2006: Technology in the Waterloo Region Communitech The Waterloo Region and Guelph Tech Sector Report championed by Communitech provides evidence of the region’s status as a leading technology cluster, and quantitatively describes some of what Marshall had in mind when he wrote about “industrial atmosphere”. The survey of high technology firms shows a preponderance of locally owned firms, with a diverse and international revenue base, that invest heavily in R&D (25% of revenues), create unique intellectual property (40% have patents), and are bullish about the future of their firms and the community. The survey also highlights some of the challenges faced by firms in the region. Key among these is attracting and retaining talent. Respondents reported more than 900 current job openings, and 80% planned to expand their workforce over the next two years. A second issue is obtaining capital for growth – 55% of respondents seek to raise capital over the next three years. Examined from a different point of view, these challenges are indicators of the rapidly growing local technology industry, and highlight the opportunities for investors and skilled workers in the region.
Creative Connections: Arts, Ideas and Economic Progress in Greater Phoenix Maricopa Partnership for Arts and Culture This report provides an in-depth examination
of the region's strengths and weaknesses in building a creative
economy and offers recommendations to attract and retain talent
to the area. According to the report, Phoenix boasts a workforce
of more than 100,000 people in creative occupations, including arts,
design, culture and those rooted in new ideas and methods -- science,
engineering and advanced technology, for example. These occupations
represent 10 percent of the total wages in the region, with average
wages of $56,729, compared to $33,705 for the region overall. The
report stresses the importance of building and sustaining creative
economies in a global economy. Without a strong flow of innovation,
which thrives in creative economies, the regional economy will inevitably
falter as other U.S. regions with greater commitment surge ahead,
the report states. Also, nations such as China and India are becoming
more formidable competitors.
STATISTICS & INDICATORS [Table ofContents] OECD Biotechnology Statistics 2006 OECD This 2006 edition of biotechnology statistics brings together the latest available economic and activity data on biotechnology and innovation, collected by OECD member and a number of nonmember countries. The report builds on the extensive work of the OECD and national experts to improve the comparability of biotechnology statistics. The results should provide a valuable source of information on biotechnology for policy makers, academics and business managers. Rural Employment in the Cultural Sector Vik Singh, Statistics Canada The study, which uses Statistics Canada's Canadian Framework for Culture Statistics and Labour Force Survey data, examines culture employment in rural and urban Canada between 1996 and 2003. The culture sector is broadly defined as creative artistic activity and the preservation of human heritage. It encompasses the associated activities of creation, production, manufacturing, distribution and support services. While a strong culture sector can improve the economic prosperity of a community through job creation, it also has peculiar advantages. Cultural vitality raises the quality of life and thus increases the attractiveness of a locality to potential new residents, tourists and investors. The culture sector is of growing economic importance to Canada, and culture sector employment is expanding faster than total employment both in rural areas and at the national level. The study found that culture sector employment grew more quickly than overall employment in rural areas between 1996 and 2003. Rural cultural employment rose at about 2.6% per year, whereas overall rural employment increased at an annual average rate of 1.5%.
EVENTS [Table of Contents] 9th Uddevalla Symposium 2006: Entrepreneurship and Development - Local Processes and Global Patterns Fairfax, Virginia, 15-17 June, 2006 The conference organizing committee will be accepting
abstracts until the 28th of February, 2006. Keep checking the conference
website for more news and information. International Conference on Technology Policy and Innovation: Science, Society and Sustainability Santorini, Greece, 18-21 June, 2006 The choice of the ICTPI Greece 2006 theme, “Science,
Society and Sustainability” was based on the outcomes of the recent
national Technology Foresight (TF) exercise (Greece 2001-2021), emphasizing
these three key factors and their interactions as critical for the emergence
of a knowledge-based economy and society. Scholars interested in presenting
at this conference should submit a paper for consideration before March
15, 2006. Toronto, 19-20 June, 2006 CANMEDBIO is an emerging technology showcase, seminar and partnering program for the CANadian MEDical device and BIOtechnology industries. Be a part of the event that will encourage increased commercialization of Canadian innovations and technology. Successful commercialization involves face-to-face connections between and among innovators, investors and companies. Moreover, commercial success is dependant on the financing and partnering companies can achieve to bring innovations to a global market. Innovation, Competition and Growth: Shumpeterian Perspectives Sophia-Antipolis, 22-24 June, 2006 Recent developments in economics have gone from the recognition of the importance of innovation (early studies of innovation, exogenous growth models) to the exploration of innovation mechanisms (more refined microeconomic and sectoral studies of innovation) to the incorporation into economic models of the results of the previous research (endogenous growth, evolutionary models). An important lesson to be drawn from all this research is that a purely macro-based analysis of growth is not enough. The ISS 2006 conference aims at favouring dialogue amongst open minded researchers sharing a common interest in innovation and in the work of Schumpeter. The following subjects provide examples of topics about which the dialogue could be especially fruitful. The growing importance of knowledge and of human capital, increasing returns and path dependence, the role of variety in economic growth, the role of time and importance of business history, the co-evolution of technology and institutions, the economics of agglomeration are just some examples of subjects that will be discussed at this years event.
Saskatoon, 8-10 August, 2006 The World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organizations Biennial Congress – WAITRO 2006 – is an opportunity for the research and technology community worldwide to come together to learn from each other and from invited experts. WAITRO participants include potential collaborators from research and technology organizations in other parts of the world to develop projects of common interest. Representatives of International Finance Institutions and International Development Agencies will be present to assist in formulating projects that address the needs of the developing world. The Future of Science Technology and Innovation Policy Sussex, 11-13 September, 2006 This conference, besides celebrating the 40th Anniversary of SPRU (Science and Technology Policy Research), offers the opportunity to engage in a critical evaluation of the present and future research agenda of the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) field. This conference seeks to explore empirical, theoretical and applied policy approaches that can enable us to conceptualize the contradictory nature of modern science and technology and innovation, and thus provide practical policy guidance. Such a conference is particularly timely because many of the existing conceptual frameworks are apparently undergoing a period of what Kuhn called 'normal science' where their assumptions are rarely questioned, and where they are institutionally and academically isolated from criticism. We aim to identify fruitful new ways forward in the field of STI policy by subjecting these established frameworks to structured debate and critical evaluation. The conference will be organized in the form of plenary sessions, parallel sessions and set debates. It will cover a series of broad themes. These include: Ownership, Accountability and Relevance of Science - for example, the deficiencies of peer review, the pros and cons of patenting in universities, the shifting boundary between public and private knowledge, and processes for allocating resources between disciplines. Technology, Security and Sustainability - for example, the dual relationship between technology and security, changing environment and energy policy, the balance between sustainability and growth, and the role of technology in sustainable development. Dynamics of Innovation Interfaces - for example, the management and dynamics of innovation across different levels (such as individuals, groups, firms, sectors, networks and systems), user-centred innovation processes vs. producer-centered innovation processes, and the connection between innovation and entrepreneurship.
Blue Sky II: What Indicators for Science, Technology and Innovation Policies in the 21st Century? Ottawa, 25-27 September, 2006 This forum will examine new areas for indicator development and set a broad agenda for future work on science, technology and innovation (STI) indicators. Emphasis will be placed on indicators of outcomes and impacts in order to support monitoring, benchmarking, foresight activity, and evaluation, applied to policies and programs, and their economic and social impacts. The Forum is expected to provide ideas and guidance for indicators work in both OECD and non OECD countries, as well as in their international organizations. The Forum will include plenary sessions featuring invited guest speakers who are leading authorities in their fields. Break-out sessions will discuss papers on specific themes selected through a call for papers. New Generation Innovation: New Approaches and Policy Designs Atlanta, 27-29 September, 2006 Particular areas of interest include: new developments in university-industry relationships, new strategies for technology-based local and regional economic development, technology transfer to and from the public sector, trajectories for emerging technologies. All session proposals, paper proposals and abstracts should be submitted electronically not later than Friday, May 12, 2006.
The
9th Annual Conference of the Competitiveness Institute (TCI): The Role
of Cluster Governance and Companies' Involvement in Clusters Initiatives
The goal of this conference is to share ideas, build alliances and explore the best modes of economic development. Additionally information is offered about specific clusters, introductory courses on cluster theory and presentations given by an array of world experts (academics, businesses and institutions).The main topics include competitiveness, innovation, cluster initiatives, industrial organization and corporate change. The theme of the 9th conference will be "Governance and business involvement in cluster initiatives".
Paris, 25-27 October, 2006 As European economies seek new solutions for continuous and competitive growth, how will technology play? What does Europe’s future in Pharma, Agriculture, Food, and the Environment look like? Europe’s great bastions of life science are opening up: be there as it happens! Thousands of European and international participants will converge at EuroBiO. It’s where research and industry meet.
Singapore, 16-18 May, 2007 Organized for the first time in Asia, Triple Helix VI 2007 will provide a global forum for academic scholars from different disciplinary perspectives as well as policy makers, university administrators and private sector leaders from different countries to exchange and share new learning about the diverse emerging models of the entrepreneurial university, the changing dynamics of University- Industry-Government interactions around the world and the complex roles of the university in local, regional and national economic development. SUBSCRIPTIONS & COMMENTS [Table of Contents] Please forward this newsletter to
anyone you think will find it of value. We look forward to collaborating
with you on this initiative. If you would like to comment on, or contribute
to, the content, subscribe or unsubscribe, please contact us at onris.progris@utoronto.ca.
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