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Ontario's Regional Economic Development and Innovation NewsletterIssue #133
August 1, 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] LUCIE receives funding from the Swedish Research Council (Linneaus grant) On June Swedish Minister of Education, Leif Pagrotsky, awarded a very prestigious Linneaus grant to LUCIE (the Lund University Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and CIRCLE, a main partner of LUCIE, which has managed the work on the Linneaus proposal). LUCIE and CIRCLE, a number of whose members collaborate closely with the Innovation Systems Research Network in Canada, was awarded 5 million Swedish Kroner per year for ten years for its application “Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Creation: Dynamics in Globalizing Learning Economies”. Alcatel and SaskTel To Do Joint R&D Saskatchewan's Crown corporation SaskTel and Alcatel announced they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to conduct joint research and development. Once finalized, the agreement will lead to the creation of approximately 20 new R&D positions to be based in Saskatchewan and jointly funded by Alcatel and SaskTel. Robert Watson, president and CEO of SaskTel, Lorne Calvert, premier of Saskatchewan, Serge Tchuruk, CEO and chairman of Alcatel and Hubert de Pesquidoux, EVP and president of Alcatel North America attended the signing ceremony held recently at Alcatel's Paris headquarters. R&D activity resulting from the MOU will focus on the development of advanced software applications to address global market needs, says the press release. Products and services resulting from the collaboration will be distributed worldwide, utilizing Alcatel's global market reach, in conjunction with SaskTel International, a wholly owned subsidiary of SaskTel offering global telecommunications consulting services. TechAlliance's Success Growing London's TechAlliance is in expansion mode, buoyed by a $700,000 provincial grant. The funding, spread over three years, will allow the agency to hire additional staff and expand programs to support high-tech companies and link them to investors. Techalliance received the funding from the Ontario government's $31.5-million research commercialization program launched last year. Founded in 2002, Tech-Alliance receives about $85,000 in annual funding from the City of London, but this year received an additional $110,000 grant. The University of Western Ontario technology transfer office also will share in a $3.9-million grant from the same provincial program. Toronto Region Research Alliance Applauds Launch of Ontario’s Market Readiness Program The Toronto Region Research Alliance (TRRA) congratulates
the Ontario government for its investment in fostering innovative
companies, through the establishment of the Market Readiness Program.
The forward-looking initiative, part of the government’s $160-million
Ideas to Market strategy announced in the 2006 budget, was launched
July 21 by Premier and Minister of Research and Innovation Dalton
McGuinty.
Imagine a Toronto...Strategies for a Creative City Strategies for Creative Cities This report argues that creative industries may
soon overtake ICT and business services as the fastest growing sector
in the region's economy. In order to preserve this momentum and ensure
that other industries benefit from the presence of a strong creative
sector, the authors recommend enlisting regional leaders to create
programs that support creative people, creative enterprises, affordable
spaces for creative work, and a shared community vision. According
to the project, creative industries are those producing cultural goods,
including media and broadcasting, architecture, the performing arts,
advertising, design, and publishing. Creative workers, however, can
be found in any industry, but rely on creativity in their daily work.
This includes writers, graphic designers, musicians, illustrators,
artisans and photographers. The Toronto study focuses on the region's
need to build on this growth to advance Toronto as a center of North
American creativity and to connect creative firms with partners in
other industries. These partnerships give creative firms greater access
to the capital available to more traditional industries and provide
those industries with access to the region's creative talent. INNOVATION & RELATED POLICY [Table of Contents] Ron Saunders, CPRN The product of a research program managed by CPRN, the School of Policy Studies at Queen's University (SPS), and Statistics Canada, this volume provides a synthesis of recent research on human capital development in seven different academic disciplines (economics, sociology, psychology, education, public health, economic geography an d political science). The authors identified areas for new research and specifically research that would cross disciplinary boundaries. Raising Our Game: A National Competition Strategy Edward Gresser, Paul Weinstein Jr., and Will
Marshall, Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) Evaluation of the United Kingdom Foresight Programme PREST This report presents the findings of an independent
evaluation by PREST, University of Manchester of the current round
of the United Kingdom Foresight Programme, launched in 2002. It addresses
the impact of the Programme and its constituent projects, its cost-effectiveness
and its management. The overall conclusion is that the Programme has
achieved its objectives of identifying ways in which future science
and technology could address future challenges for society and identifying
potential opportunities. It has succeeded in being regarded as a neutral
interdisciplinary space in which forward thinking on science-based
issues can take place. All projects have been successful in mobilising
diverse groups of high-calibre specialists to work in a multidisciplinary
framework and have demonstrated the scope for collaboration across
disciplinary boundaries.
CITIES & REGIONS [Table ofContents Neighbourhood Action: What Works Locally Interngovernmental Committee for Economic and Labour Force Development (ICE) This report contains the proceedings from the meeting of ICE on May 28th, 2006. ICE brings together representatives from all three orders of government to help coordinate public sector efforts to support economic and labour force development in Toronto. It includes presentations from some of the speakers at the meeting as well as the agenda, biographies of speakers, a list of registrants, pictures, and evaluations. Canada's Hub Cities: A Driving Force of the National Economy Natalie Brender and Mario Lefebvre, Conference
Board of Canada
STATISTICS & INDICATORS [Table ofContents] Bearing the Brunt: Manufacturing Job Loss in the Great Lakes Region, 1995-2005 Howard Wial and Alec Friedhoff, The Brookings Institution More than one-third of the nation's loss of manufacturing
jobs between 2000-2005 occurred in seven Great Lakes states: Illinois,
Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. This
study reveals that, despite these statistics, manufacturing - with
its 38 percent increase in productivity during the period - remains
a major driver in six of the seven state's economies. After discussing
the impact of this most recent restructuring of U.S. manufacturing,
Wial and Friedhoff look more closely at the impact of the job losses
on the 25 largest manufacturing-dependent metropolitan areas of the
Great Lakes. All but one, Peoria, Ill., lost manufacturing jobs during
the past decade. Canton, Ohio, and Flint, Mich., suffered the loss
of the greatest share of manufacturing employment, with decreases
of 31.1 percent and 29.5 percent, respectively. EVENTS [Table of Contents] 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.
Washington, 28 September, 2006 The purpose of this conference is to convene leadership of industry, government, research, and education community from all 50 states and the federal government to share knowledge and encourage leadership of initiatives at the state and local level to strengthen US competitiveness. There will also be a discussion of current national proposals to respond to the nation’s competitiveness challenge and their implications for states, localities, and regions. 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".
Research
Incentives: Maximizing Performance in the Knowledge Economy Ottawa, 15 November, 2006 As Canada continues to cope with the globalization of the knowledge economy, Canadian firms are facing stiff competition from an increasing number of players. They also have more opportunities for global sales, marketing and distribution; and global collaboration, partnerships and outsourcing. For Canada to remain competitive, we need a policy environment that is attractive to entrepreneurs and firms in knowledge-based sectors. This one-day event will explore these and other issues related to research and innovation incentives. Business leaders and other experts will elaborate how Canadian policy makers can utilize incentives to support a vital and growing private sector capable of winning globally. Transforming Communities Through Culture: Creative City Network Conference 2006 Toronto, 18-21 October, 2006 This conference unites academics, planners and policy makers alike in a celebration and exploration of creative cities. The program contains a variety of presentations, including papers and dramatic performances. The themes covered this year include cultural diversity and inclusion, mobilizing citizens/engaging diverse communities, and shared/public spaces. Universities and the Powering of Knowledge: Policy, Regulation and Innovation Ottawa, 19-20 October, 2006 Intended for participants involved in or interested in higher education, S&T and innovation policies, the conference will examine ways in which Canadian Universities have been changed, willingly or unwillingly, by federal and other policies and regulation and by efforts to make universities into an innovation engine of the knowledge-based economy. The conference will also explore likely future issues and forces which will influence Canadian universities in the next few years, set in the context of other competitor countries, economies and societies. 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. Athens, 30 November - 1 December, 2006 This Conference deals with issues within the Research Action Line 2 of the DIME Network of Excellence and in particular looks at the relationship between entrepreneurship, knowledge and learning through the analysis of the evolution of systems, industrial and territorial clusters and regions. Proposals for contributions-theoretical or empirical (based on surveys, data bases and case studies) are asked on the following four broad areas of research: entrepreneurship and cluster development; entrepreneurship and human capital: the role of entrepreneurial studies in engineering education; managing and coordinating the entrepreneurial development process; and entrepreneurship policy as an emerging policy area, distinct from traditional SME/Enterprise and other related public policies. Toronto, 1 November, 2006 This conference will include presentations by 30
emerging life science companies developing new medicines, devices, diagnostics,
research tools and systems. These companies will have some angel, private
or seed financing already in place and searching for investment in the
$2 to 5 million range. There will also be One-on-One partnering meetings
arranged between CEO’s and investors as well as expert panels
on life science financing and business issues for young companie. In
addition there will be several opportunities to make connections at
the networking breakfast, luncheon and reception.
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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