Ontario's Regional Economic Development and Innovation Newsletter



Issue #160                                                           November 15, 2007

  Studies & Publications: Announcements | Editor's Pick | Innovation Policy |Cities and Regions | Statistics and Indicators| Policy Digest | Events
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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 Research and Innovation. The views and ideas expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Ontario Government.

ANNOUNCEMENTS                                                          [Table of Contents]


Government of Canada Launches Competition for Business-Led Centres of Excellence

The Government of Canada recently took the next step in its efforts to support private sector competitiveness by calling for applicants for the Business-led Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) program. This $46 million initiative, announced in Budget 2007, is established to fund large-scale, collaborative networks that support private sector innovation. The money will create up to five new Business-led NCEs and support them for four years, starting in 2009. The networks will be proposed and led by private sector consortia and will focus on research in five priority areas.

Ontario Government Announces $165 Million Venture Capital Fund

A new $165-million Ontario Venture Capital Fund will help create the jobs of the future by boosting cutting-edge companies here in the province. The McGuinty government has signed a letter of intent with leading Canadian institutional investors — including OMERS Administration Corporation, RBC Capital Partners, Business Development Bank of Canada and Manulife Financial — to create the new fund.

EDITOR'S PICK                                                             [Table of Contents]


Annual Toronto Regional Innovation Gauge 2007

Toronto Region Research Alliance (TRRA)
In order to sustain and enhance the Toronto Region’s innovation performance, an accurate diagnosis of the current strengths and weaknesses of the region’s innovation system relative to key international competitor regions is necessary. To this end, the Toronto Region Research Alliance (TRRA) created the Annual Toronto Region Innovation Gauge (ATRIG), a yearly diagnostic of the region’s innovation performance, based on a range of internationally-accepted performance indicators drawn from the Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy (MA Index).

INNOVATION & RELATED POLICY                                  [Table of Contents]


Sharpening Canada's Competitive Edge

The Competition Policy Review Panel
This paper outlines the changing international economic context and presents what the Panel believes are the two principal issues for Canada’s economic performance: How best to create the domestic conditions to foster the development of Canadian-based global businesses; and how to best position Canada to be a world-leading destination for talent, capital and innovation.

A National Plan for Addressing the Critical Needs of the U.S. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education System

National Science Board
The National Science Board (NSB), the policy-making body of the National Science Foundation, released its recommendations to improve the ability of all American students to receive the necessary skills and knowledge to successfully participate in the workforce of the future. This report describes two central challenges of equal importance that form the core of their actionable steps: (1) Ensure a coherent STEM education system throughout the entire country, and (2) ensure that U.S. students are educated by well qualified and highly effective teachers. The report offers some perspectives on America’s lagging rankings in STEM critical thinking skills compared to other industrialized nations and includes information from the National Center for Education Statistics, which reports 30 percent of first-year college students take remedial math and science courses because of their lack of readiness for college-level courses. Actionable steps are organized into four categories: coordinating and enhancing local, state and federal programs; providing horizontal coordination of STEM education among states; providing vertical coordination of STEM education across grade levels from pre-K to the first years of higher education; and, increasing the number and quality of STEM teachers.

The Changing Face of American Innovation

William Kerr, Harvard Business School
The contributions made by immigrant scientists and engineers for developing new U.S. technologies have been formidable—but not always well described. What we do know: While the foreign-born account for just over 10 percent of the U.S. working population, they represent 25 percent of the U.S. science and engineering workforce and nearly 50 percent of those with science and engineering doctorates. And at the Ph.D. level, ethnic researchers make an exceptional contribution to science as measured by Nobel Prizes, election to the National Academy of Sciences, patent citation counts, and so on. Now new research based on patent and trademark data drills down to further identify the probable ethnic composition of U.S. inventors, the industries they influence, and the geographies they work in.

CITIES, CLUSTERS & REGIONS                                          [Table of Contents]


Innovation Clusters: A Statistical Analysis and Overview of Current Policy Support

EU Directorate General of Enterprise and Industry
Clusters can be powerful engines of regional economic development and drivers of innovation. They enable companies to integrate in clusters where they can collaborate with and learn from research institutions, suppliers, customers and competitors. This report offers an overview of the main statistical findings obtained so far by the European Cluster Observatory. The report also describes the main Community instruments in support of cluster development giving particular emphasis on the aspects of trans-national cooperation. it puts into a framework the different EU activities carried out in support of clusters and cluster policy development such as the on-going projects of Europe INNOVA and PRO INNO Europe initiatives, the European Cluster Observatory , the European Cluster Alliance and the European Cluster Memorandum.

Entrepreneurship and the American City

Edward Glaeser, Harvard Institute of Economic Research
Why do levels of entrepreneurship differ across America’s cities? This paper presents basic facts on two measures of entrepreneurship: the self-employment rate and the number of small firms. Both of these measures are correlated with urban success, suggesting that more entrepreneurial cities are more successful. There is considerable variation in the self-employment rate across metropolitan areas, but about one-half of this heterogeneity can be explained by demographic and industrial variation. Self-employment is particularly associated with abundant, older citizens and with the presence of input suppliers. Conversely, small firm size and employment growth due to unaffiliated new establishments is associated most strongly with the presence of input
suppliers and an appropriate labor force. The paper also finds support for the Chinitz (1961) hypothesis that entrepreneurship is linked to a large number of small firms in supplying industries. Finally, there is a strong connection between area-level education and entrepreneurship.

STATISTICS & INDICATORS                                                 [Table of Contents]


National Innovation Systems, Capabilities and Economic Development

Jan Fagerberg and Martin Srholec, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo
This paper focuses on the role of capabilities for economic development. In recent years data on different aspects of development have improved a lot. This provides new opportunities for in-depth research on capabilities and their measurement. The analysis, based on a factor analysis on 25 indicators and 115 countries from the 1992-2004 period, identifies four different types of
capabilities; the development of the innovation system, the quality of governance, the character of the political system and the degree of “openness” of the economy. Innovation systems and governance are shown to be of particular importance for economic development.

Characteristics and Trends in North American Research Parks: 21st Century Directions

Association of University Research Parks and Battelle
University research parks are a big and growing part of America’s innovation system. The study surveyed 134 research parks in the US and Canada. Overall, these parks encompass more than 47,000 acres and 124 million square feet of building space. Collectively, the research parks employ more than 300,000 people. Some trends are appearing in this market. Interestingly, research parks are starting to place more emphasis on incubating and nurturing entrepreneurial companies (as opposed to housing established firms) as a means to grow their future tenant base. Another promising trend is that research parks are reaching out more aggressively to support economic development in the surrounding region. As universities become more engaged in these activities are being viewed not simply as business locations, but as key drivers of the local economy.

POLICY DIGEST                                                                  [Table of Contents]


MetroNation: How US Metropolitan Areas Fuel Prosperity

Brookings Institution
The stakes are high as the United States approaches the 2008 Presidential election. Often unsettling forces are rapidly transforming the world and the rules that govern how families and communities thrive. These forces pose a series of historic challenges and opportunities for the U.S.: How does the American economy maintain its edge in the face of quickening competition abroad, and continued restructuring at home? How can the education and skills of workers grow, and secure more broadly shared gains from economic growth? How will the nation combat the threat from global climate change and achieve greater energy independence, given continued U.S. population growth? In short, the effort to secure American prosperity in the 21st century confronts a series of new realities.

This report argues that the ability of the U.S. to meet the great economic, social, and environmental imperatives of our time rests largely on the health and vitality of metropolitan areas. Yet U.S. metropolitan areas, for all their economic might, face a series of troubling challenges that hold back the country’s prosperity. Local and regional leaders across the U.S. confront a legacy of federal government policy maladapted to dynamic metropolitan realities. Along these lines, MetroNation draws the following conclusions:

1. New challenges to American prosperity have emerged. Profound changes in the global and domestic
economy present America with a series of historic challenges:

·         The U.S. economic powerhouse faces expanded global competition. Economic liberalization throughout the world, skills upgrades in developing countries and massive technological advances mean that the United States faces expanded competition for jobs and investment. China and India alone accounted for more than 40 percent of global economic growth from 2000 to 2005.

·         The domestic economy continues to restructure. The share of U.S. jobs in manufacturing has fallen from 31 percent to 10 percent over the past half century. Meanwhile, services employment has risen to two-thirds of all U.S. jobs. Accelerated offshoring in both sectors threatens to bring about economic dislocation or American workers and firms in the future.

·         The U.S. labor market has become more economically polarized. Wages for highly educated workers have risen considerably over the past 30 years, while those for less educated workers have stagnated or fallen. In part due to this polarization, the typical American family has not benefited from recent economic growth to the same degree as in previous
generations.

·         Demographic shifts portend new economic challenges. An aging workforce, combined with projected population increases among historically less educated groups, will test the nation’s ability to sustain its economic leadership, achieve rising standards of living for all, and provide for a growing retired population in the future.

2. America’s metropolitan areas are the engines of national prosperity. In a global economy marked by a highly competitive, interlinked network of major city regions, America’s efforts to extend prosperity depend more than ever on the success of its metropolitan areas:

·         True prosperity requires productive, inclusive, and sustainable growth. The U.S. must aspire and act to maintain its economic leadership, foster a strong and diverse middle class, and advance efforts to address climate change and achieve energy independence. These three growth goals are not mutually exclusive, and can actually reinforce one another.

·         Investments in innovation, human capital, and infrastructure help drive American prosperity. Strategic public and private investments in these core assets and in the quality places where they come together most forcefully contribute to productive, inclusive, and sustainable national growth.

·         America’s metropolitan areas aggregate its key drivers of prosperity. The 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas contain 65 percent of the nation’s population and 68 percent of its jobs, but gather even larger shares of innovative activity (78 percent of U.S. patent activity), educated workers (75 percent of graduate degree holders), and critical infrastructure (79 percent of U.S. air cargo). As such, they generate three-quarters of U.S. gross domestic product. Their successes, and those of the nation’s smaller metro and rural areas, are inextricably linked.

·         Major metro areas strengthen key prosperity drivers. These metro areas possess agglomeration economies -- geographic clusters of related firms and large pools of workers -- that enhance productive growth. What is more, these economies foster the quality places -- vibrant downtowns, attractive town centers, and historic older suburbs -- that by virtue of their density and diversity help speed the acquisition of human capital, and contribute to resource-efficient sustainable growth.

3. To achieve American prosperity, a new federal partnership to promote metropolitan prosperity is needed. For all their aggregate strength, America’s metropolitan areas face a series of troubling challenges that hold back their collective prosperity. Their collective productivity growth rate has begun to slip, their college degree-earning pace has slowed, and their sprawling development patterns continue to fuel elevated greenhouse gas emissions. Yet our metropolitan leaders find our national government absent and adrift, largely unaware of the new economic, social, and environmental realities enveloping metropolitan America. A new partnership between federal, state, local, and private-sector leaders, a Blueprint for American Prosperity, is needed to help metropolitan areas innovate and prosper in a fast-moving, unpredictable world.

EVENTS                                                                               [Table of Contents]



Beyond Bureaucracy: A Festival of Public Service, Creativity and the Public Good

Toronto, 15-16 November, 2007
A flexible and nimble public service is key to Canada’s competitiveness in the face of global transformation. But many see bureaucracy as an ineffective hierarchy tangled in a web of rules and losing its ability to make a difference. Beyond Bureaucracy will explode this stereotype, focusing on creativity as integral to public service and critical to the public good. Keynote speaker Stephen Lewis, renowned leader in human rights, an expert in economic development and social issues, former UN special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa and now a professor in global health at McMaster University, will speak on “The Public Good.” The conference also features Pier Giorgio Di Cicco, Toronto’s poet laureate, who will speak on “A Creative Public Service.” Communications specialist and hypnotist Christina Kaya, organizational development consultant Maureen McKenna and other visionary leaders will explore the creative capacity in the public sector.

DIME-LABEIN Technalia 2007 Workshop: Sustainable Innovation Environments

Bilbao, Spain, 4 December, 2007
This workshop is part of the Structural Activity Line 3 of the DIME Network of Excellence and focuses particularly on the innovative methods used to create sustainable environments of various scales.  The workshop will address green governance issues and design while centring on the primary example of a sustainable environment through the case of the Zorrozaurre eco-village found in the centre of Bilbao.  This event will also utilize the territorial development approach from the sustainability perspective while highlighting the knowledge and innovation perspective. 

Creativity, Entrepreneurship, and Organizations of the Future

Cambridge, MA, 7-8 December, 2007
Creativity is an essential element of success in contemporary organizations, yet much remains to be discovered about how creativity happens in the minds of individuals, in group processes and in entrepreneurial organizations. The conference will draw on scholarly work from multiple disciplines to deepen our understanding of creativity and entrepreneurship, and the ways in which their intersection might impact organizations of the future.

DRUID-DIME Winter Conference - Economics and Management of Innovation and Organizational Change

Aalborg, Denmark, 17-19 January, 2008
The conference is open for all PhD students working within the broad field of economics and management of innovation and organizational change. The conference organizers invite papers aiming at enhancing our understanding of the dynamics of technological, structural and institutional change at the level of firms, industries, regions and nations. DRUID is the node for an open international network. Confirmed invited senior scholars are: Maryann Feldman, University of Georgia; Reinhilde Veugelers, Katholike Universiteit Leuven; Paula Criscuolo, Tanaka Business School; Alfonso Gambardella, Università Bocconi; Gerry George, London Business School.

Innovation for Renewal and Growth - Accelerating Innovation for Sustainable Growth

New York, 11-12 March, 2008
Sessions will deal with issues and questions including: Growth oriented leadership - Defining the qualities your leadership must incorporate to reach growth objectives. New Models - The customer dynamic has forever changed with the advent of the internet. Open source innovation and collaboration are happening at the organizations setting the pace of innovation and growth in their sectors. What insights can organizations reap from the new reality of virtualization, collaboration, community and the coming co-creation wave? Innovation and Risk - Historically, managers tasked with driving growth through innovation have faced a risky and unpredictable road. How can you create and manage an innovation portfolio? Driving your organization’s innovation initiatives by utilizing metrics. Fostering a culture of innovation and empowering employees to see and act on opportunities in new or mature markets. Talent - as an innovation driver and growth lever for mature organizations. What is the business case used to engage all stake holders for innovation strategy buy-in, its communication and sponsorship across the enterprise?

Advancing Small Business and Entrepreneuship: From Research to Results

Halifax, 22-25 June, 2008
Please join researchers, educators, policy makers and business service providers from around the world at the 53rd International Council for Small Business (ICSB) World Conference. The theme of the conference is "Advancing Small Business and Entrepreneurship: From Research to Results". A key aim of the conference is to bridge the gap between research and action.


>SUBSCRIPTIONS & COMMENTS                                                 [Table of Contents]

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This newsletter is prepared by Jen Nelles.
Project manager is David A. Wolfe.

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