Issue #166
March 1, 2008
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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]
Ben Franklin Technology Partners: 25 Years of Positive Measurable Impact
The Ben Franklin Technology Partners program, launched 25 years ago, became the premier model for state sponsored economic development programs a quarter of a century ago. Representative Rick Geist, sponsor of the legislation which created the organization, recalls the growth and progress of Ben Franklin Technology as it lights its silver anniversary candles
IRIC and Partners Awarded $14.95 Million to Accelerate the Commercialization of Cancer Therapies
The Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the Université de Montréal is pleased to announce that it has been awarded $14.95 million for the creation of IRICoR, a Centre of Excellence in Commercialization and Research composed of IRIC, the University Research Group on Drug Discovery and Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital and dedicated to developing novel cancer therapies and bringing them to the marketplace. Funding is provided by the Government of Canada through the Networks of Centres of Excellence of Canada.
Global Scientific Partnership to Safeguard the World's Biodiversity
The Ontario government is investing $150,000 to support international collaboration on new research initiatives through the International Strategic Opportunities Program (ISOP). This investment will enable researchers at the University of Guelph to work with over 100 researchers from 25 countries to create the world’s largest reference library of DNA samples and create new opportunities for training and international exchanges between researchers to strengthen expertise of DNA barcoding and develop new applications and commercial uses.
Funds for Greener Vehicles and Breakthrough Medical Technologies
The Ontario government is investing $150,000 to support scientific collaboration between McMaster University and Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Researchers from both universities will share knowledge, ideas and resources including McMaster’s powerful Titan electron microscope — one of the most powerful microscopes in the world.
EDITOR'S PICK [Table of Contents]
Proof of Concept Centers: Accelerating the Commercialization of University Innovation
Christine A. Gulbranson and David B. Audretsch, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
University researchers often face convoluted procedures with insufficient guidance to commercialize their innovations. As angel investors and venture capitalists increasingly invest in later-stage enterprises, researchers face difficulty finding early stage funding to develop and test prototypes and conduct market research. In order to fill this funding gap and accelerate the commercialization of university innovations, a new type of organization has emerged—the proof of concept center. This paper examines two such centers: the Deshpande Center at the MIT School of Engineering and the von Liebig Center at the University of California San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. This analysis provides valuable insights into how proof of concept centers can facilitate the transfer of university innovations into commercial applications.
INNOVATION & RELATED POLICY [Table of Contents]
Creating Innovation: Do the Creative Industries Support Innovation in the Wider Economy?
Hasan Bakhshi, Eric McVittie and James Simmie, NESTA
Since the pioneering work of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in the late 1990s, there is an awareness of the size of the UK’s creative industries. However, size on its own indicates only part of the economic importance of a sector. A crucial question is to what extent it is embedded within the economy – not just an island of talent and economic power, but an intrinsic part of the entire system. This study is interested in how creativity that runs through the thirteen ‘creative industries’ generates innovation elsewhere. The paper finds that linkages with creative industries appear to support innovation. This finding has deep implications for innovation policy: no longer is it sufficient to support the creative industries alone and for their own sake – policy should encourage and embed linkages between them and the wider economy.
National Overviews of Regional Innovation Policies and Case Studies in the Nordic Countries
Sigrid Hedin, et al. NORDREGIO
This working paper provides an overview and analysis of Nordic innovation policies of relevance to regional innovation systems by investigating the policy making processes and policy practice of innovation policies in the Nordic countries. In the national overviews and case studies for each Nordic country recent national and regional innovation policies are reviewed. Moreover, the policies and their practical implications at the regional level and the relationships between innovation policies and regional policies, and to some extent rural policies are also highlighted.
CITIES, CLUSTERS & REGIONS [Table of Contents]
The European Presidency Conference on Innovation and Clusters was organized by the Swedish and the Slovenian government on 22-23 January 2008 in Stockholm under the Slovenian Presidency. The conference was filmed in its entirety. The films can be viewed on this web site using Windows Media Player. The PowerPoint presentations from the conference are accessible in pdf format.
Innovation Processes in Industrial Districts
Paul L Robertson, David Jacobson and Richard N Langlois
This paper examines the operations of innovation processes within industrial districts by exploring the ways in which differentiation, specialization, and integration affect the generation, diffusion, and use of new knowledge in such districts. It begins with an analysis of the importance of the division of labour and then investigates the effects of social embeddedness on innovation. It also considers the effect of forms of organization within industrial districts at various stages of product and process life, and the negative aspects of embeddedness for innovation. The paper concludes with a discussion of the possible consequences of new information and communications technologies on innovation in industrial districts.
How do Entrepreneurs in Clusters Contribute to Economic Growth?
Karl Wennberg and Goran Lindqvist, Stockholm School of Economics
This paper investigates the long-term survival and performance of new entrepreneurial firms, comparing firms located within regional clusters with those located outside of clusters. The paper is motivated by conflicting evidence as to whether new firms benefit or suffer from being located in a regional cluster.
STATISTICS & INDICATORS [Table of Contents]
European Innovation Scoreboard 2007
PRO INNO Europe
This is the seventh edition of the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS). The EIS is the instrument developed at the initiative of the European Commission, under the Lisbon Strategy, to provide a comparative assessment of the innovation performance of EU Member States. The EIS 2007 includes innovation indicators and trend analyses for the EU27 Member States as well as for Croatia, Turkey, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Japan, the US, Australia, Canada and Israel. The EIS report and its annexes, accompanying thematic papers, interactive tables to view results and the indicators database are available online. (Thematic papers include: “Innovation Statistics for the European Service Sector”, “Measuring innovation efficiency”, “Differences in socio-economic conditions and regulatory environment: explaining variations in national innovation performance and policy implications”, “Are specific policies needed to stimulate innovation in services?”.
POLICY DIGEST [Table of Contents]
MERIPA Toolbox: A Booklet for Regional Innovation Policy Makers
This Toolbox is designed to specifically address the needs of the regional policymakers and provide operational instructions to ensure successful policy work. Additionally, the Toolbox may well serve the needs of scholars or anyone else interested in regional innovation policy. The booklet is structured in accordance with the four main phases of the policy-making process: Start-up, Design, Implementation and Review. Each phase contains a number of chapters, each of which deals with a specific tool or set of instructions for a distinct part of the process.
Preparation
Cluster Mapping Tool
Many regions talk about clusters without having a common understanding of how they should function. The MERIPA Cluster Mapping Tool enables you to analyse your region by using employment data to identify industrial clusters. The Cluster index is based upon Porter’s identified US Clusters. Politicians can use the cluster index to make political choices whether that means supporting existing clusters, upcoming clusters or clusters important for regional employment.
Network Analysis Tool
Many regions talk about clusters and claim they have several clusters in the region such as ICT or Forest Industry. The MERIPA Network Analysis Tool uses qualitative methods in order to understand the dynamics of the cluster. Are the companies that constitute the cluster actually collaborating or not? Through this exercise, possible aspects of the Triple Helix in the Region can also be identified.
Constructing a Regional Innovation Plan
Indicator Plan
The indicator plan tool is designed to introduce five composite measures of innovation performance developed by MERIPA. The general description of these indices includes what they measure and short lists of basic data that needs to be collected in order to measure the region’s performance.
Regional Innovation Plan
This tool will assist in turning the detailed information about the region into a workable strategy for innovation activities. It shows how to turn this information about the region into a list of priorities, and then to write up your priorities as a set of achievable actions.
Implementation
Guildelines
The purpose of this section of cases and lessons learned is not to provide the public policy-makers with a manual of how to act. If there was one lesson learned, it is that the regions of Europe are extremely different, and the enlargement processes of 2004 and 2007 have only increased these differences. One of the main outcomes of the Meripa project, from our perspective, is that certain characteristics of regions make them incomparable. The Vilnius region, for example, was a perfect example of what happens when all regions are analyzed using the same template. The analysis of the five regions and their different regional strategies proved the uselessness of guidelines. Regions understand innovation in many different ways and formulate it in many different ways. Moreover, a policy is by definition a political product, mostly visionary and difficult to evaluate. Another lesson learned is that evaluation, a process often overlooked or neglected, is crucial. Therefore, strategy is a better choice; it includes the idea that evaluation and learning are achieved. At the core of the innovation process is the process of learning. Guidelines and recommendations for a successful innovation policy are given by an extremely wide variety of professionals, scholars, institutions and literatures/reports. This poses the question: do we need more guidelines and recommendations? Furthermore, we can question the utility of all these guidelines and recommendations. Recommendations are be placed in a context by linking them to the regions that generated them. Readers to be inspired by these guidelines and to look at the context in which they are formulated, to better understand their purpose and better exploit its learning.
These tools and strategis can be used to design regional innovation policies in almost any context. This toolkit is comprehensive and provides as much detail as possible in terms of general policy design. Throughout lessons from policy implementation in other regions are assessed and general lessons are distilled from these experiences. While the focus of the tool is on policy making in Europe, many of the tools and strategies discussed have much broader applicability.
EVENTS [Table of Contents]
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?
International Forum on the Creative Economy
Ottawa, 17-18 March, 2008
The Conference Board of Canada and The Department of Canadian Heritage, Government of Canada, are pleased to announce a Call for Papers for the International Forum on the Creative Economy. Papers are welcome in either of Canada's official languages, French or English. This International Forum will include keynote speakers, presentations, lectures, and other activities aimed at examining recent evidence on the arts and cultural sector as an important engine of economic growth. Papers must address one or more of the four Forum themes listed below. Descriptions and examples of these themes are attached: Creative Economy in Transition: Arts and Culture in Domestic and Global Markets; Measuring Arts and Culture as an Economic and Social Engine of a Country's Wealth; Consumption Dynamics: Consumers Driving Change; Innovation and Research: Mobilizing New Practices.
Tech Policy Summit: Collaborating to Drive Technology Innovation and Adoption
Hollywood, CA, 26-28 March, 2008
Tech Policy Summit is the only executive conference of its kind that brings together prominent leaders from the private and public sectors to examine critical policy issues impacting technology innovation and adoption in the United States and beyond. The nonpartisan gathering provides an independent, balanced forum for learning and networking among an exclusive group of industry insiders, government officials, nonprofit leaders and academic experts who may have different perspectives but who share a common goal of enabling innovation. The central mission is to bridge the gaps that sometimes exist – even between like-minded organizations with common goals – and to encourage more dialogue so that there is greater accord between what happens in D.C. and what matters within the technology industry. The theme for the 2008 Summit is Markets in Transition: Collaborating to Drive Technology Innovation and Adoption, and sessions will focus on America's competitiveness in the global economy and the growing impact of convergence on the high tech, digital entertainment and communications industries.
Knowledge in Space and Time: Economic and Policy Implications of Knowledge-Based Economy
Strasbourg, France, 7-9 April, 2008
Contemporary economic, social and geopolitical developments are strongly influenced by two trends: the increasing globalization of the economy and the rise of the knowledge society. This confronts Europe with major organizational challenges. The DIME (Dynamics of Institution and Markets in Europe) Network of Excellence aims to analyze the dynamic features of these processes. The “DIME-vision” is strongly rooted in the idea of multi-level governance as a way of solving many collective problems related to the generation and use of knowledge in the European society at large. Because of the localized and tacit character of knowledge, and its embodiment in specific communities of practice and networks of practitioners, it is essential to take into account the spatial nature of knowledge generation and exchange activities as well as sectoral industrial structure and the configuration of organizations. Indeed, proximity (both in a spatial and organizational sense) plays an essential role in the circulation of knowledge. In April 2008, DIME will be ending its 3rd year of existence. At this occasion, we aim to create an opportunity for the presentation of the most salient dimensions of DIME research, and to open a space for debating them with a broader community.
Second Conference on Micro Evidence on Innovation and Development
Beijing, China, 21-23 April, 2008
The aim of the conference is to bring together researchers from around the world to discuss the importance and the different dimensions of innovation in relation with economic growth and development. Contributions based on micro data from firm or household surveys, case studies and cross country comparative analyses are particularly wanted. In this second Conference, a particular emphasis will be put on innovation in China and other BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa) countries. Contributions on other countries, in particular developing countries, are also welcome.
Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX) 
Toronto, 29-30 April, 2008
CIX will showcase the best and brightest entrepreneurs and shine a spotlight on emerging technologies. The two-day event will feature an innovation marketplace, flash-forward presentations on the state of technology, and facilitated networking opportunities. Co-chairs of CIX are Robert Montgomery, a private investor and CEO of Achilles Media; Sean Wise, Managing Director of Wise Mentor Capital and former Chair of the Canadian Venture Forum; and Rick Nathan, Managing Director of Kensington Capital Partners Limited and President of CVCA, Canada's Venture Capital and Private Equity Association. CIX is intended to fill a void in the marketplace for an efficient and cost-effective meeting place leading to the development of innovative companies. CIX is geared towards: CEOs, CIOs and CTOs of public and private companies interested in innovation; Founders of fast growing startups; Members of the entrepreneurial ecosystem including banks, lawyers and government officials; and sources of capital.
Creative Construct: Building for Culture and Creativity
Ottawa, 29 April to 1 May, 2008
This symposium will bring together participants from around the world to exchange the latest ideas and practices on the development of cultural and creative spaces; cultural planning and investment strategies for cultural infrastructure and cultural districts; and collaborative approaches to enhancing the cultural vitality, creative potential, and competitiveness of cities and communities. The international symposium includes keynote speakers, presentations, panels, and various styles of workshops to examine the role and importance of cultural infrastructure in furthering culture and creativity in cities and communities. The symposium will bring together diverse resources and expertise, and foster an exchange of knowledge and experience extending from grassroots opportunities to international issues.
Toronto, 6-8 May, 2008
BioFinance 2008 is a gathering of some of the most innovative minds in the life science industries from Canada, US and Europe. Presenting Companies range from large publicly traded and major private companies to small early-stage opportunities. The companies will highlight their development plans for new medicines and technologies in the fields of cancer, cardiology, medical devices, neuroscience, immunology, genomics, diagnostics and new research tools.
9th International Digital Government Research Conference: Partnerships for Public Innovation
Montreal, 18-21 May, 2008
The 9th annual international conference is a forum for presentation and discussion of interdisciplinary digital government research and practice and its applications in diverse domains. The conference is presented by the Digital Government Society of North America (DGSNA), with major support from the US National Science Foundation. The conference theme, Partnerships for Public Innovation, focuses on information-intensive innovations in the public sector that involve linkages among government, universities, NGOs, and businesses. This theme emphasizes the importance of sharing practical issues, policy perspectives, research insights, and expert advice, in order to reach higher levels of performance in diverse public enterprises.
STI Indicators for Policy: Addressing New Demands from Stakeholders
Oslo, Norway, 28-30 May, 2008
The recent years have witnessed an extraordinary diversification of the demands for Science and Technology Indicators for policymaking and strategic decision of the actors involved in S&T policies. New demands have emerged as a consequence of the growing complexity of innovation systems at the regional, national and international level and of the needs of new indicators types to characterize the position and the linkages of individual actors (so-called positioning indicators). Whole new fields of indicators have emerged, like collaboration indicators, web indicators, indicators on human resources and mobility, while even in classical domains like input measurement existing indicators are no longer adequate to the needs of policy. The conference aims to provide a locus both for general methodological discussion concerning new indicators, their use in policymaking and the requirements for their production, and for presenting new developments in indicators for specific domains and policy issues, concerning their design, methodology, experimental development and application to policy analysis and decision-making.
Photonics North 2008: Closing the Gap Between Theory, Development and Application
Montreal, 2-4 June, 2008
The Photonics North event is thus a unique opportunity to visit a beautiful city, participate in an outstanding international event and meet with representatives from numerous innovative photonics companies.
Advancing Small Business and Entrepreneurship: 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.
Mexico City, 22-24 September, 2008
GLOBELICS (Global Network for Economics of Learning, Innovation, and Competence Building Systems) is an international network of scholars who apply the concept of "learning, innovation, and competence building system" (LICS) as their framework and are dedicated to the strengthening of LICS in developing countries, emerging economies and societies in transition. The research aims at locating unique systemic features as well as generic good practices to enlighten policy making relating to innovation, competence building, international competitiveness, regional development, labor market and human capital development. In an increasingly global and knowledge-based competition, management strategies need to be based upon an understanding of these framework conditions and the public policies which seek to regulate the environment. For the sixth conference to be held in Mexico City papers that contribute to the understanding of 'Styles' or modes of Development (or Political Economy of Development): paradigms of public policies, conflicts, trade-offs and choices among alternative public policies will be welcome.
Newcastle, UK, 4-5 September, 2008
It is generally acknowledged that regional economic success in Europe is dependent on an orientation towards a knowledge-based economy, typified either by high value added, creative and science-based industry, or a focus on advanced business services. For those regions lacking such advantages the emphasis of policy has been placed on developing new clusters of knowledge-based industries through a variety of measures including networking activities, university-based initiatives and support for new start-ups. A key problem though has been the absence of a clear understanding of what would constitute progress towards a knowledge-based economy, never mind what should be the most appropriate policies. One particular problem is the lack of consensus between quantitative and qualitative researchers on how to assess the state of the knowledge base and on the nature of the policy objectives. Through the inclusion of varieties of approaches to exploring the regional knowledge economy this seminar will offer opportunities to draw comparisons between the findings of various research strategies. In so doing, the seminar will stimulate a dialogue within which new developments may be initiated to bridge the various research communities and thereby offer new insights into the role of knowledge in regional economic development and subsequent policy implications.
PRIME International Conference 2008
Mexico City, 24-26 September, 2008
Both the Latin American and European countries recognize that innovation and knowledge are central to the future growth and vitality of their economies and the improvement of quality of life of their citizens. To be successful policies aimed at encouraging research and innovation should recognize the importance of specific institutional arrangements and adaptation to the different sectors and knowledge fields. The Europe-Latin America Conference on Science and Innovation Policy will explore the research/knowledge base, the factual and the normative principles that inform those policies, taking account of the current dynamic international context, promoting mutual learning between the communities of researchers, analysts, R&D managers and policy makers. The aim of the conference is: to stimulate the exchange of experiences about science, technology and innovation policies in Latin America and European countries to promote mutual learning, improve the quality of the research in the field, enhance the impact of the research in the policy making and foster the diffusion of the best practices amongst countries of Europe and Latin America, considering an adequate balance between convergence and diversity.
GLOBELICS International Conference 2008
Mexico City, 24-26 September, 2008
For the sixth conference to be held in Mexico City papers that contribute to the understanding of 'Styles' or modes of Development (or Political Economy of Development): paradigms of public policies, conflicts, trade-offs and choices among alternative public policies will be welcome. The conference will be organized around the following themes on the following issues: Innovation, economic development and inequality (Education, Health, Employment, Migration, Gender Equity, Income Distribution). The conditions for developing sustainable systems of innovation. Biofuel, energy systems, water supply, transport, tourism and sustainable development. The role of new ‘horizontal technologies’ (ICTs and biotechnologies). Innovation in indigenous knowledge systems and in traditional sectors (e.g. agriculture, handcraft, clothing, eco-tourism, etc.). Factors affecting differences in economic growth rates: convergence vs divergence in productivity and welfare standards. Patterns of sectoral catching-up. Globalization, autonomy/openness and development. The links between microeconomic learning and macroeconomic policies. Forces inducing learning and the expansion of domestic technological capabilities. Innovation, SME and local development. Factors of attractiveness and embeddedness of the MNCs in local/regional/national systems. Privatization of knowledge, Intellectual Property Right (IPR) and development. International cooperation and national innovation policies to face global challenges (poverty, diseases, natural disasters).
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