Issue #170
May 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]
A Wholly New SBIR Program Passes House 368-43
The SBIR program reauthorized for two years by the U.S. House of Representatives recently is the SBIR program as it was created and sustained for the past 25 years. Nor would it be the same, smaller STTR program if the bill becomes law. H.R. 5819 means bigger awards, but fewer awards. It means more flexibility as to when research projects can enter the SBIR/STTR process. It clarifies and expands eligibility to include companies owned by venture capital firms. It opens up significant subcontracting opportunities. It has, for the first time, requirements to give preferences in SBIR/STTR awards to companies based on geographic and demographic considerations. Also reauthorized in the bill is a dramatically changed Federal and State Technology Partnership (FAST). FAST would make two-year matching grants of up to $250,000 to support state SBIR/STTR outreach and proposal assistance. An amendment that was passed by voice vote, requires the Small Business Administration (SBA) to give preference in making FAST awards to proposals involving Small Business Development Centers that are certified by the SBA to assist technology companies (SBTDCs).
NRC: Government of Canada Supports World-Class Research in Nanotechnology
Recently the Government of Canada announced the winners of a special $15-million nanotechnology research funding competition. Five projects will be funded over three years. BDC assessed the commercial potential of the proposed projects and will help the researchers move their technologies toward commercialization. The five winning teams combine the expertise of NRC researchers from several disciplines with collaborators from 14 academic institutions: Concordia University, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, McGill University, Queen's University, Simon Fraser University, Universite Laval, Universite de Sherbrooke, University of Alberta and Concordia University College of Alberta, University of British Columbia, University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, University of Victoria and University of Waterloo. Each research team has also secured industry support.
Government of Canada Awards $8.6M to ACCELERATE Canada to Run Industrial R&D Internship Program
The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry, recently awarded $8.6 M to ACCELERATE Canada to run a new national Industrial Research and Development Internship (IRDI) program. Over the next two years, the funding will help place 1,200 Canadian graduate students and post-doctoral fellows with businesses all over the country. The interns will undertake research that meets the innovation needs of the host firms. The internships will consist of collaborative research projects involving graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, their supervising professors and industry partners. Companies will share the cost of hosting the internships with the IRDI program. Funding will also come from provincial, university and other partners. The program targets all academic disciplines including the physical, biological and mathematical sciences, engineering, health sciences, arts and humanities, social sciences and business.
ACOA Cash to Help Local Ideas Spring to Markets
The federal government is giving $8.5 million to help Atlantic Canadian researchers get their discoveries out of the laboratory to markets around the world. Springboard Atlantic Inc. will receive the monies from Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s Atlantic Innovation Fund. A non-profit organization that encourages commercialization of research, Springboard represents 14 Atlantic Canadian universities and networks of community colleges in the region.
Ontario's Innovation Agenda Unveiled
A tax exemption that encourages businesses to bring the research of universities and colleges to market and a 45-day service guarantee on the $1.15 billion Next Generation of Jobs Fund are two North American “firsts” and key pillars of Ontario’s innovation agenda, unveiled recently in Ottawa. Supported by close to $3 billion in spending over eight years, the agenda builds on the strength of Ontario’s creative environment, diverse culture, highly skilled workforce, world-class educational system and internationally recognized research community.
EDITOR'S PICK [Table of Contents]
Boosting Productivity, Innovation and Growth Through a National Innovation Foundation
Robert Atkinson and Howard Wial, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF)
There is disturbing evidence that America’s innovation lead is shrinking. For example, the United States’ share of worldwide total domestic R&D spending fell from 46 percent in 1986 to 37 percent in 2003. Moreover, expanded support for basic research and science education, while important, will not be enough to respond to this challenge. Without a more robust, targeted, and explicit federal innovation policy, U.S. competitiveness will continue to slip and economic growth will lag. This new report argues that a critical step in that direction is the establishment of a National Innovation Foundation – a nimble, lean and collaborative entity devoted to supporting firms and other organizations in their innovative activities. NIF would work to catalyze industry-university research partnerships, expand regional innovation-promotion by state governments, and encourage technology adoption. By realigning and augmenting the nation’s current diffuse efforts, the new National Innovation Foundation would help create better jobs in America, not just for highly educated “knowledge workers,” but for all workers, including high school graduates in manufacturing and “low-tech services.”
INNOVATION & RELATED POLICY [Table of Contents]
Marko P Hekkert and Simona O Negro, University of Utrecht
Understanding the emergence of innovation systems is becoming central for research analyzing the process of technological change. In particular, the key activities that are important for the build up of an innovation system have received much attention. These are labeled ‘functions of innovation systems’. In most cases the authors apply this framework without questioning its validity. This paper builds on five empirical studies, related to renewable energy technologies, to test whether the functions of the innovation systems framework is valid to analyze processes of technological change. The paper tests the claim that a specific set of functions is suitable. It also explores whether the claim made in previous publications that the interactions between system functions accelerate innovation system emergence and growth is valid.
President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
This report follows up a first report which answered the following questions: How is the US doing on nanotechnology? Is money being well spent and are programs being well managed? Do they address societal concerns and potential risks? How can these issues be addressed better? The report was generally positive in its conclusions but provided recommendations for improving or strengthening efforts in technology transfer; environmental, health and safety (EHS) research and its coordination; education and workforce preparation; and societal dimensions. Since the first report, increasing attention has been focused on the potential risks of nanotechnology, especially the possible harm to human health and the environment from nanomaterials. This second assessment pays special attention to the National Nanotechnology Initiative in these areas. The report draws a number of conclusions on issues such as international benchmarking, investment and infrastructure, standards development and technology transfer and commercialization.
CITIES, CLUSTERS & REGIONS [Table of Contents]
Clusters and Competitiveness: A New Federal Role for Stimulating Regional Economies
Karen G Mills, et al., The Brookings Institution
Regional industry clusters—geographic concentrations of interconnected firms and supporting organizations—represent a potent source of productivity at a moment of national vulnerability to global economic competition. For that reason, this report from the Brookings Institution argues that the federal government of the United States should establish an industry clusters program that stimulates the collaborative interactions of firms and supporting organizations in regional economies to produce more commercial innovation and higher wage employment
STATISTICS & INDICATORS [Table of Contents]
Science, Technology and Innovation in Europe - 2008
Eurostat
It is widely recognized that knowledge and innovation are the key determinants of jobs and growth. With a wide set of data tables, graphs and written analysis, this publication draws a comprehensive picture of the Science, Technology and Innovation activities in the European Union as carried out by its people, enterprises and governments . It reveals in particular the contributions and expenditures on research and development; defines the characteristics of the high-skilled people participating. It further describes the innovation activities of enterprises as well as patenting which is one of the channels leading to commercializing newly developed technology.
POLICY DIGEST [Table of Contents]
Cluster Policies and Cluster Strategies: Lessons from the ISRN National Study
David A Wolfe, Program on Globalization and Regional Innovation Systems, University of Toronto
The goal of cluster development remains an elusive target for many local economic development agencies. The fascination with industrial clusters arises out of the perceived relation between clustering and enhanced competitiveness and innovation performance. A key challenge for policy-makers is how to generate cluster-based development. The cluster literature has been preoccupied to a large extent with identifying the key factors that contribute to the origins and growth of clusters. Although the presence of such critical factors is sometimes taken as a causal explanation for the development of the clusters, as well as a guide for policy makers, it does neither very effectively. An adequate account of the factors that contribute to cluster development must differentiate between those policies that create the underlying conditions that are conducive to the emergence and growth of clusters, in contrast to those that sustain and promote the development of clusters once they have emerged.
This report draws upon the results of a comprehensive national study of industrial clusters in Canada by members of the Innovation Systems Research Network to analyze both categories of policies. The ISRN cluster study involved an extensive examination of twenty-six case studies across the country. The goal of the research project was to determine the prevalence and success of local industrial clusters in Canada's diverse regional economies, and to analyze how the formation and growth of these clusters contributes to local economic growth and innovative capacity.
While it is virtually a commonplace to state that governments cannot create clusters by fiat or direct policy intervention, our account of the evolutionary character of cluster development suggests that government policies play a critical role at many different stages of cluster formation and growth.
Key Findings
Path Dependence - Cluster Origins
Central to the question of cluster policy is the role of path dependencies created by small, initial – often chance – events, as opposed to that played by deliberate actions of both private actors and public sector agencies.The key lesson here is that the path dependencies for cluster creation are highly variable, and that the chance events that provide the trigger for cluster formation can come from many sources. There is a certain element of serendipity in many of the cases that comprise the ISRN study but in virtually all of them ‘chance had its locational antecedents’. Once a cluster emerges through a combination of local antecedents, chance events and entrepreneurial initiative, the effects of increasing returns and positive feedback reinforce its existing advantages. This suggests the following critical lesson for policy analysis – public policies should be designed with an appropriate balance between those that help establish the local antecedents for clusters in specific regions and those that support the continued growth and development of the clusters once they have emerged.
Clusters as Sectoral Phenomenon
Another key finding that emerges from the ISRN case studies is the extent to which the cluster/sector distinction that is often made in the literature has masked one of the most significant dimensions of the cluster. The ISRN study highlighted the extent to which the character of individual clusters is strong influenced by the nature of the particular sectors in which they are based. This finding has critical implications for the formulation of cluster policies, as policies which may be appropriate or valuable for clusters with one set of sectoral dynamics, may be inappropriate for clusters in a another sector.
Differentiated Knowledge Bases of Clusters
Clusters can also be differentiated in terms of the critical source of knowledge they draw upon. It is useful to have a clearer understanding of how these forms of knowledge vary between industries. Recent analyses of the geography of knowledge flows — within and between local clusters — identify distinctive patterns by sector. These analyses distinguish between ‘analytical’ and ‘synthetic’ knowledge bases. Synthetic knowledge bases are characteristic of such industries as advanced industrial engineering where innovation takes place mainly through the application or novel combinations of existing knowledge. Analytical knowledge bases are found in science-based industries where knowledge creation is normally based on formal models, codified science and rational processes. The ISRN study developed a matrix of clusters differentiated by the nature of their knowledge base and the relative importance of the global/local dimensions of knowledge flows within those cases.
The Role of Talent in Cluster Development
One of the most consistent findings from the research is the centrality of skilled labour as the single most important local asset. If there is one type of input that is overwhelmingly local, it is highly skilled labour. The depth and breadth of the local labour market is the key ingredient defining a cluster's ability to support knowledge-intensive production. This factor endowment is created and maintained by the attraction and retention of highly educated, potentially mobile workers who are drawn to thick and deep opportunity-rich local labour markets. It is also the factor that is most amenable to public policy influence. Post–secondary educational institutions play a central role in the development of a local talent pool.
Research Infrastructure and Talent Creation
In much of the cluster literature, the presence of research intensive institutions is depicted as a critical factor in seeding the growth and development of the cluster; the generation of a strong pool of highly skilled talent and the presence of a ‘thick’ labour market are portrayed as a positive, but secondary consequence of the investment in building dynamic research capabilities. The results of the ISRN case studies suggest that the line of causality may point in the other direction. In relatively few of the cases, outside of those which rely most strong on a synthetic knowledge base, such as the biotechnology clusters, does the cluster owe its emergence and
present strength to direct spin offs of new firms or the licensing of technology from research intensive institutions.
The ISRN findings underline the fact that direct seeding of the cluster by postsecondary institutions is the exception, rather than the rule. The case studies suggest that the presence of universities and research institutes act primarily as attractors of inward investments by lead anchor firms interested in tapping into the knowledge base of the local community, or its local buzz, and as providers of the talent pool that firms in the cluster draw upon, rather than as direct initiators of cluster development. In this respect, universities also act as part of the network linking actors in the local cluster to the global pipelines that are essential for the knowledge flows in the cluster. Successful research universities also attract leading scientists, further reinforcing their linkages to external knowledge flows through the extensive network of contacts they bring to their new location.
This means that the role of public policy in stimulating economic development through direct support for research-intensive universities is critical, if not always in terms of the popularly conceived linear relationship. The public interventions that have the most enduring effect in sustaining the process of local economic development are those that strengthen the research infrastructure of region or locality and contribute to the expansion of its talent base of skilled knowledge workers.
Policy Directions
A critical insight from the ISRN studies is that different cluster policies are appropriate at different stages of the cluster life cycle — there may be one set of environmental conditions that support the creation of a cluster, while a different set of conditions may be required for the ongoing development of a cluster and the competitive advantages the cluster confers upon its constituent enterprises. The project adopted a life cycle model of cluster development and transformation that includes the following stages:
Policy interventions are important at every stage of the cluster life cycle, even the later ones, and may be especially critical at the transformational stage when the cluster is facing novel and unprecedented challenges. This paper divides the appropriate policies into two broad categories. The first category consists of general policies designed to foster the initial conditions that create the conditions for latent clusters to develop and ensure an adequate supply of the factor endowments critical for cluster emergence. The second category of policies includes those targeted at providing supports for the continued growth of clusters once they have
emerged. Public sector agencies with cluster mandates must clearly refine their role in individual clusters to accommodate the specific developmental stage of each one.
Initial Conditions
Public policies that create a strong knowledge base in the regional economy and contribute to the creation of a well educated workforce establish the local antecedents that can support the emergence of clusters. While clusters are overwhelmingly a local and regional phenomenon, in most industrial countries the policies that contribute most directly to seeding the condition in which they can emerge lie within the jurisdiction of federal or provincial governments. A broad cross-section of the cases included in the ISRN national study underline the important roles played by different scales of political jurisdiction in the genesis of clusters.
Cluster Development and Policy Coordination
Many of the public policies that are most effective at seeding the growth of clusters are frequently designed with some other goal or objective in mind. Public policies that build a strong knowledge base in the regional economy, and contribute to the creation of a well educated workforce, rank among the most effective in establishing the local antecedents that can support the emergence of clusters.Cluster policies can serve as an effective means of focusing the impact of a wide range of other policy instruments deployed by senior levels of government to ensure they achieve maximum impact and benefit in promoting the development of networks of local firms. A key challenge for economic development policy is to ensure a better degree of integration and coordination of available policy instruments across all levels of government. A cluster focus provides an effective mechanism for achieving this at the level of the local and regional economy. It also requires a greater degree of coordination between all three levels of government and their respective economic development agencies.
The Role of Civic Organizations
The formation of local civic associations constitutes an important stage in the evolution of the cluster, signifying that it has reached a self–sustaining level of development. However, their emergence cannot be taken for granted, nor should it be assumed that they do not encounter numerous obstacles once they have emerged. Many cluster strategies make the formation of cluster support organizations a centre piece of their strategy, and in situations where they have formed independently, government policies also target support for the association as a crucial piece of the overall strategy. The ISRN case studies suggest that the most successful clusters have profited from the development of strong social networks at the community level and the emergence of dedicated, community–based organizations.
The Role of Strategic Foresight in Cluster Development Strategy
Local high technology associations can also play a central role in formulating innovation–based economic strategies. One set of techniques developed and applied at the local and regional level in Europe and North America involves a process of strategic planning or regional foresight exercises. Approaches that stress participative methods and strategic futures analysis have been labeled ‘innovation–based strategic planning’ or ‘local social knowledge management’ exercises. This approach is based on the insight that regions can enhance their potential for cluster growth, and economic development more broadly, through a strategic assessment of their existing assets and current weaknesses.
Entrepreneurship and Management Skills
Numerous cluster studies, including those conducted as part of the current ISRN project, affirm the centrality of entrepreneurship for cluster success. A key challenge involves the need to help dynamic entrepreneurs make the transition into effective managers. As cluster firms grow and expand, the set of managerial skills required to maintain their momentum changes significantly. A key barrier that they often encounter is an adequate supply of the critical management skills needed. The ISRN study identified several different types of management knowledge, in addition to purely technical knowledge, that cluster firms require to succeed. Expanding firms confront a critical range of issues that include the need for more sophisticated human resource management skills, improved information about existing and potential competitors, expanded sales capabilities, more effective inventory and supply chain management and more sophisticated use of information technology resources. This is one of the least well documented, but critical elements, for cluster firms.
Conclusions
There are no quick and easy solutions to the numerous challenges faced by individual clusters, nor should the adoption of cluster strategies and policies be mistaken as a panacea for solving all of the challenges of local economic development. Both academic researchers and policy analysts must guard against the danger of being seduced by the the ‘cluster brand’ at the expense of serious analysis of whether the role of clusters actually contributes to sustained economic development in local and regional economies. The most dynamic clusters view their strategies as part of an iterative process that must constantly be revisited and adapted to changing circumstances and competitive positions. Government can play a supporting role for the cluster, but cluster initiatives that rely excessively on government for leadership have difficulty sustaining their momentum. Successful initiatives build the need for
renewal and refocusing into their agenda from the outset. Cluster strategies that take too long to produce results can fail by attrition, as key participants lose their energy and commitment and fall by the wayside. It is essential to target small, achievable steps from the outset to provide concrete and measurable indicators of success for cluster participants. Finally, policy alignment can be highly effective for cluster strategies; strategies that require the implementation of major new programs by senior levels of government or require substantial budgetary commitments are likely to founder on the complexities of the public sector budgetary process. Often cluster initiatives can succeed by tapping into existing government programs and budgetary envelopes to access needed resources, or by co-opting new federal, provincial, or even, private sector initiatives and aligning their objectives to meet the goals of the cluster strategy.
EVENTS [Table of Contents]
Seizing Global Opportunities: Ontario's Innovation Agenda 
Toronto, 30 April, 2008
In this special address to the Economic Club of Toronto the Honourable John Wilkison of the Ministry of Research and Innovation will discuss Ontario's Innovation Agenda.
Montreal, 30 April, 2008
The tenth annual meeting of the Innovation Systems Research Network (ISRN) will be attended by co-investigators, domestic collaborators and the distinguished members of the Research Advisory Committee. Federal, provincial and municipal officials who have a stake in the outcomes of our current major collaborative research initiative entitled: Social Dynamics of Economic Performance in City-Regions will also participate. The Policy Day (April 30) explores the implications of ISRN cluster studies, economic strategies in metropolitan regions, and the role of civic organizations in urban economic development. Presenters will include members of the ISRN and economic development officials from the cities of Toronto and Montreal. Interested government and industry members are also invited to register for the 10th annual meeting of the ISRN (May 1 - 2). Approximately 80 members of the current research project will be meeting to discuss the progress of the City-Region Initiative. During the sessions, project researchers will disseminate results from their current research and discuss issues related to the national research initiative.
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.
Discovery 2008 Conference: Challenging the Formulas for Commercial Success
Toronto, 12-14 May, 2008
Experience the evolution of Discovery with all-new events and features. Try your business pitch on some of Canada's leading venture capitalists, angel investors and business people at The Elevator Pitch. Tackle real-world problems alongside your innovative peers at the Ontario Science Centre Innovation Challenge. Take part in Sector Forums to engage in the latest issues around Ontario's critical sectors such as Cleantech, Energy, Life Sciences, Digital Media and Manufacturing. Rethink today's models of achieving success at our keynote sessions, featuring some of the world's leading business authors and thinkers. Make vital connections at our expanded networking environment. It's the new you can't afford to miss.
Toronto, 20-21 May, 2008
Does Canada have what it takes to grow domestic multinationals in knowledge-based industry sectors such as ICT, biotech and cleantech? What is the nature of Canada’s entrepreneurial culture? Are Canadian entrepreneurs able or willing to grow multinational firms? Does Canada have the executive talent to run tech multinationals from a Canadian base? Is such behaviour encouraged and recognized positively in Canada? Do we train our young people for these kinds of entrepreneurial and executive roles? Leading tech entrepreneurs and executives in Canada, the U.S. and abroad share their own experiences and perceptions on Canada’s entrepreneurial culture, and explore ways to improve Canada’s performance in knowledge-based commerce.
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.
IRE Conference: Innovation Governance - Enhancing Interaction in the Regional Innovation System
Rennes, France, 5-6 June, 2008
In today’s world, where knowledge is available from a variety of sources, neither companies nor regions can afford to rely exclusively on their own resources for innovation. They need to interact with other people and organizations and draw on other fields of expertise to exploit their full innovation potential. Many regions have discovered that being a host to useful resources such as companies, research institutes and innovation support organisations is not enough – a climate with networking, exchange and trust between the various actors is necessary. A key challenge for innovation policy governance in European regions is therefore to foster such a climate of open attitudes and cooperation within regional innovation systems – and beyond, since useful contacts and networks do not stop at the geographical borders of a region. Attempts to strengthen innovative clusters and put in place useful mechanisms for knowledge transfer between the research and business sectors are often essential ingredients in the efforts to promote effective regional innovation systems. The aim of this conference is to exchange experience on ways to intensify the interaction between players in regional innovation systems. It will build on outcomes from three Working Groups bringing together IRE member regions with a focus on regional innovation systems, clusters as innovation drivers, and knowledge transfer between research organizations and enterprises. IRE members will share their practical experiences, and group discussions will allow participants to actively exchange opinions about the themes of their interest.
Evidence-Based Policy Making: International Best Practices in Connecting Science and Policy
Amsterdam, Netherlands, 19-20 June, 2008
The aim of this conference is to connect a broad range of views, internationally as well as transdisciplinary on 'Evidence Based Policy Making'. Seasoned policy makers and experienced researchers from all over the world will give an insight into their own experiences, providing ample examples and concrete tools for evidence based policy making.
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).
Regional Comparative Advantage and Knowledge-Based Entrepreneurship
Amsterdam, Netherlands, 9-10 October, 2008
The organizers invite submissions for empirical and theoretical papers on the financing of knowledge-based entrepreneurial firms, on the influence of venture capital on firms’ ability to translate technological advances into successful products, and on the contribution of knowledge-based entrepreneurship to regional dynamics.
Seville, Spain, 16-17 October, 2008
Following the success of 2004 and 2006 events, the International Seville Conference on Future-Oriented Technology Analysis (FTA) has become a major occasion for FTA experts, practitioners and decision-makers to bring their ideas and knowledge together in a highly interactive environment. As with previous FTA events, the 2008 Conference places emphasis on diversity of views by attracting participants from a wide geographical base. Academics, practitioners as well as public and private sector decision makers from Europe, North America, Asia, Latin America, Africa and Australasia are invited to broaden the network and to increase understanding of advances in the field of FTA.
The 5th International Conference on Innovation and Management (ICIM2008)
Maastricht, Netherlands, 10-11 December, 2008
Organized by UNU-MERIT (The Netherlands) and supported by Wuhan University of Technology (China) and Yamaguchi University (Japan), This conference will bring together academics, practitioners and other professionals involved in the filed of innovation and management. The conference format includes plenary and parallel sessions with both academic and practitioner presentations and workshops. In addition, the conference will provide networking opportunities together with a taste of local culture.
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