News from the IPL
INTRODUCTION
This newsletter is published by The Innovation Policy Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, 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
Canadian Photonics Consortium
A number of provincial and federal agencies have formed the new Canadian Photonics Consortium (CPC). The Consortium will work with optical technology leaders from industry, government, education and research to develop a Photonics Technology Roadmap (PTRM) for Canada. The founding members of CPC are the BCPIA (British Columbia Photonics Industry Association); CIPI (Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovations); CITO; CRC; Industry Canada; INO (Institut national doptique); MMO (Materials and Manufacturing Ontario); NRC / IMS; OCRI; and PRO (Photonics Research Ontario). For more information see:
http://www.ocri.ca/about/hitech_news/news/ocri_071300.html
Electronic Commerce in Canada
The Electronic Commerce in Canada main page has been updated. New items include the Canadian Internet Commerce Statistics Summary Sheet and the Consumers’ Association of Canada (CAC) survey about online approval programs for businesses.
Research Initiatives / Publications
Micro-Economic Monitor: First Quarter 2000
Industry Canada’s summary of Canada’s economic performance during the first quarter of 2000 is now available.
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_ecnmy/mera/engdoc/04.html?he=y
The Next Wave: Harnessing Our Potential — Life Sciences Human Resource Needs in the Ottawa Region
This study develops a snapshot of the Ottawa’s life sciences community (companies, research institutions and educational institutions) and identifies local life sciences human resource requirements for the next three years and beyond. It was developed in partnership with the Biotechnology Human Resources Council (BHRC) with support from the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton, the Ontario Ministry of Education and Training and Human Resources Development Canada. The report is available at:
http://www.olsc.ca/news/HR_survey.htm
Networks of Innovation: Regions Collaborating to Compete in the Global Market
Prepared by Collaborative Economics for the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Technology Administration, this report identifies and analyzes 12 of the top biotech, life science regions in the U.S. It examines the changing nature of the economics and business models for biotech and life sciences, the implications for regions and states, and the challenges for industry-public sector partnerships supporting the fastest growing cluster in the U.S. The report is available at:
http://www.coecon.com/coming.htm
Does Clustering Really Help Firms’ Innovative Activities?
This paper was prepared by Catherine Beaudry and Stefano Bresch for CESPRI (Centre of Research on Internationalization Processes). It examines whether location in strong industrial clusters translates into a higher probability of innovating. A firm-level analysis of the UK and Italy is performed. Innovative activities of firms are related to regional employment, other cluster-specific and firm-specific variables. A copy is available at:
http://www.cespri.uni-bocconi.it/papers/wp111.PDF
Barriers to Growth in the Emerging IT Industry
Prepared by the Branham Group, this study explores the issues and challenges facing the IT industry that were identified by the CEOs and senior executives of nearly 100 emerging companies. Respondents were asked about the challenges they faced in their first year of operation. Sixty-three per cent of them indicated that access to operating capital was their biggest challenge. Forty-three per cent also cited access to capital for growth and the execution of their business models as prominent obstacles. A copy of the report is available at:
Link here
The Dynamics of Technology-Based Economic Development: State Science and Technology Indicators
Prepared by the Office of Technology Policy in the U.S. Department of Commerce, this report assembles state-level data that approximates the “technology infrastructure” of the states. This data includes several factors that influence the high-technology sectors of the economy, such as human resource development, research and development funding, capital investment, and business assistance. A copy of the document is available at:
http://tapreview.nist.gov/Reports.htm
The Impact of Public R&D Expenditure on Business R&D
This document investigates effect of government funding on business R&D in 17 OECD member countries over the past two decades. It examines grants, procurement, tax incentives and direct performance of research (in public laboratories or universities). A copy of the document is available at:
http://www.ocde.org/dsti/sti/prod/wp2000_4e.htm
Innovating Routines in the Business Firm: What Matters, What’s Staying the Same, and What’s Changing
This paper was prepared by Keith Pavitt of the Science Policy Research Unit at Sussex University. A copy of the paper is available at:
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/spru/publications/imprint/sewps/
The Effects of Globalization on the Location of Industries in the OECD and European Union
This report was prepared in by Michael Storper, Yun-chung Chen and Fernando De Paolis for the Danish Research Unit for Industry Dynamics. It presents the results of a statistical investigation of the trade-location relationship, using the OECD-STAN database, from 1970 to 1995. A copy is available at:
http://www.business.auc.dk/druid/wp/wp2000.html
International Strategic Alliances: Their Role in Industrial Globalization
Prepared by Nam-Hoon Kang and Kentaro Sakai for the OECD, this paper reviews recent trends in international strategic alliances, which have grown more than five-fold between 1989 and 1999. The paper covers frequency, type, purpose and geographical patterns of international alliances during the 1990s as an important aspect of industrial globalization and analyses sectoral trends in industries such as telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and airlines A copy is available at:
http://www.ocde.org/dsti/sti/prod/wp2000_5e.htm
HYPERLINKS
Blackburg Electronic Village
The Blacksburg Electronic Village was one of the first communities in North America to install a fiber/wireless broadband infrastructure. Their web site has an excellent compilation of papers on the importance of community broadband networks.
http://www.bev.net/project/digital_library/
BIOTECanada
BIOTECanada is the national organization dedicated to promoting a better understanding of biotechnology. BIOTECanada represents Canadian health care, agricultural, food, research and other organizations that are involved in biotechnology.
InfoBiotech Canada
InfoBiotech Canada (IBC) is a partnership of government, private and academic sectors with the goal of providing enhanced access to information on Biotechnology in Canada and worldwide.
Events
CITO’S Knowledge Network Conference – Beyond the Edge: Road Mapping Innovation
October 2 & 3, 2000 – Centurion Conference Centre, Ottawa
CITO’s upcoming Knowledge Network Conference will explore emerging trends and issues in the leading “new economy” sectors – communications, digital media and information technology.
On the agenda are the people and companies that are shaping the direction of tomorrow’s technologies.
To register today or for more information, visit
http://www.cito.ca/events/events/kncoct22000.shtml.
Benchmarking Industry-Science Relationships, October 16-17, Berlin, Germany
This joint German-OECD conference will be held in Berlin on October 16 & 17. The following themes will be discussed:
– the role of universities and public research institutions in the innovation process
– new mechanisms for financing research and new ventures at the industry-science interface including spin-offs
– the impact of globalization
– the role of science in fostering clusters of new industries and in revitalising mature sectors;
– the contribution of human capital and talent
– the evaluation of private and public initiatives to foster industry-science linkages
For more information see: http://www.industry-science-berlin2000.de/
Science and Governance in a Knowledge Society: The Challenge for Europe, October 16-17, Brussels, Belgium
This conference is organized by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and the Directorate General for Research. The conference’s objective is to inform the public about the role of science in the European decision-making process. Scientists, academics and decision-makers from around the world will examine the role of science and technology in the creation and implementation of public policies. For more information see:
Transition in Technology Transfer, Change and Opportunity in the Canadian Context, October 21-24, Montebello, Quebec
The Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) is holding its biannual Canadian Regional Meeting in Montebello, Quebec from October 21st to the 24th. Some of the issues to be discussed include trends in university industry interaction, patent issues in Canada and the U.S., and federal initiatives in technology transfer. Registration information is available at:
CITO/PRO Toronto Tech Talk: Medicine for the Future, October 24, University of Toronto
This talk will explore how computational techniques can be used to analyze the large volumes of biotech data generated through new technological approaches, such as high-throughput DNA sequencing and protein crystallization, genotyping, and gene-expression screening. For more information see:
http://www.cito.ca/events/events/ttoct242000.shtml
Innovation 2000 – The Grand Challenges in Managing and Sustaining Innovation, November 2-3, Toronto
This conference is hosted by The Conference Board of Canada, the Ontario Centres of Excellence, and the Innovation Management Association of Canada. “Innovation 2000 will bring together the major innovation players in Canada to address the challenges of managing and sustaining innovation. This conference will focus on how leading organizations design, implement and evaluate their innovation strategies.” For more information see:
http://www.cito.ca/events/events/innovation2000.shtml
Pacific Rim Biotechnology Conference and BioExpo 2000 November 12-16, Vancouver
Sponsored by this year by BIOTECanada and BC Biotechnology Alliance Pacific, the Pacific Rim Biotechnology Conference is led by an 11 member International Organizing Committee from Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand, and the United States of America. Sessions will explore both science and business issues and include a full trade show with over 70 exhibitors. For more information see:
http://www.biotech.bc.ca/biotechconference/
E-business Strategy and SMARTsourcing Conference, November 13-15, New York City
This event will allow e-business and IT services providers to demonstrate their products and services to key decision-makers from a variety of industries and business disciplines. In addition, the latest e-business trends, ideas and opportunities will be presented and discussed by industry leaders in a number of seminars, panels and forums. The New York Consulate will support PEMD (Promotion of Export Market Development) applications from qualified Canadian companies. This program offers low interest loans for companies with revenue under $ 10 billion. These loans can be used for exhibitor participation in a trade show like SmartSourcing. Please contact your local Industry Canada office to begin the application process. For more information see:
http://www.brainstorm-group.com
CANARIE’s 6th Advanced Networks Workshop: “The Networked Nation”, November 28-29, Montreal
CANARIE, Canada’s Advanced Internet Development Organization, is hosting its 6th Annual Advanced Networks Workshop. This year’s theme, “The Networked Nation”, will focus on application architectures, “grids” made up of customer owned dark fiber and next generation Internet networks like CA*net 3 that will ultimately lead to the development of the networked nation where eventually every school, home and business will have high bandwidth connection to the Internet.
http://www.canarie.ca/advnet/workshop.html
Policy Agendas for Sustainable Technological Innovation, December 1-3, London, England
This is the third of four conferences organized as part of the European POSTI project: “Policies for Sustainable Technological Innovation”. The London conference will focus on the policy implications of Science, Technology and Society (STS) research on socially, economically and environmentally acceptable technological innovation. It will draw upon the body of recent and current post-graduate and post-doctoral research in Europe as well as the work of senior academic researchers in STS and professionals in the world of policy research, development and implementation. For more information see:
http://www.esst.uio.no/posti/UEL.html
Ottawa Life Science National Conference and Exhibition: The BioProducts Revolution, December 4-6, Ottawa
This will be the Ottawa Life Science Council’s 7th annual national conference. Sessions include an examination of biotechnology’s impact on the health and agriculture fields and on the financing of biotech start-up companies. More information is available at:
Subscriptions & Comments
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 ipl.munkschool@utoronto.ca.
This newsletter is prepared by Jen Nelles.
Project manager is David A. Wolfe.