The IPL newsletter: Volume 1, Issue 9

The Corporate Research & Development Scorecard 
MIT’s Magazine of Innovation Technology Review has compiled a list of 150 of the world’s top companies ranked by their investment in R&D.  Two Canadian firms made the list: Nortel Networks, which ranked 1st in terms of R&D spending per employee in the telecommunications category, and BCE.

Ottawa companies don’t make Fast 50 cut
Ottawa is conspicuously absent from a new list of the fastest growing Canadian technology companies published annually in the National Post Magazine and compiled by Deloitte & Touche Canada.  The Canadian Technology Fast 50 ranks the 50 fastest growing Canadian high-tech companies based on revenue growth over five years.

Information and communications technologies and electronic commerce in Canadian industry
This report analyzes in detail the results of the world’s first economy-wide survey conducted by a national statistical agency that measured the magnitude of electronic commerce, or Internet-based commercial transactions. This survey was conducted from October 1999 to March 2000, in conjunction with Industry Canada, and collected information for 1999. According to the data, the volume of Internet-based sales with or without online payment in 1999 was $4.4 billion. Total private sector Internet-based sales were $4.2 billion, and accounted for 0.2% of economic activity in terms of total operating revenue.

Canada: The State of eBusiness when compared to the US
This study, prepared by International Data Corporation (IDC), provides statistics of Canada’s performance shows in B2B and B2C e-commerce.  Among its findings are that Canada lags the US in terms of growth despite representing over 80% of all e-commerce activity.  In small business connectivity, Canada has closed the gap considerably but in terms of supporting websites, Canada did fall behind.

Canadian Internet Commerce Statistics Summary Sheet
Here is a brief summary sheet from Industry Canada on the latest e-commerce figures with data form IDC, AC Nielson and Statistics Canada.

University performance indicators
Here are some interesting university performance indicators compiled by Planning and Institutional Research, UBC, for the purpose of assessing its own progress.  The data compares differences at the provincial, national and international levels in such areas as government expenditures per capita, grants and R&D.

Characteristics of Doctoral Scientists and Engineers in the United States: 1997
This report presents data on the demographic and employment characteristics of doctoral scientists and engineers in the United States.  The goal of the 1997 Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR) is to provide policymakers and researchers with high-quality data and analyses for making informed decisions related to the educational achievement and career patterns of American doctoral scientists and engineers. 

Industry-Academic Job Links in the UK: Crossing Boundaries
Dr. J. Howell, CRIC
The Briefing Paper discusses the key issues surrounding the fostering of industry- academic research collaboration. The discussion has outlined other schemes which have been highly successful in furthering such aims via research personnel. However, the paper has identified a genuine policy gap in terms of transfer existing staff between higher education and industry. The policy is not without its problems, however the potential gains are considerable and certainly outweigh these difficulties. The last section outlines more specifically what shape a scheme might be in terms of seeking to develop industry-academic ties through staff secondment.

Measuring the ICT Sector
This recent release from the OECD provides a statistical picture of the industry that supplies ICT goods and services – a sector that many countries consider to be of strategic importance to economic growth and performance.   200 figures and 33 tables describe the structure and output of the ICT sector across 28 Member countries using the OECD standard definition.

Canadian ICT Sector Intramural R&D Expenditures: 2000 Intentions
According to the latest statistics from Total Canadian private sector R&D now totals $9.9 billion, up 5.8% from 1999.   The ICT sector remains the largest private sector R&D performer in Canada with total expenditures of $4.7 billion in 2000, an increase of 6.1% over 1999. R&D expenditures in the telecommunication equipment industry are expected to reach more than $2.3 billion in 2000, accounting for 48.9% of ICT sector R&D expenditures and 23.2% of total Canadian private sector R&D. [See Chart]

Federal Reserve Bulletin: Productivity Developments Abroad
This article reviews recent productivity trends in foreign industrial countries. The focus of the analysis is on whether productivity abroad has accelerated to an extent comparable to that observed in the United States. The authors find that foreign labor productivity, unlike that of the United States, has not accelerated in the latter half of the 1990s and discuss the role played by information technology in influencing foreign productivity trends as well as cyclical and methodological factors that are important in the analysis of these trends.

ICT Cluster: The Engine of Knowledge-Driven Growth in Finland
Paija L., The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy
Despite the prominent role of the Finnish ICT equipment industry both in domestic and international contexts, the cluster development lies heavily on the foundation built in the operator sector during the early phases of the history. In the retrospect, the ICT cluster looks like an outcome of an well-orchestrated master plan. However, many of the factors with great impact on national competitiveness have been more or less coincidental in past- or at least motivated by other than industrial policy objectives.

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.

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. 

Partners 2001 : Linking Education and the Local Economy
April 26 – 28, 2001, Winnipeg
Join over 400 leaders and executives from education, business and government at the 12th Annual Partners 2001: Linking Education and the Local Economy Symposium and showcase.  Learn and share how to develop links and partnerships among business, education and communities to ensure economic competitiveness, prosperity and community development. 

Workshop: Innovation, technological change and growth in knowledge based and service intense economies
The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, February 1-2, 2001
This workshop seeks to stimulate applied and theoretical research on the changing nature of innovation and to bring researchers attention to the problems associated with measurement of technological change and growth in the more knowledge based and service intense economies. The main objective is to discuss problem related to: innovation and growth indicators, data quality, concepts, models and theories of growth, technological change and competitiveness at the firm level.  The participants of the workshop are invited to submit their abstracts before December 1, 2000 to the workshop organisers to the following address:
hans.loof@lector.kth.se <mailto:hans.loof@lector.kth.se>.

The 5th International Conference on Technology, Policy and Innovation
June 26-29, 2001, Netherlands Congress Centre, The Hague 
Theme: Critical Infrastructures
Abstract submission deadline:  December 15, 2000
The conference focuses on infrastructures such as those enabling transportation of goods and people, telecommunications, and the supply and distribution of energy and water have become vital to the daily functioning and security of society.  Proposals are invited for workshops or presentations dealing with vulnerability, institutional management, historical lessons, innovation, and methodologies for interdisciplinary analysis and design, all related to critical infrastructures.
WILL YOU BE ONE OF OUR REGIONAL REPORTERS?              [Table of Contents]

Yes, you! In an effort to improve our coverage of Ontario’s regional economies in this newsletter, we are looking for a few people who are ‘plugged in’ to the latest local economic development and innovation happenings in their regions. All we ask is that you send us a short message once a month highlighting recent news and research initiatives from your region – please forward items that you would like to share with newsletter recipients, as well as other items of interest, to: onris.progris@utoronto.ca.