News from the IPL
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Microsoft Picks Miami for First U.S. Innovation Center
The Modesto Bee (via SSTI)
Microsoft is opening a state-of-the-art training facility in Miami, its first within the United States, the company announced Friday. The tech giant already has some 100 innovation centers in 80 countries worldwide in countries like Uganda and Greece. These centers aim to help governments, academic institutions, community leaders and startups better use technology to innovate and develop more collaborative learning — with the goal of spurring economic development. Microsoft is working with city and county officials to open the center next month. It will be housed at the new downtown, entrepreneurial institute Venture Hive. The Hive, which opened its doors last year thanks in part to city and country grants, already serves as an incubator and accelerator for some 35 companies from around the globe.
Paid Internships in High Demand Fields
Government of Canada
Although Canada boasts high levels of post-secondary achievement, the transition for students to a first job can be challenging. Young graduates often lack opportunities to gain the workplace experience and skills necessary to find and retain jobs. Recognizing these challenges this month the Government of Canada announced an initiative to strengthen youth employment programming by dedicating $40 million towards supporting up to 3,000 paid internships for post-secondary graduates between 2014 and 2016. These internships, which will last between six and 12 months, will provide youth with real-life work experience in high-demand fields such as science, technology, engineering, mathematics and the skilled trades.
Editor's Pick
Comparing Cluster Policies: An Analytical Framework
James Wilson, Okestra-Basque Institute of Competitiveness
This working paper outlines the key triggers of a successful regional cluster policy. It first makes a broad reflection on the theory of cluster and cluster policy concepts and subsequently focuses on elaboration of an analytical scheme for policy analysis. The development of the framework is proceeded into two steps, first of all the stages of cluster policy process are defined. After that key
factors affecting policy building are selected from various existing theoretical and practical cluster policy cases and attributed to a particular stage of cluster policy. The advantages of this analytical approach are in its ability to offer a deeper and more comprehensive view on different cluster policies while making comparisons and generating policy learning. Finally the framework can also be applied as a toolbox for policy makers keen to identify strengths and weaknesses in their cluster policies.
Innovation Policy
States are Still Funding Higher Education Below Pre-Recession Levels
Michael Mitchell, Vincent Palacios, and Michael Leachman, Center on Budge and Policy Priorities
As a result of deep cuts to higher education funding following the recession, issues surrounding affordability, access to programs and services, and quality could jeopardize the nation’s competitiveness. This report finds that although a majority of states have begun to restore some of the cuts, 48 states are spending less per student than they did before the recession. The authors present data on funding for higher education pre- and post-recession and call on policymakers to rebuild their higher education systems by rejecting tax cuts and instead consider options for new revenue.
The Economic Significance of the UK Science Base
Jonathan Hasket, Alan Hughes and Elif Bascavusoglu-Moreau, UK-IRC
This paper reports on some key indicators of the economic significance of the science base. It first asks what the effects of state funding of the science base are. In particular, it asks how state funding of the science base in the UK affects private sector involvement, including the R&D location decisions of multinational firms. It then explores how public science funding affects private sector productivity. The report finds evidence that public sector funding of science is both consistent with the “crowding in” of private sector investment in R&D and that its interaction with private sector R&D raises private sector productivity.
Big Data: Seizing Opportunities, Preserving Values
The White House, Washington, D.C.
In January, the White House initiated a study to examine the impacts of Big Data on the way we live and work and how it may alter the relationships between governments, citizens, businesses and consumers. This review focuses on how the public and private sectors can maximize the benefits of Big Data while minimizing its risks. It also identifies opportunities for Big Data to grow the economy, improve health and education, and make the nation safer and more energy efficient.
Cities, Clusters & Regions
Local Competitiveness Fostered Through Local Institutions for Entrepreneurship
Martin Andersson and Magnus Henrekson, Research Institute of Industrial Economics
This article reviews and assesses the role local institutional framework conditions play in fostering local entrepreneurship. The basic premise is that entrepreneurship is a central driver of economic renewal and change, and that institutions affect both the supply and direction of entrepreneurship. While local institutions always develop and operate against the backdrop of national institutional frameworks, in particular in non-federal states, this review shows that there is plenty of room for local initiatives and policies to influence the entrepreneurial climate locally. This pertains to both formal (e.g., taxes, regulations and stringency of enforcement) and informal (e.g., attitudes and social legitimacy) institutions. The article further argues that the local institutional environment is essential in any local policy aimed to foster productive (high-impact) entrepreneurship. Favourable local institutions not only increase the odds that a region develops or manage to attract entrepreneurial incumbents, but also the odds that a region reaps the full potential of hosting entrepreneurial and knowledge-intensive activities.
Delivering Change: Supporting Links Between Universities and High-Growth Firms in Cities
Centre for Cities
Knowledge intensive businesses and services are significant drivers of growth, and are increasingly urban. For many UK cities, their greatest concentration of knowledge and innovation is their universities, so national and local decision makers are increasingly looking to support collaborations between universities and high-growth firms.The UK is improving with regards to these collaborations, and its cities are well placed to deliver further change. However, these policies have to be delivered locally. It’s at the city level that decision makers understand their growing businesses and their universities. And it is cities that can address and overcome the barriers to collaboration. This paper offers a series of case studies in the UK and abroad showing different ways universities, high-growth firms and cities collaborate. Some take advantage of history and brand such as Cambridge, while others build cross-border networks in order to build scale and make greater investments than they could on their own.
The White House, Washington D.C.
The Obama Administration is committed to partnering with the City of Detroit—its citizens, local leaders, and community stakeholders—to support the City’s vision for economic revitalization. As part of this effort, last November, the White House brought together, in Detroit, a team of top municipal-government technology officials from around the country to meet with city officials and local private-sector, non-profit, and civic innovators. The goal of the trip, and the ongoing engagement between this Tech Team of municipal officials and the City, has been to identify ways technology can be leveraged in support of economic revitalization and improved services for city residents.The five individuals on this “Tech Team” have led innovative efforts in other cities—Boston, Chicago, Louisville, New Orleans, and Raleigh—that ultimately created significant costs-savings for their respective local governments and facilitated the development of customer-facing tools that made government services easier to access. This report includes initial impressions, observations, and suggested areas of focus for the city. These recommendations are based on the team’s experiences in their cities and the two days they spent with the incredible municipal leadership and staff in Detroit.
Statistics & Indicators
Measuring Chicago’s (Artistically) Creative Economy
Jennifer Novak-Leonard, Cultural Policy Center at the University of Chicago
This study measures the creative industries and workers of Chicago and eight peer cities. It is meant to provide an objective benchmark for Chicago as it undertakes the goals articulated in the Chicago Cultural Plan 2012 of attracting and retaining creative professionals and measuring the size and strength of the cultural sector.
Policy Digest
University Ventures International
In fall 2013, government engaged a panel of experts on technology commercialization and innovation system design to make recommendations to help the province compete more successfully in the global market. The panel consulted with stakeholders and drew upon their own expertise in research and commercialization.This report includes six recommendations that are currently being translated into policy.
The Report
This report argues that the way forward is for Alberta to embrace a vision that makes innovation the explicit centrepiece of the province’s economic strategy for the future, with a province-wide commitment to do what is necessary to realize that vision. Innovation is the key to sustainable economic growth and societal prosperity. To unlock Alberta’s innovation potential, however, it is critical to realize that innovation policy is much broader than science policy. It is concerned not only with research and its institutions, but must provide a comprehensive foundation for local firms and industry sectors to achieve competitive advantage. It must further consider social, economic, political, legal, and organizational matters related to how innovation is created and takes hold. As such, it
concerns the whole of government and requires a well-aligned innovation system that can act effectively and comprehensively.
Recommendation #1
Establish two new bodies to guide, oversee, and manage innovation in Alberta: a top-level government Advisory Body and a central innovation portfolio Management Body.
Recommendation #2
Embark on a clearly defined implementation process of 6 to 12 months to achieve the necessary planning and lay the groundwork for the new system. Establish an Interim Board to oversee the transition, supported by a transition management team.
Recommendation #3
Focus the innovation system on a long-term strategic vision to strengthen coherence and an overall sense of direction. Articulate “grand challenges” and flagship initiatives to facilitate targeted investment.
Recommendation #4
Ensure that all key players in the innovation system work closely together and support the needs of the private sector. Develop a nimble, responsive, and accountable structure around the central Management Body that serves as facilitator, connector, honest broker, and change agent.
Recommendation #5
Apply a wide range of policy measures to foster innovation, recognizing that innovation policy has a much broader purview than science policy.
Recommendation #6
Balance top-down directives with bottom-up initiatives. Work towards launching one or more initiatives that help build critical mass from the ground up and enroll key actors in developing a long-term strategy.
Current Action
Based on recommendations in the report and with feedback from the Innovation Forum, government intends to move quickly to drive evolution of the system to be more responsive to the marketplace and Albertans’ priorities. This includes finding opportunities to leverage the Social Innovation Endowment to support new approaches to solving the province’s complex social challenges.
Immediate actions include:
- establishment of an Innovation Council to provide strategic advice to government, and coordinate communication and action among government, Campus Alberta, innovation organizations and industry partners;
- a follow-up access to capital forum will be organized to address gaps and opportunities;
- coordination with core government departments through the Portfolio Advisory Committee will continue to focus government priorities;
- a forward looking framework document that will clarify roles and outline an implementation plan to enhance the innovation system.
The results outlined in the report and action plan discussed at the Innovation Forum will bring efficiencies to the more than $800 million invested annually by Alberta government ministries in research and innovation. Costs associated with the expert panel and the report are approximately $1.2 million.
Alberta’s innovation system brings together basic and applied research as well as commercialization and leverages opportunities among Campus Alberta institutions, Alberta Innovates corporations, industry, innovation organizations and entrepreneurs.
Events
Toronto, 15-16 May, 2014
The GCIF Global Cities Summit will take place May 15th and 16th, 2014 in Toronto, Canada. Leaders from GCIF’s network of cities, business leaders, senior government officials, scholars, and planning & design professionals will participate in this global event.
CFP – The Organization, Economics and Policy of Scientific Research
Torino, Italy, 19-20 May, 2014
The aim of the workshop is to bring together a small group of scholars interested in the analysis of the production and diffusion of scientific research from an economics, historical, organizational, and policy perspective. As in previous years, we aim to attract contributions from both junior and senior scholars; a minimum number of slots are reserved for junior researchers (PhD students or postdoc scholars who obtained their PhD in 2011 or later). The workshop aims at including papers form various streams of research developed in recent years in and around the area of public and private scientific research.
CFP – Second International ZEW Conference on the Dynamics of Entrepreneurship (CoDE II)
Mannheim, Germany, 22-23 May, 2014
The formation, growth and exit of firms are crucial for innovation, employment and structural change in modern economies. The aim of this conference is to discuss recent scientific contributions on the interdependencies between finance, human capital, innovation activities and investment activities of young firms. Papers introducing recent theoretical, econometric and policy-oriented studies from all areas of the entrepreneurship research management are invited.
Industry Studies Association Annual Conference
Portland, Oregon, 27-30 May, 2014
The Industry Studies Annual Conference draws scholars from a wide range of disciplines who present findings from research at the cutting edge of the academic literature in their areas of specialization. Research presented at the conferences very often focuses on issues of immediate interest to industry and public policy.
Montreal, 28-30 May, 2014
This year’s conference sessions include: Green photonics, energy and related technologies; Optical communications; Optoelectronics and integrated optics; Photonic materials; Nonlinear optics, nanophotonics and quantum optics; Photonic sensors and biomedical optics and more.
CFP – Mapping Culture: Communities, Sites and Stories
Cimbra, Portugal, 28-30 May, 2014
The Centre for Social Studies (Centro de Estudos Sociais – CES), a State Associate Laboratory at the University of Coimbra in Portugal, is calling for the submission of papers and panel/workshop proposals from academics, researchers, public administrators, architects, planners and artists for an international conference and symposium. The CES is committed to questions of public interest, including those involving relationships between scientific knowledge and citizens’ participation.
Business Innovation Summit 2014: Accelerating Corporate Innovation and Commercialization
Toronto, 28-29 May, 2014
The objective of this conference is to help companies of all sizes across Canada harness the power of innovation, and accelerate their innovation and commercialization results. The Summit is exploring the real-life challenges and opportunities of innovation within firms, and is featuring tangible solutions that work. We are assembling an outstanding lineup of Canadian and international speakers to share best practices and unique insights on how to implement effective processes and build innovative organizations for the 21st century.
RSA Workshop on the Evaluations of EU Cohesion Policy in 2014+
Prague, 10 June, 2014
In recent years, we have witnessed a significant increase in the use of rigorous research methods in the evaluations of the EU Cohesion Policy. The main objective is to identify the actual impacts and how to increase policy efficiency. The rationale behind a workshop on evaluations is the need to assemble academics investigating the issues’ effectiveness, impacts and added value of EU Cohesion Policy as well as practitioners working with this policy. The goal of the workshop is to improve knowledge and the application of evaluation results in practice. It will achieve this objective through the sharing of experience with evaluations, methods and the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods as well as the application of theory-based evaluations. At the beginning of the new policy cycle 2014-2020, many questions arise regarding the reformed Cohesion Policy. This workshop, hosted jointly by the University of Economics and the Czech Evaluation Society at the Charles University and organized in collaboration with the partner institutions of the RSA Research Network on EU Cohesion Policy, will provide a forum for debating some of the most salient and burning of those questions.
Creative City Summit 2014: Love Your City – Transforming Communities Through Culture
Hamilton, Ontario, 11-13 June, 2014
Through interactive sessions, case studies and keynote addresses, experts will share real world projects that are transforming cities across the country. The 2014 Summit theme focuses on communities that are creating conditions in which culture can thrive. Presenters will explore how leadership, innovative thinking, partnership building, and simply doing things differently can lead to a creative community. Delegates will gain insight into integrating culture within other local planning initiatives; encouraging and stimulating “eventful” cities; planning community wide participatory events; initiating creative placemaking projects; and creating cultural hubs in their community.
DRUID Society Conference 2014: Entrepreneurship-Organization-Innovation
Copenhagen, Denmark, 16-18 June. 2014
he conference will include a number of distinguished plenary presenters and intends to map theoretical, empirical and methodological advances, contribute with novel insights, clarify and develop intellectual positions and help identify common grounds and lines of division in selected current scientific controversies within the field. In 2014, the DRUID Special Flavor will be on Food Innovation. During the last decade, the food industry has seen notable innovation and entrepreneurship throughout its value chain, including, for example, search for original raw materials, adaption of advanced process technologies, exploration of new cooking methods and development of unique restaurant models. DRUID2014 will feature scientific as well as social activities reflecting Food Innovation, including paper sessions on innovation and entrepreneurship in the food industry, talks by leading chefs, and samples of innovative food and drink. With its New Nordic Cuisine, a burst of new Michelin-starred restaurants, and capturing the World’s Best Restaurant as well as Bocuse d’Or awards for several consecutive years, Copenhagen has established itself at the heart of food innovation. In addition, there is a broader movement around the notions of regional and modernist cuisine. The DRUID Society will of course take advantage of its local connections to present conference participants with samples of just how innovative the local food scene can be.
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This newsletter is prepared by Jen Nelles.
Project manager is David A. Wolfe.