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
Bloomberg Will Invest US$45 Milion to Bring Innovation to City Governments
SSTI Weekly Digest
Bloomberg Philanthropies will award $45 million in grants to large U.S. city governments to help improve urban life. Specifically, the foundation hopes to encourage the adoption of the “Innovation Delivery” model in big cities, an approach that relies on in-house innovation consultancy within city halls to deliver data-driven solutions to urban problems. The foundation has invited 80 cities to apply. Eligible applicants must have more than 100,000 residents and mayors with at least two years left in office. Awardees will be selected in the fall and will receive $250,000 to $1 million annually over three years.
SBA Invests in 50 U.S. Accelerators, Begins Collecting Performance Data
SSTI Weekly Digest
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently named the 50 winners of the first Growth Accelerator Fund competition, which recognizes accelerators building stronger entrepreneurial ecosystems in underserved parts of the country. Each organization will receive $50,000, in exchange for providing SBA with quarterly reports on their activities, impact and partnerships. SBA hopes to use the data to build a national database of information about accelerator programs and forge long-term relationships within the accelerator community.
Editor's Pick
Toward and Assessment of Impacts from U.S. Technology and Innovation Policies
Barry Bozeman and Albert N. Link, University of North Carolina Greensboro
Five important policy initiatives were promulgated in response to the slowdown in U.S. productivity in the early-1970s, and then again in the late-1970s and early-1980s. These initiatives included the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, the Stevenson-Wydler Act of 1980, the R&E Tax Credit of 1981, the Small Business Innovation and Development Act of 1982, and the National Cooperative Research Act of 1984. Scholars and policy-makers have long debated the direction and magnitude of impacts from these policies but empirical evidence remains modest, especially evidence of their aggregate effects. This assessment of these policies is based on
quantifying their collective impact on industrial investments in R&D in the post-productivity slowdown period. The findings support the conclusion that the relative levels of industrial investments in R&D from 1980 forward were significantly higher than before, ceteris paribus.
Innovation Policy
Cloud Computing: The Concept, Impacts and the Role of Government Policy
OECD
Cloud computing is changing the way computing is undertaken. It provides the ability to access IT resources on demand without the need for significant capital expenditure, thereby lowering the entry barriers for new entrants in multiple sectors. Cloud computing has thus become a platform for innovation. This report presents the concept of cloud computing, the services it provides and deployment models, and thus give a clear overview of what it is and what it is not. It provides an overview of how cloud computing changes the way computing is carried out, and evaluates the impacts of cloud computing (including its benefits and challenges as well as its economic and environmental impacts). Finally, the report discusses the policy issues raised by cloud computing and the role of governments and other stakeholders in addressing these issues.
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: Australia’s Future
Australian Government Chief Scientist
The strategy focuses on four areas: Australian competitiveness – STEM underpins a differentiated and readily adaptable economy that is globally competitive and will enable all Australians to benefit from the opportunities that follow; Education and training –Australian education—formal and informal—will prepare a skilled and dynamic STEM workforce and lay the foundations for lifelong STEM literacy in the community; Research – Australian STEM research will contribute knowledge to a world that relies on a continuous flow of new ideas and their application; and International engagement – Australian STEM will position Australia as a respected, important and able partner in a changing world, for both domestic and global benefit.
Cities, Clusters & Regions
The Geography of Foreign Students in U.S. Higher Education: Origins and Destinations
The Brookings Institution
This report uses a new database on foreign student visa approvals from 2001 to 2012 to analyze their distribution in the United States, finding that: the number of foreign students on F-1 visas in U.S. colleges and universities grew dramatically between 2001 and 2012; Foreign students are concentrated in U.S. metropolitan regions; Most foreign students come from fast-growing cities in emerging markets; These students disproportionately study STEM and business fields; and forty-five percent of foreign students extend their visas to work in the same metropolitan area as their college or university. These findings suggest that foreign students can provide important economic benefits to their U.S. metropolitan destinations—serving as bridges back to their growing home cities and offering valuable skills to local employers. More metropolitan leaders should emulate leading practices that capitalize on the knowledge and relationships of foreign students to strengthen local economies while also maximizing students’ educational and professional experiences in the United States.
Powers to Grow: City Finance and Governance
City Growth Commission
The UK is the most centrally-controlled system of public finance of any major OECD country with a share of only 1.7 percent of taxation attributable to sub-national government. That limited control over taxation means that compared to their counterparts in other developed nations, UK cities disproportionately rely on central Government funding. The centre dictates how, what and when funding should be spent, regardless of local need and economic conditions. As cities compete in the global marketplace, such dependence on central government puts UK metros at a disadvantage.The City Growth Commission argues that individual cities are free to make decisions in the best interest of their metro area. In turn, cities need to have the freedom to work together, enabling pan-regional investment for a more productive system of cities to facilitate and share in economic growth for the UK as a whole. This report therefore calls for a series of recommendations to enable this system of cities to build sustainable, productive economic growth.
Statistics & Indicators
Infobrief: 2011 Data Show U.S. Business R&D Highly Concentrated by State and Metropolitan Location
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
About 70 percent of 2011 U.S. business R&D spending occurred in 10 states. California leads the country in overall business R&D, and nearly every top industry. Both the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland and Los Angeles-Long Beach area rank in the top three areas for business research. Other top states include Washington, with high spending on software R&D, and Texas, a leader in semiconductor and mining research.
Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2014: An OECD Scoreboard
OECD
Start-ups and small firms continue to face significant obstacles to fulfilling their potential to innovate, grow and create jobs, particularly when it comes to obtaining access to finance. With its 13 core indicators of debt, equity and general market conditions, complemented by a review of government policy measures, this report documents these financing difficulties and monitors trends in 31 countries, along with government policy responses to deal with these challenges.
Manufacturing Employment Statistics for July 2014
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana metropolitan area is home to the largest number of manufacturing jobs in the country. Approximately 510,900 people are employed by manufacturing firms in the Los Angeles metro, about 100,000 more than in the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville area, which is ranked second for manufacturing employment. Other top metros include New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington. Of the top 10 metros in which manufacturing jobs represent the highest percentage of total employment, seven are in the Great Lakes region, with several in both Indiana and Wisconsin.
Policy Digest
Strengthening Regional Relationships to Support Manufacturing: 10 Successful Initiatives
Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC)
This report examines ten ongoing regional initiatives that support manufacturers. Drawing on a diverse group of individual case studies, the report identifies the key partners and their roles, the resources they accessed, the impact of the effort, and the prospects for the future. In particular, the case studies often note the many roles that the National Institute for Standards and Technology’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP) centers are playing in the success of these efforts. The report is intended to stimulate thinking among economic development leaders about what they can do to support their own region’s manufacturing sector. Interest in manufacturing has grown since the recession of 2007-2009, and the sector has played an outsized role in the resurgence of the U.S. economy. The manufacturing sector accounts for one out of every eight dollars generated in the United States. The manufacturers that survived the recession emerged stronger, leaner, more competitive, and more innovative.
The report focuses on case studies that speak to a variety of issues, and these individual cases represent a diversity of challenges, partnerships, regional contexts, and goals:
• San Francisco: SFMade’s support for San Francisco’s urban manufacturers.
• Chicago Region: The Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center’s (IMEC) efforts to connect manufacturers to resources throughout the Chicago region.
• Kansas City Region: Kansas City, Kansas, pilot energy efficiency program.
• Southwestern Pennsylvania Region: Southwest Pennsylvania’s “New App for Making it in America” initiative.
• New York: FuzeHub: Making connections for manufacturers in New York State’s regions
• South Texas Region: South Texas’ North American Advanced Manufacturing Research and Education Initiative (NAAMREI).
• East Tennessee Region: The Advanced Manufacturing and Prototyping Center of East Tennessee (AMP!).
• New Mexico: The New Mexico’s Small Business Assistance Program (NMSBA).
• Northwest Wisconsin Region: Northwest Wisconsin’s ExporTech initiative.
• Southwest Virginia Region: Southwest Virginia Manufacturing Technology Center’s E3 (Economy-Energy-Environment) initiative.
Common Themes and Trends
The case studies presented in this report are intended to stimulate thinking about how regional partnerships can support manufacturing. The case studies touch on several common themes about the different key issues and how this affects the initiative’s partners. They also speak to the various roles that MEP centers may play in different regional initiatives. In addition, the case studies offer examples of how regions have started their manufacturing initiatives, attracted resources, and sustained those
efforts over time.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The case studies show that there is no one way to support regional manufacturers. Ultimately, these initiatives are context dependent. Their structure and outcomes reflect the different challenges that regions face, the partners’ motivation and capacity, and the region’s available resources and assets.
Partnerships are Issue Dependent
The focus of a regional manufacturing initiative dictates the composition of the partnerships required to move them forward. A coalition of the willing is necessary to advance manufacturing support efforts, but it alone is not sufficient. Rather, initiative leaders must engage the right partners—not just willing partners. Partners play different and, sometimes multiple, roles; successful initiatives blend the right expertise, networks, resources, and constituencies.
MEP Centers Play Different Roles but are Always a Resource
Regional initiatives require multiple partners to play a variety of roles—leaders, experts, facilitators, investors and advocates. The case studies demonstrate how MEP centers can fit into a variety of roles. In many focused manufacturing initiatives, MEP centers can provide leadership by organizing activities, securing funding, and recruiting partners. Frequently, however, MEP centers may not be the designated lead, even when they are fulfilling important roles in the effort. The roles that MEP centers most commonly play are those of experts and facilitators. The ability of MEP centers to solve specific problems for individual firms makes them a tremendous source of expertise. MEP centers are also highly adept at filling the connector and facilitator role.
Successful Efforts Find Ways to Build and Maintain Momentum
Manufacturing initiatives can gain early momentum by completing smaller tasks or so-called “low hanging fruit.” These smaller projects often involve easy, short-term activities or pilot projects. They do not require significant resources and can help demonstrate proof-of-concept, generate additional interest among current and potential partners, and lead to larger next steps. By demonstrating success with these smaller efforts, regions may position themselves for bigger opportunities.
Resources are Important, but Lack of Resources Should Not Prevent Action
Funding typically dictates the initiative’s scale and scope, and it is an important consideration. However, a lack of funding should not prohibit action. Regions can launch many initiatives, such as establishing a regional referral network, that require little or no money. Similarly, smaller pilot projects can help spur interest or demonstrate proof-of-concept. Even if pilot efforts have limited impact, they may lay the foundation for more expansive future efforts. Throughout, we find that successful regions engage in an active, ongoing, and comprehensive pursuit of funding that looks beyond just federal and state sources. Through an ongoing effort, partners can find the right project funding, not just the first funding opportunity that arises.
Sustainability Must be a Forethought, Not an Afterthought
Many of the manufacturing initiatives described in this report address major, long-term challenges. Responding to these challenges requires sustained attention and commitment. Too often, regional initiatives quickly lose momentum after the expiration of an initial grant. Successful regional initiatives make longer-term sustainability part of the initial design
Events
Toronto, Ontario, 17-18 September, 2014
What do you get when you put a nano-technologist, a geneticist, and a futurist together? Mark your calendars for an exceptional couple of days in which leaders from academia, industry and government will come together to explore opportunities for Canada to seize the leadership position in the global knowledge economy.
Let’s Get Digital: How to Move Cities to a Digital Platform
Toronto, Ontario, 26 September, 2014
This event kicks off our fall +PLACE MAKERS series and will be a discussion about the challenges and opportunities that cities face in adopting digital platforms.
Our panel of experts will help owners, planners, designers and builders understand:
- The role technology will play in shaping our cities;
- applications and technologies available to help you;
- how to manage and make sense of all that data;
- how to transition from 2D to 3D;
- how developers will benefit from digitally-inspired infrastructure.
Mapping the Midwest’s Future: Regional Innovation Clusters and Competitiveness
Minneapolis, Minnesota, 29-30 September, 2014
As regional partners to the US National Cluster Mapping Project, we want to welcome the 12 Midwestern States and 4 Canadian Provinces to join us in this exciting conversation about “Mapping the Midwest’s Future” together. Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter will discuss how an innovative U.S. Cluster Mapping tool developed for the U.S. Economic Development Administration can be used to map industry clusters and enhance regional competitiveness.Other speakers will include Matt Rose, executive chairman, BNSF Railway, and Doug Baker, chairman and CEO, Ecolab, Inc., as well as business, policy and academic leaders. Conference topics critical to the competitiveness of the Midwest region will be addressed—transportation and logistics, knowledge creation and education, and the food-water-energy nexus. Interactive discussions will highlight innovative regional cluster initiatives and address the implications for economic development policy in the Midwest.
OPEN DAYS – 12th Week of Regions and Cities
Brussels, Belgium, 6-9 October, 2014
The OPEN DAYS is an annual four-day event during which cities and regions showcase their capacity to create growth and jobs, implement European Union cohesion policy, and prove the importance of the local and regional level for good European governance. The event is organised by the EU Committee of the Regions and the European Commission’s DG for Regional Policy. This free event will again attract around 6,000 participants and features a variety of sessions, workshops and networking events.
Waterloo Region, 9-10 October, 2014
The greatest global trend of our times is the movement of people to urban areas. Equally transformative is the rise of the connected digital/creative economy, which is causing people and business to reassess traditional models of work and life. In an era of increasing connectivity, it is what might be called the node-city phenomenon. Smart design and planning, arts and culture and research institutions are some of the essential elements to attract the required human and financial capital for mid-size cities to fulfill this exciting new possibility. The Waterloo Region — recently praised as a model of entrepreneurial growth and innovation — is an ideal platform to explore this important development in the business of city building. The second edition of CityAge: The Innovation City will gather city builders from across North America and beyond on October 9 and 10 to review the opportunities and challenges of this important urban trend. The event will address the intersection of modern city-building and the innovation economy, and how 21st century cities can position themselves to thrive in the 21st Century economy.
European Cluster Conference 2014
Brussels, Belgium, 20-21 October, 2014
The prosperity of the European Union relies on its ability to provide SMEs and industry with a favourable business environment and customised support to unlock growth opportunities. Stimulating cross-sectoral cooperation and innovation as well as helping SMEs to access finance, new industrial value chains and to go international are seen as key drivers. The potential of clusters and cluster organisations, notably in emerging industries, need to be better exploited to achieve this objective. The question of how to do this and how to team up with others will be at the core of this conference. Conference sessions will include plenary speeches, panel discussions and innovative participatory group discussions and priority setting by the audience. It will be an inspiring event not to be missed and ensure that the cluster community actively contributes to the design of excellent cluster policies and better SME support.
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This newsletter is prepared by Jen Nelles.
Project manager is David A. Wolfe.