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
Ontario Centres of Excellence Meetings Help Guide and Support Campus Entrepreneurs
OCE Newsletter
Exploring different models for delivering entrepreneurship training skills and examining market research strategies for start-ups at different stages were among topics addressed at a recent meeting of campus advisers from across the province. The Jan. 23 event, which drew more than 120 participants, marked the first time that representatives from all 30 of Ontario’s Campus Linked Accelerators (CLAs) and On-Campus Entrepreneurship Activities (OCEAs) have been able to come together.
Ontario’s Aerospace Sector Set to Soar
OCE Newsletter
Ontario’s aerospace sector is gearing up to propel the next wave of innovation in aircraft and flight technology that will excite global markets. The federal government’s recent announcement of the Consortium for Aerospace Research and Innovation in Canada (CARIC) has opened up exciting new funding opportunities for industry-academic R&D collaborations in aerospace. Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) and the Ontario Aerospace Council (OAC) have partnered with CARIC to become the deliverer of CARIC programs in Ontario.
Canadian Government Announces Major Investment in Quantum Research at the University of Waterloo
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada recently announced an investment of $15 million over three years in the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) based at the University of Waterloo. The investment will support the IQC’s strategic plan to carry out and commercialize leading-edge research in quantum technologies. The funding will help IQC undertake high-calibre research in quantum information science, continue to attract world-leading quantum researchers to Canada, engage in training and public outreach activities, and begin to translate new knowledge into market-ready quantum-based technologies resulting in economic and social benefits for Canadians.
NY Governor Proposes $1.5 Billion for Upstate Revitalization and Statewide Economic Initiatives
SSTI Weekly Digest
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently released his proposed 2015-16 budget, including an extensive slate of economic development and innovation initiatives for the state. The governor unveiled his plans in a press conference outlining his 2015 Opportunity Agenda in lieu of this year’s State of the State address. Gov. Cuomo’s proposed economic strategy includes a $1.5 billion competition, based on the previous Buffalo Billion initiative, to help revitalize Upstate New York. The Upstate New York Economic Revitalization Competition would offer awards of $500 million to three of seven Upstate regions. The competition would leverage the partnerships created through the Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) awards by calling on those groups to prepare regional investment plans that could qualify for the competition. The Western New York, Long Island and New York City REDCs would not be eligible. Submissions would be due in July and winners would be announced in the fall. Separately, all 10 REDCs would be able to participate in a fifth round of REDC awards. The governor’s budget would allocate $150 million to fund regional priority projects and another $70 million in state tax credits for regional initiatives.
ARPA-E Announces $125 Million Challenge for Disruptive Energy Technologies
SSTI Weekly Digest
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced that it will commit up to $125 million for its 2015 OPEN competition to Support R&D projects on potentially disruptive new energy technologies. Applications should be able to address how the proposed technology will be able to make a significant impact in one of the three mission areas of ARPA-E – to reduce imported energy, to reduce energy-related emissions, and to improve energy efficiency. Via the 2015 OPEN program, DOE intends to make up to 50 awards across the full spectrum of energy applications.
Shiri Breznitz -The Fountain of Knowledge: The Role of Universities in Economic Development
Toronto, Munk School for Global Affairs, 2 Februrary, 2015
Today, universities around the world find themselves going beyond the traditional roles of research and teaching to drive the development of local economies through collaborations with industry. At a time when regions with universities are seeking best practices among their peers, Shiri M. Breznitz argues against the notion that one university’s successful technology transfer model can be easily transported to another. Rather, the impact that a university can have on its local economy must be understood in terms of its idiosyncratic internal mechanisms, as well as the state and regional markets within which it operates. To illustrate her argument, Breznitz undertakes a comparative analysis of two universities, Yale and Cambridge, and the different outcomes of their attempts at technology commercialization in biotech. By contrasting these two universities – their unique policies, organizational structure, institutional culture, and location within distinct national polities – she makes a powerful case for the idea that technology transfer is dependent on highly variable historical and environmental factors. Breznitz highlights key features to weigh and engage in developing future university and economic development policies that are tailor-made for their contexts.
Editor's Pick
Jonathan Sas, The Broadbent Institute
The report is a background paper inspired by UK economist Mariana Mazzucato’s work on government’s role in smart, equitable and innovation-led economic growth. This conversation starter aims to challenge inaccurate or incomplete perceptions about public investment in innovation. It also aims to engage a wide cross-section of Canadians — leading citizens, businesses, policymakers, academics, and everyone who cares about the country’s future — in asking questions about the kind of government needed for successful economic growth in the first half of this century. It assumes that the current levels of income and wealth inequality are unacceptable, and that a more active role for government is required to reduce them.
Innovation Policy
Can Innovation Help U.S. Manufacturing Firms Escape Import Competition from China?
Johan Hombert and Adrien Matray, HEC Paris
This report found that R&D-intensive firms were more resilient to import competition from China and other emerging economies – especially if they received tax credits for performing R&D. The authors examined the importance of R&D tax credits on the resiliency of R&R-intensive firms including S&T and manufacturing firms. The authors found that while the average firm cuts capital expenditures and employment when import competition increases. However, R&D-intensive firms are more likely to continue to invest in capital and labor while in the face of international competition. The authors contend that generous R&D tax credit policies is one of the primary determinants that help these firms be more resilient.
Will R&D Tax Incentives Get Europe Growing Again?
Elina Gaillard and Bas Staathof, CEPR’s Policy Portal
Tax incentives have become a common policy tool for encouraging firms to spend more on research and development – and the recession has further raised interest in the effectiveness of this policy. This column highlights a new review of the empirical evidence, which suggests that fiscal incentives for R&D only modestly stimulate R&D, while their impact on innovation and economic growth is uncertain.
Cities, Clusters & Regions
Centre for Cities
The recent announcement of the devolution of some powers from Whitehall to Greater Manchester is the outcome of a decade-long discussion about the role of cities in the UK economy. This year’s Outlook reflects on the performance of city economies over the last 10 years based on four main indicators , population, businesses and housing affordability, the approach of policy over this period (both under Labour and the Coalition) and its implications for further devolution. Now in its eight year, the Outlook provides the authoritative economic index of the 64 largest cities and towns in the UK.
Statistics & Indicators
The Manufacturing Footprint and the Importance of U.S. Manufacturing Jobs
Robert E. Scott, Economic Policy Institute (EPI)
While U.S. manufacturing has been hit hard by nearly two decades of policy failures that have damaged its international competitiveness, it remains a vital part of the U.S. economy. The manufacturing sector employed 12 million workers in 2013, or about 8.8 percent of total U.S. employment. Manufacturing employs a higher share of workers without a college degree than the economy overall. On average, non-college-educated workers in manufacturing made 10.9 percent more than similar workers in the rest of the economy in 2012–2013. This report examines the role manufacturing plays in employment at the national, state, and congressional district levels, including the number of jobs manufacturing supports, the wages those jobs pay, and manufacturing’s contribution to GDP.
Annual Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy
MASSTECH
This Index, published annually since 1997, is the premier fact-based benchmark for measuring the performance of the Massachusetts knowledge economy. Emerging from the recession, much of the Massachusetts innovation economy is growing. Most of its cluster industries are adding jobs—some of them faster than their counterparts in other leading technology states (LTS), while some industries are not faring as well. However, important indicators of economic health, such as wages and productivity are on the rise. Massachusetts’ research and development (R&D) assets, which help fuel innovation, remain strong. And, the Commonwealth continues to be a leader in turning R&D funding into ideas, technologies and companies, with strong performances on indicators such as technology licensing, patents and business formation.
Silicon Valley Leadership Group and Silicon Valley Community Foundation
This report aims to proactively identify a data-driven, overarching economic strategy to enhance and reinforce Silicon Valley’s competitive advantages in innovation, and ensure that Silicon Valley residents have access to the job opportunities and prosperity linked to growth in key industries. Public policies at the local, state and federal level play a key role in this economic strategy. The SVCIP will monitor trends in Silicon Valley’s innovation economy to help inform a long-term public policy agenda for the region. An advisory council, comprised of CEOs, community and non-profit leaders, identified 23
competitiveness and innovation indicators to track annually with comparisons to other U.S. innovation regions
Policy Digest
Can Startups Save the American Dream?
The Miller Center, University of Virginia
In this report the authors deliberate the significant barriers to American entrepreneurship and postulate potential policy recommendations. Ultimately, the authors propose five ideas that they believe would help rebuild the American dream by promoting entrepreneurship.
- Unlock Capital for Main Street Entrepreneurs – Enhance community-based lending with specific proposals to improve access to capital in low- and middle-income communities.
- Accelerate Impact Investing through program-related investments (PRIs) – Impact investing is a new type of investment model supporting organizations that want to create social or environmental impact while generating a financial return. The report suggests revisions of federal regulations to enhance one type of impact investing: program-related investments (PRIs).
- Build a Regulatory Roadmap – Create a “Roadmap” website that catalogs data on federal, state, and local regulations, translating them into more accessible language for entrepreneurs to understand.
- Empower the Next Generation of Entrepreneurial Leaders – By introducing entrepreneurship as a viable career path at the K-12 level, a new generation of startup leaders could be educated. The report encourages the creation of an annual national entrepreneurship competition for different grade levels.
- Equip Civic Leaders to Build Entrepreneurial Ecosystems – The report proposes creating an “Ecosystem-in-a-Box” toolbox to provide civic leaders with playbooks to build their own vibrant entrepreneurial clusters using the latest research.
Given the importance that small business play in the U.S. economy, and the importance of economic growth to reduce future deficits and improve the national standard of living, policymakers at the all levels of government should consider these ideas and others to encourage startups and boost economic growth.
Events
Challenges for the New Cohesion Policy in 2014-2020: An Academic and Policy Debate
Riga, Latvia, 4-6 February, 2015
In 2013, the budgetary and regulatory reform of Cohesion policy for 2014-20 was finally concluded following the most extensive process of reflection, consultation and analysis in the history of the policy. The cornerstones of the reformed policy are a more strategic use of the renamed European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), concentration of spending on the objectives of Europe 2020, improved performance and achievement of results, better governance, and more attention to urban and local development. However, as the recently published Sixth Cohesion Report makes clear, the new ESIF programmes face a difficult task, with increasing regional and urban disparities and cuts in government spending. Against this background, the Second EU Cohesion Policy Conference organised by the RSA and DG Regio, together with the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, aims to take stock of the challenges and opportunities for Cohesion policy in 2014-20. It will bring together a limited number of participants from academia, the European institutions and Member State authorities to debate where Cohesion policy is going and how its contribution to growth and jobs can be maximized.
Gernot Grabher – The Benefits of Not “Being There’? Knowledge Production and Socializing Online 
Toronto, 5 February, 2015
Face-to-face interaction still seems the unrivalled mode of interaction. True, the role of distanciated relations as ‘pipelines’ that transmit valuable information from a variety of sources have been appreciated more recently. And yet, face-to-face interactions still seem matchless in fuelling ‘local buzz’, nurturing trust and conveying tacit knowledge. This presentation takes issue with this reification of ‘being there’. Netnographic research on virtual user communities and on the social network site LinkedIn indicates that online interaction (1) affords unique technical opportunities and social dynamics that foster learning processes unattainable in face-to-face contexts and (2) cannot be reduced to a sensory deprived version of face-to-face communication, but in fact signifies a genuinely novel logic of interaction.
Broadbent Institute Progress Summit 2015: Building a Better Canada
Ottawa, 26-28 March, 2015
The Broadbent Institute is holding its second annual Progress Summit 2015 in Ottawa from March 26 to 28 — bringing together an exciting group of progressive minds, influential thinkers, policy experts, and organizers to help build a better Canada. A special training day is also being held to teach progressive organizers cutting-edge campaign strategies.
Toronto, 21 April, 2015
Global connectivity is the fundamental challenge of our generation. Gain insight into the future made possible through digital infrastructure. Speakers include: Kristina Verner is the director of intelligent communities for Waterfront Toronto, where she is responsible for a variety of strategic initiatives for one of the world’s pre-eminent intelligent communities. John Helliker is the director of strategic partnerships and the Screen Industries Research and Training Centre at Sheridan College. Glenn Smith, P.Eng., draws on over 20 years of experience in broad business, technology development and commercialization with leadership roles in two University of Waterloo spinoff companies as well as Centres of Excellence in commercialization. Campbell Patterson is the founding partner of CP Communications (CPC). Campbell’s extensive career has seen him as a vice president of J. Walter Thompson Advertising and McDonald’s Restaurants licensee. Anita Simpsonis a superintendent of education for program and innovation with the Simcoe County District School Board. She is also the Canadian Cluster lead for New Pedagogies for Deep Learning (NPDL), an international learning lab involving 10 countries and 1,000 schools from around the world.
Delivering Smart Specialization and Economic Transformation Through Clusters
Brussels, Belgium, 27-28 April, 2015
The emphasis on economic transformation and on building interregional value chains calls for a new generation of cluster policy approaches. Clusters can be key delivery instruments for national and regional smart specialisation strategies, internal market, re-industrialisation and SME policy. Using interactive formats, this conference will provide a unique opportunity for regional policy makers and cluster actors to share experiences on how smart specialization strategies and clusters can help transform your region and drive growth. Building upon success stories and innovative practices, participants will learn about novel ways of implementing smart specialisation through cluster-based activities and cross-clustering actions. They will also have the chance to explore new partnerships for joint activities in the context of the new generation of European programmes such as ERDF, COSME and Horizon2020. This is an event jointly organised by DGs GROW and REGIO of the European Commission
The Organization, Economics and Policy of Scientific Research
Torino, Italy, 11-12 May, 2015
LEI & BRICK with financial support from the Collegio Carlo Alberto are organizing their annual workshop on “The Organization, Economics and Policy of Scientific Research”. 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. The deadline for paper submission is January 31, 2015.
The Global City, Past and Present
St. Andrews, Scotland, 14-15 May, 2015
This first Call for Papers invites submissions from scholars of all humanities and social science disciplines working on the issue of “Space” in the early modern colonial city and its modern descendants. At the intersection of empires, cultures, and economies, urban spaces and structures were, and continue to be, shaped by the cities’ global connections. Through an exploration of all aspects of the urban built environment, the workshop will start a conversation between scholars working on the spatial characteristics of those cities that first rose to prominence in the early modern imperial world.
Tech Leadership Conference: What Worked Yesterday is Obsolete Tomorrow
Kitchener, 28 May, 2015
Tech and society change quickly. The best business ideas can be outdated in months. To stay on top today takes visioneering: the process of building a dream into a workable application. Communitech’s Tech Leadership Conference is the largest annual all-day gathering of tech decision makers in Waterloo Region. It’s about creating market expectations and establishing the region as the best place on the planet for tech companies to start, grow and succeed. On May 28, gain insights from renowned keynotes and take part in sessions led by industry experts.
DRUID 15 – The Relevance of Innovation
Rome, Italy, 15-17 June, 2015
Since 1995 DRUID has become one of the world’s premier academic conferences on innovation and the dynamics of structural and geographic change. Presenting distinguished plenary speakers, a range of parallel paper sessions, and a highly attractive social program, the conference aims at mapping theoretical, empirical and methodological advances, and contributing novel insights.
Atlanta Conference on Science and Innovation Policy
Atlanta, Georgia, 17-19 September, 2015
The Atlanta Conference on Science and Innovation Policy provides a showcase for the highest quality scholarship addressing the multidimensional challenges and interrelated characteristics of science and innovation policy and processes. The conference attracts over 300 researchers from more than 35 countries and includes a series of plenary talks; parallel paper sessions to discuss ongoing research; and a young researcher poster competition. Next year’s session will explore the research front addressing the broad range of issues central to the structure, function, performance and outcomes of the science and innovation enterprises.
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This newsletter is prepared by Jen Nelles.
Project manager is David A. Wolfe.