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
Johns Hopkins, Baltimore Mayor Invest Millions to Boost City’s Innovation Ecosystem
SSTI Weekly Digest
Last week, Johns Hopkins University released an action plan to cultivate and support a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship throughout the university and the Baltimore region. The implementation plan, which represents $40 million in new university investments in innovation initiatives over five years, is a response to the 22 specific recommendations for university innovation included in a May 2014 innovation report. The initiatives included in the implementation plan will be carried out by Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, a new organization that encompasses technology licensing, corporate and industry relations, and FastForward, the university’s business accelerators. In her State of the City speech on March 9, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced pieces of her small business and entrepreneurship plan, including a $1M innovation fund to promote growth in high-tech businesses. The plan includes 20 specific action items along four key goal areas: increasing resources for small businesses, cultivating the innovation economy, promoting an inclusive economy, and making Baltimore more business-friendly.
Cities of Tomorrow Seeking Student Participants and Competition Partners
Cities of Tomorrow Competition
Ontario’s large urban centres face complex challenges as they continue to grow. Cities of Tomorrow wants to hear your solutions in the areas of infrastructure, finance, job creation and housing. The competition is open to all students at both undergraduate and graduate levels who are either enrolled in an Ontario post-secondary institution or were attending one during the 2014-2015 school year. Support from academia, industry, and government is vital to the Cities of Tomorrow Competition. Become a panelist, judge, funding partner, academic sponsor, or other participant today and help build a legacy for the future.
NIST Announces $26M to Expand Services at MEP Centers in 10 States
SSTI Weekly Digest
The National Institute of Standards and Technology-Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST-MEP) announced the award of 10 new five-year cooperative agreements to manage Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers. In an open competition, the existing MEP centers in Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia, were selected to receive a total of $26 million in funding – an increase of about $10 million (nearly 60 percent). The funding is intended to help the centers to reach new customers and offer new services.
Editor's Pick
The Rise and Decline of Urban Economies: Los Angeles and San Francisco since 1970
Michael Storper, Luskin School of Public Affairs, UCLA
This links to a video of Michael Storper’s recent presentation at the University of Toronto on March 4, 2014. In 1970, the metropolitan areas of Los Angeles and San Francisco had almost identical levels of income per resident. In 2010, the San Francisco Bay Area was almost one-third richer than Los Angeles, which had slipped from 4th rank among cities in the USA to 25th. The usual reasons for explaining such change – good or bad luck; different types of immigrants; tax rates, housing costs, and local economic policies; the pool of skilled labor — do not account for why they perform so differently. Instead, the divergence in economic development of major city regions is largely due to the different capacities for organizational change in their firms, networks of people, and networks of leaders. This in-depth study draws on economics, sociology, political science and geography to shed new light on the deep causes of economic development and challenges many conventional notions about development in general and urban regions around the world.
Innovation Policy
Mark Harrison, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
There are 11 primary barriers to the adoption of additive manufacturing by tech entrepreneurs and small high-growth firms, according to this report. These 11 barriers were identified via surveys and interviews with entrepreneurs, private industry and other participants. In addition to identifying the 11 barriers, respondents also provide best practices or recent activities around each of the identified barriers. The report also includes big ideas and recommendations for programs and policies that the U.S. government should consider adopting to overcome these barriers. In addition, the general recommendations include federal agency-funded, additive manufacturing pilot programs and better coordination of federal innovation initiatives.
Research, Innovation and Technological Performance in Germany – Report 2015
EFI
This report discusses current developments and trends in German research, innovation and technological performance. Additional topics covered include the federal government’s digital agenda, framework conditions for venture capital in Germany, cluster policies, the role of MOOCs and reform of copyright law, among others.
Cities, Clusters & Regions
OECD
This report presents a typology of metropolitan governance arrangements observed across OECD countries and offers guidance for cities seeking more effective co-ordination, with a closer look at two sectors that are strategic importance for urban growth: transport and spatial planning.
Mikko Packalen and Jay Bhattacharya, NBER
Faster technological progress has long been considered a key potential benefit of agglomeration. Physical proximity to others may help inventors adopt new ideas in their work by increasing awareness about which new ideas exist and by enhancing understanding of the properties and usefulness of new ideas through a vigorous debate on the ideas’ merits. This paper tests a key empirical prediction of this theory: that inventions in large cities build on newer ideas than inventions in smaller cities. Its analyzes the idea inputs of nearly every US patent granted during 1836–2010. The paper ultimately finds that a larger city size provided a considerable advantage in inventive activities during most of the 20th century but that in recent decades this advantage has eroded.
Statistics & Indicators
Patents as Proxies Revisited: NIH Innovation 2000-2013
Battelle – Technology Partnership Practice
The National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Energy (DOE) far outpace their peer agencies in patenting output per dollar, according to a new study by Battelle’s Technology Partnership Practice. Research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the focus of the study, generated one patent for every $16.9 million invested by the federal government between 2000-2013. Some NIH institutes had an even higher rate of patent generation, with the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NBIB) producing a patent for every $4 million invested. Using data from the NIH RePORTER database and Thomson Reuter’s Thomson Innovation Patent research system, the authors examined the patent output and citation rate for research funded by NIH.
Policy Digest
Canada Urged to Move Fast or Miss Out
The Toronto Star
As the global auto and tech industries hurtle toward the driverless car of the future, Canada needs to move faster to clear obstacles in its path and capitalize on its market potential, an Ottawa-based think-tank says. Canada is beginning to lag in recognizing and preparing for the large impact this disruptive digital technology will have on our society, the Conference Board of Canada says in a report released in January. An exception is Ontario, where Premier Kathleen Wynne has made autonomous vehicles one of the provincial transport minister’s priorities, according to Automated Vehicles: The Coming of the Next Disruptive Technology.
The arrival of automated vehicles (AVs)—also known as autonomous, self-driving, or driverless vehicles—is imminent. Canada is beginning to lag in recognizing and preparing for the large impact this disruptive digital technology will have on our society.
This report contains five key messages: First, it examines the current status of AV developments and the rollout during this decade and the 2020s. The first generation of AVs is already with us. Google has already—as part of its “Chauffeur Project”—rolled out prototype AVs in California and elsewhere. But, there are numerous other developments in the U.K., Singapore, and other countries that are speeding up the development of AVs.
Second, the report addresses the economic and social impacts AVs may have and summarizes the benefits they will deliver to Canada. There is, of course, significant uncertainty regarding the extent and timing of an AV rollout—as well as its potential benefits. As a result, the approach to measuring these impacts is an illustration of the magnitude of potential that AVs can bring. For example, AVs could play a significant role in reducing current annual road fatalities by 1,600 from the current 2,000 a year. Further, the report estimate that the total economic benefit may be over $65 billion per year, including collision avoidance, fuel cost savings, and congestion avoidance. As with any significant technological change, there are winners and losers. The former typically outweigh the latter, but the potential wealth-transferring impacts are as important for governments to understand as the benefits. In this report, the Conference Board speculates on some of the winners and losers in the economy.
Third, the report assesses the impact of AVs on transportation infrastructure. It contends that no major infrastructure project should be undertaken in Canada without an “AV impact audit” that governments and the private sector should be conducting. Naturally, what such an audit or assessment looks like is subject to debate and discussion as we just begin to understand what the potential impacts are.
Fourth, the report details the reduction in Canadian household transportation costs that will be delivered by AVs. Personal expenditures on transportation are one of the most significant expenditure items for Canadian households. The report estimates that the total potential cost savings are nearly $3,000 per household, or approximately $2,700 after considering a 10 per cent rebound effect, in 2012 prices and activity levels. This represents close to 4 per cent of the total household budget, or over 5 per cent of total household consumption. The savings could be much higher if one takes into account the potential impact that AVs have on reducing freight transportation costs—which make their way into the goods that we buy on a daily basis.
Fifth, the report calls on the newly appointed federal review of Canada’s transportation policies to study the arrival of AVs in Canada and support the scholarship that is necessary for Canada to keep pace with this rapidly evolving technology. The Conference Board sees the widespread adoption of AVs as being a matter of “when,” not “if.” But there will certainly be a number of obstacles along the way. Potential obstacles include pushback from labour (as many jobs will be displaced); keeping regulations up-to-date with such a rapidly evolving technology; cyber security issues; and insurance and liability issues. Governments and industry are often not prepared for the impacts of new technology due, in part, to the fact that the change is so rapid. In some cases, governments may even impede the adoption of new technologies due to antiquated regulations. The growing regulatory response to technologies such as ride-sharing applications (for instance, Uber and Lyft) is perhaps the best current example. And many businesses beyond those that provide the technology and build automobiles will be affected by the AV rollout. These include any businesses involved in freight or passenger transportation, car-sharing and car rental companies, insurance companies, and retail and commercial building management companies (who often provide large numbers of parking spaces), just to name a few. Because of their widespread effects, AVs will require active planning on the part of all levels of government and businesses in Canada.
Events
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 inter-regional 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.
The Chicago Forum on Global Cities
Chicago, 27-29 May, 2015
Global cities rise above the rest. They have the scope, ambition, and clout to shape not just the world’s economy but its ideas, its culture, its policies, and its future. They set the standards and make the rules. Big and connected, they transcend national frontiers and disrupt international agendas. They are magnets for business, people, money, and innovation. And yet global pathologies—terrorism, inequality, climate change—hit global cities first and hardest. Powerful and resourceful, global cities are the key actors in driving political, social, and economic policies and solving critical world challenges. This conference will bring together global city leaders of the four pillars vital to urban life—business, education, arts and culture, civics—for a multidisciplinary discussion on how they can collaborate to make their cities more economically vital, socially inclusive, and environmentally livable. The future of global cities will be defined by the mayors and maestros, the scholars and CEOs, who will attend and participate in this unique global forum in a unique global city.
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.
ZEW/MaCCI Conference on the Economics of Innovation and Patenting 
Mannheim, Germany, 2-3 July, 2015
This conference aims at stimulating discussion between international researchers conducting related empirical, and theoretical analysis. In addition, the conference will focus on policy implications of recent research. Theoretical, empirical and policy-oriented contributions from all areas of the economics of innovation and patenting are welcome. The conference is sponsored by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation.
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.