News from the IPL
Dan Breznitz Appointed University Professor
IPL Co-Director Dan Breznitz has recently been appointed a University Professor, an elite designation bestowed on a small number of University of Toronto faculty members for distinguished scholarly achievement and pre-eminence in their fields.
RESEARCH
The latest book by IPL Co-Director Dan Breznitz was recently selected by Martin Wolf as a best mid-year read on his Financial Times list of Summer Books of 2021: Economics. More information on the book can be found here.
Just Out of Reach: The Elusive Quest to Measure the Digital Economy
Steven Denney & Viet Vu, Brookfield Institute For Innovation + Entrepreneurship
Co-authored by IPL Postdoctoral Research Fellow Steven Denney, this report explores what we know about digital technology’s impact on labour and the economy — and how to best conceptualize and measure its impact in the future. The authors survey the literature on the digital economy, focusing on how we have come to know what we do about technology’s impact on labour and the economy more broadly. This report focuses on the approaches, frameworks, and specific measurements created to help conceptualize and measure the impact of technology, with specific attention to the ways technology either replaces labour or augments it. Using a method called a systematic review, the project team thoroughly reviewed, analyzed and synthesized 110 papers, reports, and other sources on how digital technology impacts labour.
Denmark’s Response to COVID-19: A Participatory Approach to Policy Innovation
Darius Ornston
In this chapter, IPL Affiliated Faculty member Darius Ornston writes about Denmark’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This chapter explains how institutionalized cooperation between policy-makers and civil society, specifically large, encompassing producer associations, can accelerate policy reform and social change. First, the trust that stems from repeated interaction makes it easier for reform-oriented actors to persuade skeptics. Second, widely distributed networks enable policy-makers to design more effective interventions using local information. Third, this extends to social protection, which can reduce opposition by compensating adversely affected actors. Finally, consensus improves policy effectiveness by coordinating public and private sector action. Because this inclusive and participatory approach is so attractive, the chapter concludes on a cautionary note, identifying limitations and vulnerabilities.
PRESS
David Wolfe, Special to the Financial Post
This article by IPL Co-director David Wolfe asserts that Climate change, environmental sustainability and public health concerns are now the critical lenses through which all potential innovations must be filtered.
The Innovation Imperative: Why Canada needs to harness the power of the platform economy
Shauna Brail, Special to the Financial Post
This article by IPL Senior Associate argues that if we want to avoid being the equivalent of a branch plant economy for platform firms, we need to act.
Steven Denney and David Wolfe, Special to Financial Post
This article by IPL Co-Director David Wolfe and IPL Post Doctoral Fellow Steven Denney lays out the economic case for focusing innovation supports on Scale-ups. The article notes that these firms are well positioned to advance through the recovery and be a main source of net job growth
Dan Breznitz and Dan Munro, Special to Financial Post
This article by IPL Co-Director Dan Breznitz and IPL Director of Policy Projects Dan Munro articulates why bridging the digital divide is so central to unlocking Canada’s innovation potential. The article argues that that Canada cannot afford to leave our most promising future entrepreneurs and Einsteins behind.
Editor's Pick
Bertelsmann Stiftung & Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI
How can we strengthen our innovative capacity while ensuring fair and inclusive economic development? And how can we ensure that technological progress consistently remains in line with European values? Addressing these questions is the goal of the Reinhard Mohn Prize 2020 project “Fostering Innovation. Unlocking potential”, which aims to identify promising mechanisms, institutions and strategies that could be applied to efforts advancing innovative capacity in Germany and Europe. Researchers from Bertelsmann Stiftung and Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI examined in-depth examples from 13 countries, including Canada, of modern and successful innovation policies that are anchored in societal needs. Drawing on their research of good practices around the world, the project focuses on mission-oriented innovation strategies, measures to promote networking and exchange, as well as efforts to foster disruptive innovation and startup activity. The research is presented in five thematically oriented results papers as part of the “Innovation for Transformation” series. These papers are explored further in the ‘Innovation Policy’ and ‘Policy Digest’ sections of the newsletter below.
Cities & Regions
Frank Crowley, Justin Doran, & Philip McCann, Regional Studies
Automation is expected to have strong implications for labour-saving technologies. This article calculates the proportion of jobs at high risk of automation across European regions using data from the 2018 Labour Force Survey (LFS). It examines the relationship between regional vulnerability to job automation, specialization, related (and unrelated) variety and agglomeration. The results indicate that regions at low vulnerability to job automation benefit from unrelated variety and high population density. Regions with higher proportions of clerical support workers, craft and related trade workers, and plant and machine operators and assemblers are likely to face greater disruption.
Statistics
Where the tech talent pool is growing
Erica Pandey, Axios
This article summarizes findings from the recent Scoring Tech Talent report from real estate firm CBRE. The top tech talent markets remained San Francisco, New York, and Toronto. Among the top 10 markets — with tech talent pools well over 150,000 people — the San Francisco and Toronto metro areas have the highest concentration of workers. About 11% of the Bay Area workforce is in tech, and the same is true for Toronto. Notably, between 2015 and 2020, Toronto’s pool grew by 43%, Edmonton’s by 53%, Seattle’s by 35% and Montreal’s by 31%. Three of the cities with the biggest gains are in Canada.
Innovation Policy
The rise of ‘ARPA-everything’ and what it means for science
Jeff Tollefson, Nature
This article summarizes recent calls to emulate the success of the DARPA program in the United States in the climate ($500-million ARPA-Climate) and health (US$6.5-billion ARPA-Health) fields. The article draws on experts to articulate the potential benefits and risks associated with the Biden Administration’s ARPA-H and ARPA-C plans. The article notes that Scientists who have studied the DARPA model say it works if applied properly, and to the right, ‘ARPA-able’ problems. But replicating DARPA’s recipe isn’t easy. It requires the managers who build and run an agency’s grant programs to have the freedom to assemble research teams and pursue risky ideas in promising fields that have typically been neglected by conventional industrial research and development programs.
Ellen Marrison, SSTI
This article summarizes the recent White House report, Building Resilient Supply Chains, Revitalizing American Manufacturing, And Fostering Broad-Based Growth. The report reinforces that the pandemic and resulting economic dislocation revealed long-standing vulnerabilities in the supply chains.The report provides a series of recommendations that are grouped into six categories, with much greater detail available in the full 250-page report: Rebuild production and innovation capabilities; Support the development of markets that invest in workers, value sustainability, and drive quality; Leverage the government’s role as a purchaser of and investor in critical goods; Strengthen international trade rules, including trade enforcement mechanisms; Work with allies and partners to decrease vulnerabilities in the global supply chains; and Monitor near term supply chain disruptions as the economy reopens from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Policy Digest
Bertelsmann Stiftung & Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI
The following summarizes findings from the Reinhard Mohn Prize 2020 project “Fostering Innovation. Unlocking potential”, which aims to identify promising mechanisms, institutions and strategies that could be applied to efforts advancing innovative capacity in Germany and Europe. Researchers from Bertelsmann Stiftung and Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI examined in-depth examples of modern and successful innovation policies that are anchored in societal needs.
Drawing on their research of good practices around the world, the project focuses on mission-oriented innovation strategies, measures to promote networking and exchange, as well as efforts to foster disruptive innovation and startup activity. The research is presented in five thematically oriented results papers as part of the “Innovation for Transformation” series. The four results papers in the “Innovation for Transformation” series address issues such as:
- Good practices in mission-oriented innovation strategies and their implementation,
- Networking and exchange in mission-oriented innovation processes,
- Addressing societal challenges through disruptive technologies and
- Fostering innovative startups in pre-seed phase.
The fifth paper presents a summary of all four results papers’ overarching conclusions. These findings are summarized as follows:
1) Retooling Germany’s strategic, cultural and institutional framework for innovation policy
- Link up the otherwise siloed innovation policy priorities of strengthening competitiveness and innovative capacity on the one hand and the capacity to deliver solutions to societal problems on the other
- Partially restructure research, technology and innovation policy, and reconfigure several established paths and institutions involved with research and innovation support
2) The way forward: An agenda for reviving competition in generating innovative solutions to societal problems
Align the country’s development with appealing visions and formulate ambitious mission-oriented strategies
- Strategically align the German government’s RTI policy with ambitious, potentially transformative and principles-based visions, emphasizing innovation as a driver of both societal problem-solving and economic performance
- Ensure that these visions prove appealing to society as a whole and declare them binding for all ministries
Ensure the effective implementation of transformative goals and a more inclusive and participatory innovation policy
- Establish a dedicated unit within the Federal Chancellery to bring together, several times a year, representatives from the policy-making, business, civil society, research, and educational communities for consultation
- Consider establishing a cross-sector change agent with considerable autonomy in promoting a mission-oriented policy
Leverage current strengths to advance transformation, foster disruptive innovations and overcome path dependencies
- Strengthen Germany’s incumbent industries such as mechanical and automotive engineering, chemical engineering, medical technology and electrical engineering by accessing new export markets for sustainable technologies and green growth while creating at home the skilled workforce needed to realize these goals
- Involve industries in the implementation of cross-sectoral government visions and missions targeting challenges such as climate change, a mobility
of the future, sustainable development, the smart economy and the future world of work - Introduce new funding and tender guidelines that include solutions and technologies for societal impact and allow for long-term, ambitious research proposals (three years or longer) that are transdisciplinary in nature
Overcome rigid thinking in innovation funding, strengthen entrepreneurship, and treat start-ups as trendsetters in transformation
- Introduce more flexible forms of knowledge commercialization and establish new channels for the transfer of promising, but not yet market-ready research findings (e. g., commercializing knowledge through impact-oriented startups with origins in research institutes)
- Fostering research-based startups or providing researchers with support in terms of training, coaching, mentoring, advising, networking, or in-kind benefits
- Develop further Germany’s startup ecosystems such as those found in Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and Leipzig and strengthen their capacity to inspire even more potentially transformative solutions through their creative, highly competitive environments
Expand the scope of collaboration, networking and dialogue as accelerators of societal change
- Networking infrastructures such as “clusters” or science parks, which are usually supported by the public sector (i. e., municipalities, districts,
the federal states), should be geared more effectively to tackling specific regional challenges - Expand the scope of existing networking infrastructures that are associated with industry-on campus models, real-life laboratories and co-creation projects to serve as a platform for creatives, activists, entrepreneurs and startups
- Build national and international platforms and matching instruments that facilitate cross-sectoral networking among actors involved in innovation processes
Links to recent IPL webinars
Canada’s Quantum Internet: Prospects and Perils
This is a recording of the April 20, 2021 webinar that together experts to discuss the political, economic, and scientific implications of quantum communications, for Canada and the world .Speakers: Francesco Bova, Associate Professor, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto; Anne Broadbent, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Ottawa; Jon Lindsay, Assistant Professor, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and Department of Political Science, University of Toronto; Christoph Simon, Professor and Associate Head, Research, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Calgary; & Dan Patterson (moderator), Technology Reporter, CBS News
Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship in Canada
This is a recording of the March 23rd 2021 webinar focused on the importance of IP protection for entrepreneurship, the intellectual property environment in Canada, and existing support for firms. Panelists discussed issues relating to their firm’s ability to secure IP especially as it relates to IP education and the role of government in supporting IP protection. Speakers: Seray Çiçek, Ryan Hubbard, Graeme Moffat, Moderator: Shiri Breznitz
Canada’s future skills strategy: Workforce development for inclusive innovation
This is a recording of the January 19th 2021 webinar discussing the Future Skills Council report, released in November 2020, which recommends equitable and competitive labour market strategies in response to disruptive technological, economic, social and environmental events. It aims to provide a roadmap to a stronger, more resilient future for Canada. In this webinar, panelists discuss the report’s key action areas and pathways to successful implementation. Speakers: Rachel Wernick, Denise Amyot, Dan Munro, & David Ticoll.
Inclusive Innovation: COVID and After
This is a recording of the December 10th 2020 webinar discussing the importance of inclusive innovation; policies needed to bring it about; opportunities and prospects for doing so in the era of COVID-19; and new initiatives for measuring and tracking progress – including GDP 2.0 and the Innovation Policy Lab’s Inclusive Innovation Monitor. Speakers: Dan Breznitz, Susan Helper, Daniel Munro, & Anjum Sultana
Urban Leadership & Innovation During Times of Crisis
This is a recording of the Dec 3rd 2020 webinar discussing how urban leaders are the frontlines of crisis response, from the COVID-19 the pandemic and its associated economic, social and fiscal challenges to the growing protests over racial and economic justice and the looming reality of climate change. This session highlights the way urban leaders can best respond to build more inclusive, just and resilient cities and generate the policy innovations that can shape enduring change. Speakers: Richard Florida, Anita McGahan, Shauna Brail, & Supriya Dwivedi
Canada’s Innovation Imperative
This is a recording of the November 9, 2020 event. Innovation contributes to regional and national prosperity and is a well-established economic concept. To succeed in building capacity and strength in this technical realm, government policies must be deliberate, systematic and rooted in expertise. Data shows that Canada missed the shift from the tangible to intangible economy. Moving forward, how can we make sure Canada builds competitive advantage through policy that leverages innovation for tomorrow’s economy? Speakers: Jim Balsillie, Dan Breznitz, Meagan Simpson (moderator).
This is a recording of the November 12, 2020 event. Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn A. Wilkins outlines how the COVID-19 crisis has damaged economic potential and discusses what will be needed to thrive in the post-pandemic world. Speakers: Carolyn Wilkins, Michael Sabia, Shauna Brail (moderator).
Policymaking Under Uncertainty
This is a recording of the Oct. 14th, 2020 event focused on Policymaking Under Uncertainty. Policymaking is a challenging endeavour under the best of times, as politicians and bureaucrats seek to juggle the need for rapid and innovative interventions on the one hand with democratic accountability on the other. Speakers: Uri Gabai, Darius Ornston, Sylvia Schwaag Serger, and Dan Breznitz.
Events
October 18-20, 2021, Copenhagen, Denmark
Since 1996, DRUID has become one of the world’s premier academic conferences on innovation and the dynamics of structural, institutional and geographic change. DRUID is proud to invite senior and junior scholars to participate and contribute with a paper to DRUID21, hosted by Copenhagen Business School. Presenting distinguished plenary speakers, a range of parallel paper sessions, and an attractive social program, the conference aims at mapping theoretical, empirical and methodological advances, contributing novel insights, and help identifying scholarly positions, divisions, and common grounds in current scientific controversies within the field. Please note that due to the global COVID-19 health crisis, DRUID21 is scheduled to take place in October, rather than its usual time in June. The conference will only take place if travel and health regulations permit.
6th Geography of Innovation Conference
January 26-28, 2022, Bocconi University, Milan
The conference brings together leading scholars on the spatial dimension of innovation processes. It is a forum for interdisciplinary research on this topics, including perspectives from economic geography, innovation economics, and regional science, as well as economics and management science, sociology and network theory, and political and planning sciences.
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This newsletter is prepared by Travis Southin.
Project manager is David A. Wolfe