News from the IPL
RESEARCH
Public Purpose: Industrial Policy’s Comeback and Government’s Role in Shared Prosperity
Dan Breznitz
IPL Co-Director Dan Breznitz leads a forum in this new edited volume focused on how local economic development might foster long-term, inclusive prosperity. The book’s other forum is led economist Mariana Mazzucato and articulates an industrial policy agenda organized around ambitious, cross-sector “missions,” designed around important national goals. The authors in this volume collectively argue for “putting public purpose at the center of our politics and policy.” Excerpts from the authors participating in Mariana Mazzucato’s forum are available online here.
Canada as a Learning Economy: Education & Training in an Age of Intelligent Machines Policy Challenges & Policy Responses
Tracey M. White and David A. Wolfe
This SSHRC-funded Knowledge Synthesis Report was prepared by U of T Political Science PhD Candidate Tracey White and IPL Co-Director David A. Wolfe. Literature analyzed here illuminates the nature of adult education, learning and skills development and forms of work organization as factors in Canada’s innovation performance. In the World Economic Forum’s 2017-18 Global Competitiveness Survey Canada ranked 23rd on its ‘capacity for innovation’ metric. If this country is to have a prosperous, innovative economy then the skills and ingenuity of its people matter. Skills development opportunities for Canadians beyond the formal pre-career education systems are inadequate to meet the demands of a rapidly digitizing economy. It is increasingly clear that Canada’s fragmented approach to adult education is an impediment to labour market flexibility and social mobility on which the digital economy depends. Canada’s labour market institutions were developed to meet the needs of an industrial economy. The moment has arrived to re-imagine them to support Canada as a learning economy. This report reviews the approach of the Danish innovation system to provide an alternative example. It urges Canadian policymakers to make development of human resources a higher priority by reinvigorating labour market governance arrangements and realigning incentives to meet the needs of a digital economy.
How Stories Shape Regional Development: Collective Narratives and High-Technology Entrepreneurship in Waterloo, Canada
Darius Ornston, IPL Affiliated Faculty
The Waterloo region in Canada has emerged as an unlikely competitor in high-technology markets, challenging theories based on path dependency, population density, anchor firms, and military spending. While theorists and residents attribute the rise of high-technology entrepreneurship to cooperation, evidence of collaboration is sparse. This article resolves this puzzle by explaining how ideas can coordinate action in loosely coupled systems. Dense, cross-cutting civic networks may not have supported task-specific cooperation, but they facilitated the construction and diffusion of collective narratives. Conventionally understood to leverage locational assets, the Waterloo case demonstrates how storytelling can also soften geographic constraints. Success stories inspired entrepreneurs by re-conceptualizing what was possible, peer-to-peer mentoring helped firms to navigate local constraints, and external marketing enabled the region to access resources it could not mobilize internally. By documenting the importance of storytelling as a form of collective action, the Waterloo case illuminates a broader array of strategies available to local change agents and smaller regions.
Editor's Pick
Public Purpose: Industrial Policy’s Comeback and Government’s Role in Shared Prosperity
Dan Breznitz
IPL Co-Director Dan Breznitz leads a forum in this new edited volume focused on how local economic development might foster long-term, inclusive prosperity. The book’s other forum is led economist Mariana Mazzucato and articulates an industrial policy agenda organized around ambitious, cross-sector “missions,” designed around important national goals. The authors in this volume collectively argue for “putting public purpose at the center of our politics and policy.” Excerpts from the authors participating in Mariana Mazzucato’s forum are available online here.
Cities & Regions
The geography of AI: Which cities will drive the artificial intelligence revolution?
Mark Muro and Sifan Liu, Brookings Institute
This report examines the extent, location, and concentration of AI technology creation and business activity in U.S. metropolitan areas. Employing seven basic measures of AI capacity, the report benchmarks regions on the basis of their core AI assets and capabilities as they relate to two basic dimensions: AI research and AI commercialization. In doing so, the assessment categorizes metro areas into five tiers of regional AI involvement and extracts four main findings reflecting that involvement.
What levelling up really means: changing the geography of knowledge
Guilherme Rodrigues & Anthony Breach, Centre for Cities
Economic complexity is an analytical approach that attempts to measure how developed an economy is, based on the amount of accumulated knowledge a place has. Economic complexity has been widely used to compare countries, but to date has been less commonly applied at the subnational level, especially in the UK. Using this approach for cities and large towns for the first time with historical data, this briefing shows the following: present and past economic complexity of British cities and large towns is highly associated with current productivity levels; the largest cities outside the Greater South East are much more complex today than they were in 1981; and despite their greater complexity, the large cities outside the Greater South East still underperform in terms of productivity.The key messages for policymakers from this analysis are: levelling up the economy must focus on the geography of knowledge; big cities are the most promising places for levelling up; and this research also offers a note of caution for those who urge local areas to ‘build on their strengths’.
Statistics
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
The 2021 edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII) presents the latest global innovation ranking of 132 economies, relying on 81 different indicators. While tracking the most recent global innovation trends in the new Global Innovation Tracker, this edition also focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on innovation. Canada moved up one spot to 16th overall. While Canada climbed from 9th to 8th in innovation inputs, it fell from 22nd to 23rd in innovation outputs.
The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2021
Startup Genome
The authors note that this report provides “the world’s most comprehensive and widely-read research on startups, with 280 innovation ecosystems and 3 million+ companies analyzed.” Despite a turbulent year for many, the top five global startup ecosystems maintain their reign at the top, with Silicon Valley in the #1 position, followed by New York City and London tied for #2 for the second year in a row. Beijing and Boston follow at #4 and #5, respectively. Toronto-Waterloo climbed from 17th in 2020 to 14th in 2021, tied with Chicago.
Who develops AI-related innovations, goods and services? A firm-level analysis
Hélène Dernis, Laurent Moussiegt, Daisuke Nawa and Mariagrazia Squicciarini, OECD
This study proposes an exploratory analysis of the characteristics of Artificial Intelligence (AI) “actors”. It focuses on entities that deploy AI-related technologies or introduce AI-related goods and services on large international markets. It builds on the OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Micro-data Lab infrastructure, and, in particular, on Intellectual Property (IP) rights data (patents and trademarks) combined with company-level data. Statistics on AI-related patents and trademarks show that AI-related activities are strongly concentrated in some countries, sectors, and actors. Development of AI technologies and/or goods and services is mainly due to start-ups or large incumbents, located in the United States, Japan, Korea, or the People’s Republic of China, and, to a lesser extent, in Europe. A majority of these actors operate in ICT-related sectors. The composition of the IP portfolio of the AI actors indicates that AI is frequently combined with a variety of sector-specific technologies, goods, or services.
Innovation Policy
House outlines multi-billion-dollar investment in science, innovation (updated)
Jason Rittenberg, SSTI
This article summarizes recent additional science- and innovation-related funding proposals announced as the U.S. House continues its work on the reconciliation bill. Committees have marked up their drafts for the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, and the proposals include multiple, significant investments that could strengthen regional innovation economies. This article identifies more than $85 billion in potential innovation-focused spending without including much of the legislation’s potential R&D investments. Among the latest items are an additional $4 billion for Regional Technology Hubs and a manufacturing-focused $1 billion for the State Small Business Credit Initiative. These add to the previously-announced $5 billion for Regional Technology Hubs, nearly $3 billion to support incubators and accelerators, and dramatic increases in tuition support for higher education. Further action is required in the House and Senate before final funding is approved.
$36.5 million awarded to 50 recipients for Build to Scale program
SSTI
This SSTI post summarizes the U.S. Economic Development Administration recent announcement of the 50 organizations that will share in grants totaling $36.5 million to support programs that fuel innovation and tech-based economic development as part of the Build to Scale program. The 2021 awardees will leverage an additional $40 million in matching funds from a variety of private and public sector sources. The 50 organizations hail from 26 states and include venture development organizations, state agencies, nonprofits, institutions of higher education, and other entrepreneurship-focused organizations.
Policy Digest
UK Office for Artificial Intelligence, Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
The National AI Strategy “builds on the UK’s strengths but also represents the start of a step-change for AI in the UK, recognising the power of AI to increase resilience, productivity, growth and innovation across the private and public sectors.” This strategy follows the 2017 Industrial Strategy, which set out the government’s vision to make the UK a global centre for AI innovation. In April 2018, the government and the UK’s AI ecosystem agreed a near £1 billion AI Sector Deal to boost the UK’s global position as a leader in developing AI technologies. The document summarizes how the government has invested more than £2.3 billion into Artificial Intelligence across a range of initiatives since 2014.
Input for the strategy was provided in part by the AI Council, which was established in 2019 to provide expert advice to the government and high-level leadership of the AI ecosystem. In January 2021, the AI Council published its ‘AI Roadmap’ providing 16 recommendations to the government on the strategic direction for AI. Its central call was for the government to develop a National AI Strategy, building on the success of investments made through the AI Sector Deal whilst remaining adaptable to future technological disruption. Since then, the Council has led a programme of engagement with the wider AI community to inform the development of the National AI Strategy. To guide the delivery and implementation of this strategy the government will renew and strengthen the role of the AI CouncilThe document sets out the UK’s strategic intent at a level intended to guide action over the next ten years, noting how a “detailed and measurable plans for the execution of the first stage of this strategy will be published later this year.” The following recommendations each have details about short term (3 months), medium term (6 months, and long term (12 months and beyond) implementation plans:
Pillar 1: Investing in the Long Term Needs of the AI Ecosystem
- A growing UK supplier base
- Reduced competition for AI skills
- New AI scientific breakthroughs
- Greater workforce diversity
- Applied AI technologies to new use cases
- Increased investment in UK AI companies
Pillar 2: Ensuring AI Benefits All Sectors and Regions
- Increased diversity in applied AI
- Wider AI adoption in industries & regions
- Greater UK AI exports
- Public Sector as exemplar for AI procurement & ethics
- Greater public value for money
Pillar 3: Governing AI Effectively
- Certainty for the UK AI ecosystem
- Improved public trust in AI
- Increased responsible innovation
- UK maintains its position as a global leader in AI
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.
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.
Transformative Innovation Policy (TIP) Conference 2022
January 17-21, 2022, Digital Conference
The 2022 Transformative Innovation Policy (TIP) Conference is asking for a wide range of participants from across many disciplines and fields to submit ideas for panels, demonstrations, initiatives, and projects that work towards transformations for sustainability and a just transition. The ‘Call for Initiatives’ is open now until 4 September 2021 and encourage Expressions of Interest (EoI) from a wide set of contributors across research, civil society, business and policy. This is a short extension so please get your EOI in as soon as possible. The theme is “BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE KNOWLEDGE INFRASTRUCTURE ON TRANSFORMATIVE INNOVATION POLICY.” The aim of the sessions is to be a symphony of approaches and collaborations to mix-up the conference dynamic and offer a chance to experiment with building knowledge infrastructures and exchanges across sectors and disciplines to activate transformational system change to solve our Earth crisis. The TIP Conference 2022 is organised and funded by the Transformative Innovation Policy Consortium (TIPC) and the European Forum for Studies of Policies for Research and Innovation (Eu-SPRI) with the participation of Globelics and Africalics members and with the involvement of Sustainability Transitions Research Network (STRN) members.
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