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Innovation Policy Lab

The IPL newsletter: Volume 26, Issue 525

April 15, 2025

News from the IPL

 RESEARCH

Regional Entrepreneurial Mentoring Networks as Transformative Innovation Policy: Insights from a Semi-peripheral High Tech Hub

Darius Ornston and Isabelle Watkinson, IPL Working Paper 2025-01
This chapter discusses how regional entrepreneurial mentoring networks (REMNs) can play a transformative role in fostering and shaping entrepreneurial ecosystems. Focusing on Waterloo, Canada, a low-density outlier in high-technology markets, we explain how the region developed a widely distributed REMN. Second, we illustrate how this mentoring network enabled Waterloo-based actors to circumvent both geographical constraints and suboptimal national institutions by legitimizing high-technology entrepreneurship and diffusing advice about how to cope with these disadvantages. More specifically, mentoring encouraged aspiring entrepreneurs to target diverse business-to-business niches, enabling the region to compete in a surprisingly diverse array of high-technology markets. At the same time, this distinctive pattern of civic capital was poorly positioned to disrupt national barriers to high-technology entrepreneurship. Indeed, the emphasis on niching risks reifying those constraints. In addition to reducing the demand for reform, niching makes it harder to build coalitions and concentrate resources. In the long run, these relatively weak ties are also unlikely to generate the soft or hard infrastructure necessary to achieve social and environmental sustainability.

A role for economic geographers in the entrepreneurial ecosystem framework: Global pipelines and the mobility challenge

Jan Jacob Vogelaar & Shiri Breznitz, Progress in Economic Geography
Entrepreneurial ecosystems have emerged as an influential framework for understanding the spatial dimensions of entrepreneurship. Beyond offering an analytical lens, the framework’s promise lies in its potential as an ‘actionable framework’ to guide regional actors in strengthening ecosystems. This short paper argues that the framework suffers from two key shortcomings that must be addressed to realize this potential. First, ecosystem actors must overcome regional constraints by building global pipelines to access resources beyond their immediate sphere of influence. Second, they need to address the challenge of retaining key actors, such as graduates and high-growth firms, which may relocate. These shortcomings present opportunities for economic geographers to contribute empirical and theoretical insights that enhance the framework’s actionability. The article concludes that, despite these challenges, ecosystem actors have a reason for optimism. The growing recognition that different entrepreneurial ecosystem configurations support various types of entrepreneurships offers regional actors new perspectives.

MEDIA

Immigrant Entrepreneurs Are Leaving — & We’re To Blame

Noushin Ziafati, Three Magazine
This article features an interview with IPL Co-Director Dan Breznitz. The article discusses the topic of brain drain of immigrant entrepreneurs. It notes that a Statistics Canada study from February 2024 revealed that 30 per cent of immigrant entrepreneurs admitted to Canada from 1982 to 2017 emigrated within 20 years of admission, compared with more than five per cent of the general immigration population. Breznitz notes that one of the main reasons Canada is losing immigrant entrepreneurs, Breznitz said, is that it’s difficult to start a company and scale it here. In comparison to entrepreneurs in the U.S., entrepreneurs in Canada are less likely to have their government invest in their innovations. Reasons for this include a lack of access to public procurement, regulations and access to capital. 

EVENTS

Is there Hope for Despair? Poly-crisis or Poly-opportunity?

Online & in-person, April 24, 2025 | 4:00PM - 6:00PM, Seminar Room 108N, North House, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy
Since the future can only be imagined the kinds of futures you imagine make a big difference. Why and how we imagine the ‘later-than-now’ has a powerful influence on people’s fears, their willingness to compromise, to invest, to share. But even before these expectations become manifest, and well before any choices are made, there is the question of being able to perceive the threats and opportunities. Again, the reference points are imagined futures – what we can sense and make-sense of is heavily dependent on imagined futures. And there is a capability, futures literacy, that focuses on the capacity of humans to imagine the future. Being more futures literate calls for being able to distinguish different kinds of future and different methods for imagining different kinds of future. Futures literacy rests on the study and comprehension of the diversity of human anticipatory systems and processes (ASP). Research into ASP over the last two decades shows that there is indeed a diversity of ASP, rooted in history, culture, context, and that why and how the future is imagined matters greatly for perception (choice is subsequent). Assessing the tides of hope and despair, crises and opportunities, is fundamentally different when conducted with an understanding of ASP, that is, when you are more futures literate. Riel Miller is one of the pioneers of the ‘discipline of anticipation’ and futures literacy.

About the speaker - Riel Miller
Starting in March of 2022, after a decade as Head of Foresight and Futures Literacy at UNESCO in Paris, Riel joined several university communities that are seeking to transform why and how people use-the-future. From the outset of his career, in 1982 at the OECD, Riel has gained experience with hundreds of hands-on experiences, around the world, designing and implementing efforts to think about the future. He is an experienced and innovative educator, a pioneer of the field of futures literacy and the ‘discipline of anticipation’. He is widely published in academic journals and other media on a range of topics, from the future of education and the Internet to the transformation of leadership and productivity. He also serves on the board of major academic journals in the field of futures research.

 

Editor's Pick

Multifactor productivity growth estimates and industry productivity database, 2023

Statistics Canada
Multifactor productivity (MFP), measured as output per unit of combined labour and capital inputs, declined by 1.7% in the Canadian business sector in 2023, following a 0.6% increase in 2022. The decrease in MFP in 2023 reflected a 1.2% gain in gross domestic product relative to a 3.0% increase in the combined inputs of capital and labour. MFP measures the efficiency with which inputs are used in the production process. Growth in MFP is often associated with technological progress, organizational innovations or economies of scale. MFP is one of the three key components of labour productivity, alongside capital intensity and labour skill upgrading. In 2023, labour productivity declined 2.1% in the Canadian business sector, driven by the decline in MFP. MFP accounted for 1.7 percentage points of the drop in labour productivity, while a decrease in capital intensity contributed an additional 0.6 percentage points.

Cities & Regions

Place leadership in the geography of opportunities: survival of small industrial localities when industrial giants fall

Markku Sotarauta, Heli Kurikka, Jari Kolehmainen, & Sami Sopanen, & Sami Moisio, Regional Studies
This article focuses on place leadership in non-core localities struggling to renew their opportunity spaces when local industry giants fall. The research questions are as follows: What does it take in non-core localities to connect to the geography of opportunities? What role does place leadership play in this process? What is achieved by place leadership? The study analyses place leadership in two Finnish industrial subregions: Salo and Varkaus, and concludes that place leadership is a cause and a consequence of the local capacity to act in times of adversity, and therefore a central element of the local capacity to renew opportunity spaces.

Statistics

Data, intangible capital and economic growth in Canada

Statistics Canada
Modern economies make major investments in intangible knowledge assets such as data assets, research and development and brand equity. These investments lack solid physical forms. Nevertheless, they are crucial to modern business performance and create assets that are used repeatedly in production processes for many years. A new study, titled "Data, Intangible Capital and Economic Growth in Canada," shows that intangible investments were important for labour productivity growth in Canada from 2000 to 2019, but their contribution was lower than that in the United States and Europe.

Canada's AI Ecosystem: A Brief Overview of In-Demand Skills and Trends

ICTC
Understanding the key roles and competencies shaping Canada’s AI workforce is essential for addressing these gaps and ensuring long-term competitiveness. From May to October 2024, ICTC conducted research to identify the critical roles and skill sets driving Canada’s AI industry, which is projected to grow at an annual rate of 33.9% from 2023 to 2028. This report outlines the key roles propelling AI in Canada—including AI engineers, AI researchers, computer vision engineers, data engineers, data scientists, machine learning engineers, and software developers—and highlights the essential skills and competencies required for entry-level professionals to succeed in these roles. It also provides students, educators, policymakers, and industry stakeholders with insights into the skills and technologies shaping Canada’s AI industry. 

National Academies
Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) promise to improve productivity significantly, but there are many questions about how AI could affect jobs and workers. Recent technical innovations have driven the rapid development of generative AI systems, which produce text, images, or other content based on user requests - advances which have the potential to complement or replace human labor in specific tasks, and to reshape demand for certain types of expertise in the labor market. Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work evaluates recent advances in AI technology and their implications for economic productivity, the workforce, and education in the United States. The report notes that AI is a tool with the potential to enhance human labor and create new forms of valuable work - but this is not an inevitable outcome. Tracking progress in AI and its impacts on the workforce will be critical to helping inform and equip workers and policymakers to flexibly respond to AI developments.

 

Innovation Policy

Harnessing Mission Governance to Achieve National Climate Targets

OECD
To achieve ambitious climate targets under the Paris Agreement, countries need more than political will – they need effective governance. This report examines how a mission-oriented approach can transform climate action. Analysing 15 countries' climate council assessments, the report reveals that, while many nations are incorporating elements of mission governance, significant gaps remain. It highlights promising examples of whole-of-government approaches, while identifying key challenges, such as limited societal engagement, weak co-ordination, and a lack of focus on experimentation and ecosystem mobilisation. The report argues that national climate commitments effectively function as overarching missions, and thus, can greatly benefit from applying mission governance principles. It recommends integrating missions into climate mitigation efforts, applying these principles to policy design and implementation, and deploying targeted missions to address specific climate challenges. By embracing a holistic, mission-driven strategy, countries can enhance their climate action and achieve their ambitious targets.

Variations in innovation strategies for sustainable development: Sustainable innovation policy instrument mixes of ten small OECD countries across five sectors

Policy Digest

Challenges and opportunities of mission-oriented innovation policy in Korea

This study provides a comprehensive understanding of how Korea implements mission-oriented innovation policies (MOIPs), and offers guidance on how to design, co-ordinate, and implement MOIPs in the country.

As part of a series of MOIP national reviews, the paper finds that Korea has made significant efforts to embrace a mission-oriented approach, setting several overarching MOIP frameworks and specific MOIP initiatives. This work builds upon a long history of central co-ordination of STI policies implemented in a number of STI and sectoral public bodies. MOIPs in Korea are the latest attempt to provide STI with more direction in order to prioritise technological development that both benefits Korean society and drive competitiveness. The study concludes with options for change, including by simplifying prioritisation exercises for sectors and technologies across government, and exploring how the government can better support its societal missions to drive more transformative outcomes.

This study focuses on three programmes that represent the different types of MOIPs Korea is using: 

1) The 3rd Comprehensive Plan to Solve Social Problems Based on Science and Technology (2023-27) (CP3) identifies 43 social problems and five core social problems that it aims to address using STI

2) The National Strategic Technology Policy (NSTP) is a large-scale R&D programme that aims to support strategically important technologies from the perspective of the economy, diplomacy, security, and new industry creation, with missions for each strategic technology. It provides direction to innovators and government ministries by identifying 12 strategic technologies, developing a roadmap for each one, and prioritising funding for programmes and projects that advance the roadmaps

3) The Alchemist is a high-risk high-reward challenge-based programme that encourages the development of technologies in areas that have the dual purpose of improving Korean society and creating new sources of global leadership.  It supports a series of projects under 19 themes through a stage-gated approach – starting with six projects in year one of a theme, three projects in year two, and then one project is funded for five years.

The review summarized three MOIP features that differ from traditional STI policies:

  • Strategic orientation - The NSTP, CNSTP and CP3 are overarching MOIPs, which have collectively developed missions with implicated stakeholders, and then worked across government to develop roadmaps with more details on how they plan to achieve their missions.

  • Policy co-ordination - Korea's MOIPs are going further than traditional STI co-ordination mechanisms (mainly efficiency-driven and focused on how to avoid duplication) by effectively bringing public and private actors together to identify gaps that need to be addressed to achieve the missions. This co-ordination happens at committees specific to each mission under the CP3 and for each strategic technology with the NSTP, which are comprised of relevant stakeholders from government, industry, and academia.

  • Policy implementation - These MOIPs mobilise a diverse set of policy levers to achieve the missions, including R&D investments in key areas, skills development, regulatory sandboxes, and procurement for innovation. This wide variety of tools is needed to tackle the complex challenges each mission identifies.

 

Events

OPPORTUNITIES

Call for application for a fellowship for the project “Science technology relationships in the development of AI in the health sector”

The application for this University of Torino position must be submitted exclusively online, using the form available here: https://forms.gle/NHKw4Nnhta7Mew4BA .Applicants are advised that once they receive the application registration form via email, they must complete the transmission by printing the said email, signing it and transmitting the scan to the following address: incarichi.cle@unito.it.

Duration: 18 months. The total amount of the grant is € 34,200.00 and is paid in monthly installments (€ 1,900.00 per month after tax).  The research activity consists of:
- Research on the diffusion of AI and robotics technologies within hospitals.
- Creation and analysis of comparative data at regional and national levels.
- Production of two articles to be submitted to international scientific journals.

EVENTS

The 10th Atlanta Conference on Science and Innovation Policy

May 14-16, 2025, Georgia Institute of Technology
Hosted by Georgia Tech, the Atlanta Conference provides a forum to present and discuss high quality empirical research by about 300 scholars representing more than 30 countries that focus on the challenges and trends associated with science and innovation policy and processes. Abstracts Due: Nov. 17, 2024.

7th Global Conference on Economic Geography

June 4-8, 2025, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts
The GCEG is the largest international conference dedicated to Economic Geography. Cutting-edge research concerning the sources and drivers of socio-economic change, and an assessment of the economic geography of places in a multi-scalar and multi-dimensional context.

DRUID25

Toronto, June 25-27, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto
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 DRUID25, hosted by Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. 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. Submission deadline:  March 1

SASE 2025 Annual Conference

9-12 July 2025, Palais des Congrès, Montréal, Québec

The conference's theme is 'Inclusive Solidarities: Reimagining Boundaries in Divided Times.'

 6th International ZEW Conference on the Dynamics of Entrepreneurship (CoDE) 

October 9-10, 2025, Mannheim
The aim of this conference is to discuss recent contributions to entrepreneurial research. It focusses on the formation, growth and exit of young firms linked to innovation, environmental sustainability, or entrepreneurial finance. The conference also addresses the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship policies. You are welcome to participate in the conference and contribute theoretical, empirical and/or policy-oriented papers on all areas of entrepreneurship research. Interested researchers are invited to submit a paper (or extended abstracts of at least 4,000 words are also welcome) to entrepreneurship2025@zew.de. Submission deadline: 31 May 2025

Twin Transition, Ecosystems, and Disruptive Innovation

October 23rd-24th 2025, Venice School of Management - Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, San Giobbe - Economic Campus.
The 19th edition of Regional Innovation Policies Conference will take place in Venice, Italy.

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This newsletter is prepared by Travis Southin.
Project manager is David A. Wolfe