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
6th Annual ISRN National Conference
Vancouver, British Columbia – May 12-15, 2004.
This year’s annual conference is hosted by ISRN Project Principal Investigators and their colleagues at Simon Fraser University’s downtown campus. There is a full four day agenda of events for ISRN members. The highlight of the event is the two-day National Meeting being held in the impressive Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at SFU where collaborative and thematic sessions include presentations by prestigious members of the ISRN National Research team and Reseach Advisory Committee members from several continents. Public registrations are limited.
Ontario Centres of Excellence Merge
On April 1, four Ontario Centres of Excellence – CITO, CRESTech, MMO and PRO – formally joined to become Ontario Centers of Excellence Inc. (OCE Inc). OCE Inc. is a not-for-profit, member-based corporation dedicated to establishing Ontario as the place to be for innovation. The new entity will focus on the development of R&D collaborations between industry and academia, training highly qualified people (HQP), assisting technology transfer, and facilitating the commercialization of new technologies.
National Angel Organization (NAO) Recommends Tax Credit for Angels
An organization in Toronto is pushing for a tax credit for qualified and eligible investors who invest in Canada’s emerging companies. The NAO, a non-profit organization that provides angel investors with a secure environment to network and learn from peers, is recommending a combined 30 per cent Innovation and Productivity Tax Credit. NAO has submitted its recommendations in the form of a report to the federal and provincial governments. The report is intended to increase funding for SMEs, which will help generate employment and growth within communities across Canada.
Editor's Pick
Rags to Riches: The Story Behind the ‘Celtic Tiger’
Anita Sands, PROGRIS
This presentation charts the course of the Irish high-tech industrial explosion responsible for the recent resurgence of economic growth. She attributes Ireland’s success in the high-tech economy to good policy (consistent and complimentary investment in education, a favorable tax environment, sound fiscal management and social partnership), good timing (in terms of investment in telecom, favorable demography, EU membership) and good luck (boom in high-tech demand, diaspora links to international markets, cultural richness and closeness to the US). The presentation concludes with lessons for Canada.
Innovation Policy
A Governor’s Guide to Strengthening State Entrepreneurship Policy
National Governors Association (NGA)
This guide explains how governors can establish and implement policies that will support the growth of entrepreneurial firms in their states. Entrepreneurial growth companies – often referred to as “gazelle” businesses – account for a significant percentage of new job creation and are the catalysts for cluster-driven economic development. State strategies to address the unique needs of these firms are an increasingly important economic development tool. The guide urges states to integrate entrepreneurship into state economic development efforts, encourage entrepreneurship through education, incubate entrepreneurial firms, invest in diverse sources of risk capital, and “get out of the way” through regulatory reform and streamlining.
Lambert Review of Business – University Collaboration: Final Report
HM – Treasury
According to this report increased collaboration between business and university research departments will bring significant economic benefits to the UK, but concerted action by business, universities, and government will be required in order to grasp these opportunities. The report makes a series of recommendations aimed at smoothing the path between Britain’s strong science base and the business community. It calls for a greater role for the Regional Development Agencies in facilitating knowledge transfer in their regions, new funding for business-relevant research and transfer, better academic codes of governance, new IP protocols, new forms of networking between business and academics, and a greater influence for business in university curricula.
Cities, Clusters & Regions
A Practical Guide to Cluster Development
UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
This is an evidence-based guide targeted at those engaged in the delivery of cluster policy at the local level. It is intended to provide a valuable information source on ‘what works’ and ‘what doesn’t’. The first section of this report provides advice on how to design and measure a cluster strategy. The second section sets out examples of the type of interventions that can encourage the successful development of clusters.
Sustainable Business Clusters in the Regions
Ann-Marie Brouder and Lorna Berry, Regional Futures
This research report investigates whether business clusters could be used as a delivery mechanism for sustainable development. It examines the evidence for sustainable clusters within the UK, whether Regional Development Agencies are already promoting sustainable clusters, and in particular, how they are linking their sustainable development and cluster policies. Business clusters are widely acknowledged to have the potential to improve the financial performance of businesses within a cluster and contribute to the economic development of an area in which a cluster is located. Business clusters can also be used as a mechanism to deliver sustainable development. The result is major breakthroughs in competitiveness and innovation as businesses work together on a range of social, environmental and economic initiatives that also benefit the local, regional, and international community.
Statistics & Indicators
US Office of Technology Policy
This report was compiled for those in the public and private sector concerned with regional innovation and competitiveness. The report provides a snapshot of how each of the fifty states is performing in terms of key science and technology indicators such as R&D expenditures, percentage of population with advanced degrees, and high technology business start-ups. This year’s edition also includes a new section that examines how leading indicators have changed over a ten-year period.
Technology Industries and Occupations for NAICS Industry Data
Jerry Paytas and Dan Berglund, State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI)
Defining “high technology” and identifying industries that fit within that classification has been a difficult task and loaded with political implications. Complicating matters is that a strictly data-driven definition developed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics using the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system has not been translated into the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). This issue brief prepared by the Center for Economic Development at Carnegie Mellon University and SSTI offers a new approach to identifying technology industries through NAICS. Industries are identified either as Technology Employers, those whose employment of technology occupations exceeds by three times the national average, or Technology Generators, those where R&D expenditures per employee and/or the proportion of full-time equivalent R&D scientists and engineers in the workforce exceed the national average.
Events
Washington D.C. 3-7 April, 2004
This Conference of the International Association for Management of Technology will discuss new directions in technology management and their influence on innovation and the creation of economic growth and prosperity. Special attention will be give to the necessary mechanisms of knowledge generation, science and technology policy, and the collaboration required to accomplish national and organizational objectives. Best practices in technology development and utilization will be presented. The academic institution’s role in preparing the needed human resources for the technological environment of the 21st century will also be addressed.
Photonics for Non-Specialists – A One-Day Introduction 
Toronto, 14 April, 2004
This seminar is designed for non-specialists who want to appreciate the field of photonics. It presents an industry overview and the basics of the most important applications of photonics technology. This course is part of the ongoing series, Technology for Non-Technical Managers, begun in 2000 by the Strategic Microelectronics Consortium (SMC) and expanded by the Software Human Resource Council (SHRC).
The Europe of Knowledge 2020: A Vision for University-based Research and Innovation
Liege (Belgium), 25-28 April, 2004
This conference will explore the issues raised by the Commission’s communication published in February 2003 on “the role of universities in the Europe of Knowledge”. The conference will address in a series of parallel sessions that address the following issues: the creation and certification of knowledge, the changing nature of research teaching, P3s, the role of universities for research in the regions and the challenge of inter-disciplinary research. This conference aims to produce an agreed roadmap to help European universities to realize fully their ambitions in the 21st century.
Ottawa, 27-28 April, 2004
The Smart City Summit combines Ottawa’s Business and Technology Trade Show with a major business and technology conference that draws international attention from business and government. It is also Ottawa’s premier mega-networking and business development event, catering to technology and business decision-makers and federal, provincial and municipal government attendees from across Canada. In just three short years, the Summit has evolved into a dynamic local and international marketplace for business innovators encompassing a major conference, trade show, keynotes, networking, and innovation awards.
MERIT Workshop on Information Technology, New Industry and Labour Market Dynamics
Maastricht, 3-4 June, 2004
The aim of the workshop is twofold. First, to develop a perspective on the changing way in which goods are being produced, production processes are being organised and jobs are being occupied as a result of the adoption of IT. Second, it aims to investigate the consequences of IT diffusion and the determinants of adoption empirically at the firm level, its impact in the labour market both from a theoretical and empirical point of view and its macroeconomic consequences.
Regionalization of Innovation Policy – Options and Experiences
Berlin, 4-5 June, 2004
Globalization leads to a greater relevance of regional factors for innovation processes. There is a growing consensus in the academic field, as well as among politicians, that innovation policy should include this regional dimension, i.e. regional innovation systems. But it is still not quite clear how this could or should be done in practice. In general, there are two approaches to the regionalization of innovation policy. One strategy is attempting to improve the quality of the innovation system in certain regions. The main questions here concern appropriate instruments for such a strategy and the selection of regions. A second strategy that may be complementary to the above-mentioned one is to scale down national innovation policies in such a way that they take into account the various regions (for example, by focusing measures on certain clusters). In some countries, interesting attempts at such a policy that are worthy of investigation have been made (for example, the BioRegio or the InnoRegio program in Germany). This conference will bring together scholars working in the field of innovation systems and policy at the national and regional level.
DRUID Summer Conference on Industrial Dynamics, Innovation and Development
Copenhagen, Denmark, 14-16 June, 2004
This conference aims to promote the general understanding of the interplay between industrial dynamics, innovation and development; investigate arrangements organized at various scales to enhance and utilize knowledge geared towards economic development; examine the role of entrepreneurship and innovation at various stages of economic development; the geographical reach and development consequences of knowledge spillovers; and to consider the implications for managerial strategy and public policy. Participation in the conference is restricted. Potential participants must supply a detailed abstract of at least 2 pages to summer2004@druid.dk no later than January 30, 2004.
The 4th Congress on Proximity Economics Proximity, Networks and Co-ordination
Marseilles, 17-18 June, 2004
This conference is geared towards all of the scientific community interested in the proximity concept, as it relates to everything from industrial organization to networks of public health. The call for proposals, which is open until October 31st, 2003, will give priority to either theoretical or empirical communications likely to produce a better understanding of the conceptual links between proximity, networks and co-ordination.
Oslo, 20-24 June, 2004
This conference features academic papers and presentations from industry plus workshops elaborating on the conference theme. Delegates will have the opportunity to submit a poster on the conference theme as part of their conference fee. Important deadlines are 25 February 2004 (extended from 11 February) for abstracts, 19 April 2004 for full papers, presentations and posters.
Patent Policy: Using, Abusing and Reforming
Duke University, 17-19 September, 2004
It has long been recognized that the patent system provides a unique means for trading off ex ante
innovation incentives against the ex post inefficiencies of monopoly power. The current system of patent acquisition and protection is now frequently criticized on numerous grounds, including its manipulability, its susceptibility to abuse and holdup, its regional specificity, its differential treatment of leaders and laggards, and the agency costs that are present not only among business competitors, but among the very bureaucrats and judges who administer the system itself. The
proposed conference intends to explore these ideas further, bringing together leading scholars
from law schools, business schools, and economics departments. Submission deadline: May 1, 2004.
Continuous Innovation: Strategic Priorities for the Global Knowledge Economy
Sydney, Australia, 22-25 September, 2004
Continuous innovation is the ongoing process of initiating, developing, operating and improving new and existing configurations of products, market approaches, processes, technologies and competencies, organisation and management systems. As organisations strive to achieve a synergistic balance between short-term oriented, operationally-effective exploitation strategies and longer-term, flexibility-oriented exploration strategies, the rapid growth of the global knowledge economy has placed learning at the centre of this critical balance. The 5th International CINet 2004 conference has as its theme “Continuous Innovation: Strategic Priorities for the Global Knowledge Economy” and aims to address these key issues for organisational survival and growth.
Hydrogen & Fuel Cells 2004 Conference and Trade Show
Toronto, 25-28 September, 2004
As society shifts towards the Greener World, it is increasingly important that the team-work necessary to achieve and meet our challenges and objectives be effectively integrated, shared and understood across disciplinary and business boundaries. In planning for the September 2004 Meeting in Toronto seven such inter-related themes have been identified: Hydrogen technology progress, fuel cells, economics & policy, renewable hydrogen, demonstrations, investment & marketing options, and climate change. We invite you to submit abstracts for oral and/or poster presentations to be presented to an international audience of hydrogen and fuel cell industry leaders. Submission deadline: March 17, 2004.
Constructing Competitive Advantage
Ottawa, 28 September – 1 October, 2004
TCI’s 7th annual conference will closely examine and exchange experiences concerning how firms can be grown in a cluster, how clusters can be branded and get products to market, how clusters interact, and how an active strategy can either grow or stunt the future prospects of a cluster. The program includes an introduction workshop on cluster, cluster site visits, an academic summit and many guest speakers and mini-forums.
Ottawa, 27-29 September, 2004
Building on the success of OptoCanada, held in Ottawa in May 2002, the Canadian Photonics Consortium and the Ottawa Photonics Cluster are collaborating to sponsor Photonics North 2004. The Conference is chaired by the CEO of Siemens Canada, Dr. Albert Maringer, and is being managed by SPIE. Leading photonics experts from around the world will be participating. Suggested topics for papers range from Biophotonics to Telecommunications Networking. Among the special features of the Conference will be a parallel program on the first day focusing on doing business with Germany, with a variety of speakers from Germany, as well as a student program organized by Photonics Research Ontario on the second day. The deadline for submission of abstracts is March 15, 2004.
Commercialization: What’s Working, What’s Not
Ottawa, 9 November, 2004
Research Money once again shines the spotlight on the federal government’s innovation agenda. Join key players from business, government and academia to examine what’s working and what’s not with research commercialization.
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This newsletter is prepared by Jen Nelles.
Project manager is David A. Wolfe.