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
Major Investment in SME Services Strategy
IBM Canada Ltd. has announced plans to invest $35 million over the next five years to spur support for the small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) market in Canada. The funding, which will include the creation of a new regional strategy centre later this year in Quebec, is reported to be earmarked for services to better serve the IT needs of SMEs affiliated with IBM Business Partners in that region.
Kitchener Outsourcing Operation in Hiring Mode
Arvato Services Inc., a Valencia, Calif.-based provider of integrated and customized IT outsourcing services, announced today it plans to hire between 100-250 additional customer service professionals from Waterloo Region to staff its Kitchener office.
Editor's Pick
Assessing the Strength of the Toronto Biopharmaceutical Cluster
Roger Martin and Jim Milway, The Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity
This is a fifth in a series of profiles that are based on the approach developed by Michael Porter’s Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness. The profile follows a standard approach measuring cluster effectiveness along 120 dimensions and compares the Toronto with the Boston cluster. The main conclusion from the profile is that the Toronto cluster is not living up to its full potential principally because of the lack of sophisticated customer demand – resulting from roles of the federal and provincial governments as dominant players in the drug buying process. The cluster has solid human resource factors and excellent research capabilities but without the pressure to innovate that comes from sophisticated customers it has not developed as broadly and deeply as the Boston cluster which is similar in size, based on employment.
Innovation Policy
European Commission, Expert Group
This report summarizes the opinion of a group of experts assembled by the European Commission on the management of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). This report is directed primarily at research universities and research centres funded by publics funds (collectively Public Research Organisations or PROs) to help them identify the processes, good practices and the implications of a more active involvement in the innovation process through the management of IPR and other policies and tools such as interaction with industry and the creation of new companies.
Science and Technology Policy Infrastructure Guidelines and References
Office of Technology Policy, Technology Administration, US Department of Commerce
This reference guide by The Office of Technology Policy (OTP) of the Technology Administration in the U.S. Department of Commerce is intended to assist Science and Technology (S&T) policy makers, planners and business professionals in formulating S&T policy that will enable greater commercial S&T activities and more productive relationships between public and private sector S&T entities.
Cities, Clusters & Regions
The Cluster Policies Whitebook
The Competitiveness Institute
In addition to presenting the results of the TCI conference last year in Gothenburg, the Whitebook aims to structure the opportunities and challenges for policymaking raised by cluster developments. It provides a framework and approach to help bridge the gap between our general understanding of cluster policies and what could and should be done under specific circumstances. While focusing on the policy challenge, the Whitebook emphasizes that important contributions to clusters are made by multiple actors. Part I structures the policy issues that arise in the development of clusters, whereas Part II presents some of the rich material developed for the Gothenburg event, such as more detailed summaries of the mini forums and learning workshops that took place.
Age Mariussen, The Nordic Centre for Spatial Development (Nordregio)
This report analyzes aspects of regional development of ICT in Nordic countries. It reveals that, in Nordic countries, ICT development is circumscibed by spatial and institutional conditions in each nation. By looking at spatial and institutional factors, it is possible to discuss the regional pattern of the new ICT industries, as well as the distinction between ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’. Institutions, national path dependencies, national systems, spatial diversification within city regions and the dynamics of industrial and university regions all play a role in shaping the development of ICT spaces. Mariussen explores these dynamics through a unique typology of ICT spaces.
Statistics & Indicators
Community Innovation: Innovation Performance of Manufacturing Firms in Canadian Communities
Pierre Therrien and Frances Anderson, Statistics Canada
This working paper analyses data from the 1999 Survey of Innovation, comparing the percentage of innovative establishments in Canadian communities to the national estimate. This document also discusses trends by type of geographic area and by location. It finds that Central Canada (Quebec and Ontario) and Eastern Canada (Atlantic provinces) are more likely than the West to have communities with a percentage of manufacturing innovators that is significantly higher than the national average.
Events
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
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, organization and management systems. As organizations 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 organizational survival and growth.
Building the Future on Knowledge: Blueprints for Foresight Actions in the Regions Expert Group
Brussels, Belgium, 23 September, 2004
An expert group for foresight actions in the regions in support of the implementation of EU policy was implemented in 2003. The objective of this conference is to present the results of the expert group, as well as to inform national and regional policymakers and policy-shapers of the combined policies and instruments of the European Union supporting the development of regional knowledge based economies. High level political input by Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin, the President of the Committee of the Regions Peter Straub, Commissioner Peter Balazs, as well as MEP Alain Lipietz will be combined with the hands-on experience of the five working groups of the Blueprints expert group. Pre-Registration.
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.
Building Innovative Clusters for 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.
Emerging Technologies Conference at MIT
Cambridge, MA, 29-30 September, 2004
Produced by Technology Review Magazine, the authority on emerging technology, The Emerging Technologies Conference at MIT showcases the technologies poised to make a dramatic impact on our world. It brings together world-renowned innovators and leaders in technology, business and entrepreneurial fields certain to better our lives, create opportunities and fuel economic growth.
The Internet and Law: A Global Conversation
Ottawa, 1-2 October
Bringing together leading academics from 16 countries, including Lawrence Lessig, David Post, Bernt Hugenholtz, Graham Greenleaf, and Ian Walden, the conference will explore comparative approaches to intellectual property law, e-commerce, Internet regulation, and developmental issues.
Research, Innovation and Economic Performance – What Do We Know and Where are We Heading?
Brussels, 8 October, 2004
This Conference is being organized by the European Commission, the Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture of the University of Oslo, and Oxford University Press to mark the launch of the Oxford Handbook of Innovation. The Oxford Handbook of Innovation is an outcome of project TEARI: (Towards a European Area for Research and Innovation), which has been supported by the Commission to synthesize and valorize research projects carried out in the auspices of its socio-economic research initiatives.The conference aims to bring together eminent researchers from Europe and the US together with policy makers and other stakeholders to discuss emerging agendas of research in innovation and economic performance and relevant policy practice.
Building Tech-Based Economies: Preparing for Tomorrow’s Challenges
Philadelphia, 13-15 October, 2004
Regions that will thrive are preparing for tomorrow’s challenges by defining their future — a future built on innovation, entrepreneurship, talent, and growth of knowledge assets. They are looking at the tech-based economic development policies and programs around the world that have worked well in the recent past, are adjusting to the unique needs of their specific region, and are adapting quickly to changes in technology development and economic times. SSTI’s annual conferences provide the nation’s most widely respected forum for policymakers and practitioners to work and learn together, share successes and failures, and engage in productive dialogue on how to grow vibrant economies based on investments in science and technology.
Public Science in Liberal Democracy: The Challenge to Science and Democracy
Saskatoon, 14-16 October, 2004
The conference will include papers presented by major international scientists from academia, business and government as well as academics from several disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. It will focus on three key questions: Can science retain independence and objectivity in the face of demands to meet commercial and public policy objectives? In what ways is scientific discourse privileged in the formation of public policy? How can scientific knowledge and methodology be made compatible with the interdisciplinary and integration required in public policy discourse and formation?
Biotechnology Council of Ontario (BCO) Public Policy Forum 
Toronto, 18 October, 2004
This forum will bring together organizations and individuals from across the biotechnology sector to define strategic policies for this critical economic area of the province. It will consist of a full-day open discussion on the needs, challenges, and advantages of the biotechnology sector in Ontario. It will give the Ontario biotechnology industry a rational, transparent, and inclusive policy development process and provide the BCO with its annual “terms of reference” to bring to government. Throughout the day, there will be a series of breakout sessions, as well as featured speakers with specific expertise in public policy formation, development, and implementation.
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.
From Discovery to Marketplace: Fuelling the New Canadian Economy
Quebec City, 10-13 November, 2004
As Prime Minister Martin observed recently, “Ideas and discoveries will be the currency of the 21st century, and increasingly that currency must be Canadian.” This conference unites Canadian members of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) to accept the Prime Minister’s challenge. Participants will report on the progress that has been made in constructing a commercialization infrastructure for Canada as well as the many emerging and existing opportunities for bringing academic discoveries to the marketplace.
Calgary, 17-18 November, 2004
This first annual western Canadian Innovation Conference, hosted by the Centre for Innovation Studies (THECIS), will address a wide range of issues in innovation including cluster, education, public-private partnerships and financing innovation. This conference provides a forum for the innovation community in western Canada to network, review the latest developments and work to find solutions to common problems. Day 1 has eight sessions, and Day 2 has four Workshops, on BioProducts, Energy, ICT, and Manufacturing.
Conference on Plant-Made Pharmaceuticals
Montreal, 30 January- 2 February, 2005
This conference will convene developer of biopharmaceuticals and the plant-factory community. The three themes emphasized this year are compounds (biologic drugs in development, pharma partnerships, markets), capacity (speed, cost, quality and reliability of production), and compliance (evolving regulations, biomass production in North America and Europe, progress in clinical trials).
Turin-Milan, 18-21 May, 2005
The 5th Triple Helix Conference will bring together researchers interested in the interaction between University, Government and Industry. The conference program will include 10 Track Sessions per day, made up of paper sessions dedicated to individual scientific contributions, workshops on selected specific themes and panels intended for industrial experts and policy makers. The organizers invite contributions on issues related to the conference theme: economics of innovation, organizational sociology, regional policy, business & management, cognitive economics, finance, law & economics, industrial economics, scientific and technology policy, and political science.
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This newsletter is prepared by Jen Nelles.
Project manager is David A. Wolfe.