The IPL newsletter: Volume 7, Issue 130

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

US Bill Proposes Greater Public Access to Scientific Research

Newly proposed US legislation is calling for federally-funded research papers to be posted free of charge on the Internet. The Federal Research Public Access Act, introduced by Senators John Cornyn and Joe Lieberman, would require every federal agency with an annual research budget of more than 100 million US dollars to implement a public access policy. The proposed US bill comes shortly after a study published by the European Commission on Europe’s scientific publication system, which recommends, among other actions, ensuring published articles arising from EU-funded research are made available in open access archives after a given time period.

 

 

Editor's Pick

 

Large Cities Under Stress: Challenges and Opportunities

Enid Slack, Larry Bourne and Heath Priston

Canada’s future is increasingly linked to the fortunes of its largest cities and emerging city regions. These cities are under stress. This report focuses on the changing role and character of large cities and city regions in Canada and their importance to the future of the country. It reviews alternative definitions of what a large city is, constructs a hierarchy of Canadian cities and then illustrates how the characteristics of the largest cities differ from those of smaller places. It then identifies the key trends, challenges and opportunities of large cities, compares the performance rankings of Canadian cities with those of cities abroad, and suggests what is needed for those cities to be successful. The final section reviews and evaluates alternative models of governance for large city regions.

Innovation Policy

Buying and Selling Research and Development Services

Julio M. Rosa, Antoine Rose and Pierre Mohnen, MERIT

Research and development is a crucial activity in the innovation process. Not every firm is in a position to overcome constraints to R&D, such as costs. Those that perform R&D must choose between forming a partnership with other firms, governmental organizations, universities or doing it themselves internally. Others may sell R&D services or buy them. This study provides a statistical portrait of the strategies Canadian companies used in conducting research and development between 1997 and 2002. It is based on data from the Survey of Research and Development in Canadian Industry.

Science and the Public Interest: Communicating the Results of New Scientific Research to the Public

The Royal Society

A number of controversies have arisen in recent years about when and how scientists have communicated their results to the public. This report addresses a number of the issues raised by these controversies and provides guidance to researchers. Its central recommendation is that researchers should take account of the public interest when considering whether or how to communicate their results. The report makes a number of recommendations about practices such as the promotion of papers from journals and scientific conferences, and managing interests that compete with the public interest. It includes a checklist of questions to help researchers to consider the public interest in relation to their results.

 

 

Cities, Clusters & Regions

Innovation, Knowledge and Regional Economic Performances: Regularities and Differences Across the EU

Alessandro Sterlacchini

This paper examines how the recent economic performance – jointly measured by the level and growth rate of per capita GDP – of 151 developed European regions has been affected by their innovation and knowledge base. A regression analysis is carried out by using as a main explanatory variable a composite indicator extracted from a comprehensive set of innovation and education variables. The above relationship is controlled for structural characteristics and allowed to vary across EU countries. The results point to a highly significant economic impact of innovation and knowledge which, however, is not homogeneous among countries and regions.

Locality Debates

Phil Cooke, Center for Advanced Studies Cardiff University

This contribution to the International Encyclopedia of Human Geography outlines the history of theories of locality, particularly with respect to the field of economic geography. First, a fuller account of the origins of the localities analysis from the early 1980s is attempted. Then, the rise of locality studies and critical responses to the approach is reviewed. Finally attention is devoted to the long legacy of locality studies, which includes new regionalist research, urban cultural & consumption research and at a lesser level the ‘scalar envelope’ critique of spatiality in general.

The Knowledge Economy and Urban Economic Growth

Otto Raspe and Frank van Oort, Urban and Regional Research Centre Utrecht

This paper discusses the role of knowledge to economic growth in a spatial context. The authors observe that in adopting the European policy strategy towards a competitive knowledge economy, The Netherlands is – as are most European countries – mainly oriented towards industrial, technological factors. The policy focus is on R&D specialized regions in their spatial economic strategies. The authors placed the knowledge economy in a broader perspective. Based on the knowledge economy literature, they valued complementary indicators: the successful introduction of new products and services to the market (innovation) and indicators of skills of employees: ‘knowledge workers’.

The Profitability of Venture Capital Investment in Europe and the United States

European Commission

This paper examines the profitability of venture capital investment in Europe and the United states. It highlights the unfavourable profitability differential of European venture capital investment in comparison with the United States. The investment performance measures used are the internal rate of return (IRR) and investment multiples. The analysis covers aggregated industry returns and venture capital funds’ returns aggregated by vintage year. It relies on the VentureXpert private equity and venture capital performance database, maintained by Thomson Venture Economics. It also considers developments in the private equity and venture capital markets in Europe and the United States.

 

Statistics & Indicators

The 2006 Washington State Index of Innovation and Technology

Washington Technology Center (WTC)

WTC’s Index of Innovation and Technology is the culmination of this analysis published in a statistical report. The data is categorized into six core indicators: Innovation, Competitiveness, Growth, Financial Capacity, Human Potential, and Quality of Life. The Index identifies strengths and growth opportunities for 12 distinct communities in Washington State: Bellingham, Bremerton, Ellensburg, North Central (Wenatchee area), Olympia, Pullman, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Tri-Cities, Vancouver, and Yakima. WTC’s Index of Innovation & Technology is the only comprehensive report to examine and analyze Washington state’s technology economy potential as a whole and provides detailed comparisons of the state’s communities, both urban and rural against these same measures.

A Global Overview of Innovative Activities from a Patent Indicators Perspective

Mosahid Khan and Hélène Dernis, OECD

This paper provides an overview of innovative activities across a wide range of OECD member and non-member countries, based on international comparable patent indicators. Patent data are frequently used to measure innovative activities, because patent-based indicators reflect the inventive performance of countries, regions, firms, as well as other aspects of the dynamics of the innovation process. Analysis of data from a wide range of sources (e.g. triadic patent families, EPO, USPTO, etc.) shows that there has been a significant increase in the level of patenting for all the countries over the past 15 years. There has also been an increase in internationalization of patenting activities (cross-border ownerships and patents with foreign co-inventors), reflecting the globalization dimension of Science and Technology activities. ICT and biotechnology industries’ innovative activities tend to the most internationalize. In addition, non-member countries, such as China, India and the Russian Federation have a high level of internationalization compared to large OECD countries. Breakdown of internationalization indicators by partner country shows that common language, historical links and geographical proximity play an important role in determining partner countries.

Policy Digest

Digital Regions – Public Private Strategies for IT Cluster Development Technopolicy Seminar

Austin, Texas, 1-2 May, 2006

Many regions focus on information technology as a key sector in their economic development strategies. This seminar will present informative case examples, from Asia, Europe and the Americas, of successful and challenged public-private strategies for cluster development in the Global Knowledge Economy. Special attention will be paid to the impressive growth model of the Austin IT-Cluster and Austin’s strategies for sustaining this in the future. Other topics that will be covered include the globalized economy and its meaning for IT-Clusters and the question of how to integrate an IT-Cluster with other economic sectors.

 

BioFinance 

Toronto, 2-4 May, 2006

BioFinance 2006 will feature presentations by senior management from over 100 life science companies from across Canada, the US and Europe. The range of participating firms includes large publicly traded and smaller listed companies and a wide range of private companies from larger and established to early-stage opportunities. Attendance of about 700 people is expected, including investment bankers, Canadian and US portfolio managers, retail brokers, venture capitalists, seed fund managers, angel investors, private equity managers, legal and consulting industry leaders, pharmaceutical executives, biotechnology industry service providers, and media.

Nanotech 2006 

Boston, 7-11 May, 2006

The Nano Science and Technology Institute (NSTI) is holding its 8th annual conference, promising to continue to provide the world’s largest gathering of experts in nanotech and bionano. In addition to an enormous exposition, there are scheduled industry sessions addressing the topics of: electronics, computation, design & modeling, telecommunications, displays & optics, health sciences, nano biotechnology, personal care, food, polymers, materials, surface science, coatings, transportation, environment, and energy.

 

EURADA – Second World Forum on Regional Economic Development

Madeira, Portugal, 15-17 May, 2006

In a global economy based on knowledge, regions can develop competitive advantages by relying on talent, entrepreneurship and innovation. Both in Europe and elsewhere in the world, regions implement strategies and measures aiming at : creating and attracting talent; supporting the creation and development of new enterprises: facilitating their access to support services and sources of finance; promoting the emergence of knowledge-based regions through the exploitation of research results and the setting up of key actors networks. The Second World Forum on Regional Economic Development is a unique opportunity for you to exchange ideas and best practice with experts and practitioners in local and regional development from countries and regions all over the world. Conference attendees also have the opportunity to register for the DIME training day on “Policy Platforms: The New Approach to Regional Innovation Strategies” announced separately below.

 

Socio-Economic Conference

Ottawa, 16 – 17 May, 2006

The Statistics Canada Socio-economic Conference provides an annual forum for empirical research focusing on issues of concern to Canadian public policy. The conference focuses on studies discussing: emerging economic trends and their underlying causes;
and the social implications of economic trends and the ability of various groups to participate in the economy. Topics relevant to the Conference include, but are not restricted to, innovation; productivity; international trade; agriculture; environment-economy linkages; natural resources and energy; transportation; industrial development; urban and rural development; health; education; families; income and wealth and their distribution; and labour markets. The Conference focuses on studies directly relevant to Canada, while at the same time welcoming comparative international studies that shed light on Canadian public policy issues. It places a premium on empirical studies making innovative use of Canadian data.

 

DIME Training Day: Regional Innovation Strategies: Constructing Advantage through Platform Policies

Madeira, Portugal, 17 May, 2006

It has become clear that there are three overwhelming areas of demand for training on the part of policy-makers with economic, innovation and regional development responsibilities . In broad terms, these are the following, in descending order of urgency: Regional Innovation Systems and Local Industry Clusters, Knowledge Economies, and Globalisation of Science, Technology & R&D. Put in simple language, policy makers are interested in understanding and becoming Technological Top Regions (TTRs) or ‘Hot Spots’ Accordingly, and in line also with EU DG Research’s recent commissioning of DIME and PRIME (a separate FP 6 NoE) advice on the construction of regional advantage (CRA) the program aims to assist policy makers to evolve policy mechanisms to facilitate the achievement of these regional aspirations.

Conference background

Draft Program

 

Atlanta Conference on S&T Policy

Atlanta, 18-20 May, 2006

Both the U.S. and Europe see innovation as central to the future growth and vitality of their economies. Policies to encourage innovation need to lead in institutional learning and change across sectors. This conference explores the research base that informs those policies, in current international context. It aims to stimulate dialog among policy makers, analysts, and scholars, covering both what we know and what we need to know to frame effective science and technology policies and to help advance the research agenda of the field. Proposals for papers and sessions are due February 1.

 

International Conference on Transnational Technology Transfer

Darmstadt, Germany, 30-31 May, 2006

Innovation and technological change are the main drivers of economic growth and the key to competitiveness both on national and international level. Successful innovation depends considerably on the ability to efficiently exploit and commercialize knowledge. This is achieved today with growing transnational transfer and exchange of knowledge and technologies. However, there is still a lot that needs to be learned. This conference focuses on successful models of international knowledge transfer and networked innovation activities.

2006 Ontario R&E Summit

Toronto, 5-6 June, 2006

The 2006 Ontario R&E Summit being hosted by ORION and MaRS and being held in the new MaRS Discovery District Collaboration Centre. This event is promoted as “Ontario’s definitive annual gathering for the research and education community, inspiring innovation through collaboration technologies and expertise”. MaRS is a non-profit corporation aimed at improving commercial outcomes from Canada’s foundation of science and technology innovation. The Collaboration Centre, opened last May, is a “convergence innovation centre” located in Toronto’s refurbished and hip Discovery District.

Changing Foresight Practices in Regional Development: Global Pressures and Regional Possibilities

Turku, Finland, 7-9 June, 2006

The future of regions is dependent on proactive interaction between companies, universities and public actors. The aim of the conference is to discuss the different strategic possibilities of regions under the rapidly changing pressures of globalizing world. The key questions are: How regional actors can cope in a global economy? What are the new ways to study and explore the future of regions? How to enhance regional co-operation and networking? What are the strategic keys to prosperous regional futures? Does creativity strengthen regions? How general foresight and development theories can strengthen regional development in practice? How companies can shape their regional strategies in globalizing economy? The conference will consist of several keynote addresses and parallel sessions.

 

Networks for Innovation

Athens, Greece, 11-14 June, 2006

The 2006 International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM) Conference will be held in Athens this summer. Many topics will be discussed such as: academic-industry networks for innovation, learning and the entrepreneurial mindset, managing knowledge, SMEs: opportunities & threats, public policy to stimulate networks. Deadline for submitting an abstract: January 27, 2006.

 

9th Uddevalla Symposium 2006: Entrepreneurship and Development – Local Processes and Global Patterns

Fairfax, Virginia, 15-17 June, 2006

The conference organizing committee will be accepting abstracts until the 28th of February, 2006. Keep checking the conference website for more news and information.

International Conference on Technology Policy and Innovation: Science, Society and Sustainability

Santorini, Greece, 18-21 June, 2006

The choice of the ICTPI Greece 2006 theme, “Science, Society and Sustainability” was based on the outcomes of the recent national Technology Foresight (TF) exercise (Greece 2001-2021), emphasizing these three key factors and their interactions as critical for the emergence of a knowledge-based economy and society. Scholars interested in presenting at this conference should submit a paper for consideration before March 15, 2006.

Innovation, Competition and Growth: Shumpeterian Perspectives

Sophia-Antipolis, 22-24 June, 2006

Recent developments in economics have gone from the recognition of the importance of innovation (early studies of innovation, exogenous growth models) to the exploration of innovation mechanisms (more refined microeconomic and sectoral studies of innovation) to the incorporation into economic models of the results of the previous research (endogenous growth, evolutionary models). An important lesson to be drawn from all this research is that a purely macro-based analysis of growth is not enough. The ISS 2006 conference aims at favouring dialogue amongst open minded researchers sharing a common interest in innovation and in the work of Schumpeter. The following subjects provide examples of topics about which the dialogue could be especially fruitful. The growing importance of knowledge and of human capital, increasing returns and path dependence, the role of variety in economic growth, the role of time and importance of business history, the co-evolution of technology and institutions, the economics of agglomeration are just some examples of subjects that will be discussed at this years event.

 

The Business of Innovation

Saskatoon, 8-10 August, 2006

The World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organizations Biennial Congress – WAITRO 2006 – is an opportunity for the research and technology community worldwide to come together to learn from each other and from invited experts. WAITRO participants include potential collaborators from research and technology organizations in other parts of the world to develop projects of common interest. Representatives of International Finance Institutions and International Development Agencies will be present to assist in formulating projects that address the needs of the developing world.

The Future of Science Technology and Innovation Policy

Sussex, 11-13 September, 2006

This conference, besides celebrating the 40th Anniversary of SPRU (Science and Technology Policy Research), offers the opportunity to engage in a critical evaluation of the present and future research agenda of the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) field. This conference seeks to explore empirical, theoretical and applied policy approaches that can enable us to conceptualize the contradictory nature of modern science and technology and innovation, and thus provide practical policy guidance. Such a conference is particularly timely because many of the existing conceptual frameworks are apparently undergoing a period of what Kuhn called ‘normal science’ where their assumptions are rarely questioned, and where they are institutionally and academically isolated from criticism. We aim to identify fruitful new ways forward in the field of STI policy by subjecting these established frameworks to structured debate and critical evaluation. The conference will be organized in the form of plenary sessions, parallel sessions and set debates. It will cover a series of broad themes. These include: Ownership, Accountability and Relevance of Science – for example, the deficiencies of peer review, the pros and cons of patenting in universities, the shifting boundary between public and private knowledge, and processes for allocating resources between disciplines. Technology, Security and Sustainability – for example, the dual relationship between technology and security, changing environment and energy policy, the balance between sustainability and growth, and the role of technology in sustainable development. Dynamics of Innovation Interfaces – for example, the management and dynamics of innovation across different levels (such as individuals, groups, firms, sectors, networks and systems), user-centred innovation processes vs. producer-centered innovation processes, and the connection between innovation and entrepreneurship.

 

Blue Sky II: What Indicators for Science, Technology and Innovation Policies in the 21st Century?

Ottawa, 25-27 September, 2006

This forum will examine new areas for indicator development and set a broad agenda for future work on science, technology and innovation (STI) indicators. Emphasis will be placed on indicators of outcomes and impacts in order to support monitoring, benchmarking, foresight activity, and evaluation, applied to policies and programs, and their economic and social impacts. The Forum is expected to provide ideas and guidance for indicators work in both OECD and non OECD countries, as well as in their international organizations. The Forum will include plenary sessions featuring invited guest speakers who are leading authorities in their fields. Break-out sessions will discuss papers on specific themes selected through a call for papers.

New Generation Innovation: New Approaches and Policy Designs

Atlanta, 27-29 September, 2006

Particular areas of interest include: new developments in university-industry relationships, new strategies for technology-based local and regional economic development, technology transfer to and from the public sector, trajectories for emerging technologies. All session proposals, paper proposals and abstracts should be submitted electronically not later than Friday, May 12, 2006.

 

The 9th Annual Conference of the Competitiveness Institute (TCI): The Role of Cluster Governance and Companies’ Involvement in Clusters Initiatives
Lyon, France, 9-13 October, 2006

The goal of this conference is to share ideas, build alliances and explore the best modes of economic development. Additionally information is offered about specific clusters, introductory courses on cluster theory and presentations given by an array of world experts (academics, businesses and institutions).The main topics include competitiveness, innovation, cluster initiatives, industrial organization and corporate change. The theme of the 9th conference will be “Governance and business involvement in cluster initiatives”.

 

Events

2006 Ontario R&E Summit

Toronto, 5-6 June, 2006

The 2006 Ontario R&E Summit being hosted by ORION and MaRS and being held in the new MaRS Discovery District Collaboration Centre. This event is promoted as “Ontario’s definitive annual gathering for the research and education community, inspiring innovation through collaboration technologies and expertise”. MaRS is a non-profit corporation aimed at improving commercial outcomes from Canada’s foundation of science and technology innovation. The Collaboration Centre, opened last May, is a “convergence innovation centre” located in Toronto’s refurbished and hip Discovery District.

Changing Foresight Practices in Regional Development: Global Pressures and Regional Possibilities

Turku, Finland, 7-9 June, 2006

The future of regions is dependent on proactive interaction between companies, universities and public actors. The aim of the conference is to discuss the different strategic possibilities of regions under the rapidly changing pressures of globalizing world. The key questions are: How regional actors can cope in a global economy? What are the new ways to study and explore the future of regions? How to enhance regional co-operation and networking? What are the strategic keys to prosperous regional futures? Does creativity strengthen regions? How general foresight and development theories can strengthen regional development in practice? How companies can shape their regional strategies in globalizing economy? The conference will consist of several keynote addresses and parallel sessions.

Networks for Innovation

Athens, Greece, 11-14 June, 2006

The 2006 International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM) Conference will be held in Athens this summer. Many topics will be discussed such as: academic-industry networks for innovation, learning and the entrepreneurial mindset, managing knowledge, SMEs: opportunities & threats, public policy to stimulate networks. Deadline for submitting an abstract: January 27, 2006.

Innovating Through EU Regional Policy 

Brussels, 12-13 June, 2006

The Directorate General for Regional Policy is organizing a series of conferences between now and the middle of next year under the general heading ‘Regions for Economic Change’. They are designed to be useful to practitioners (national, regional and managing authorities) in terms of the learning opportunities provided and to examine the different ways in which Europe’s Cohesion Policy contributes to the Lisbon process or the growth and jobs agenda. There will be three events in the series, leading up to the fourth Cohesion Forum, which takes place in June 2007.

9th Uddevalla Symposium 2006: Entrepreneurship and Development – Local Processes and Global Patterns

Fairfax, Virginia, 15-17 June, 2006

The conference organizing committee will be accepting abstracts until the 28th of February, 2006. Keep checking the conference website for more news and information.

International Conference on Technology Policy and Innovation: Science, Society and Sustainability

Santorini, Greece, 18-21 June, 2006

The choice of the ICTPI Greece 2006 theme, “Science, Society and Sustainability” was based on the outcomes of the recent national Technology Foresight (TF) exercise (Greece 2001-2021), emphasizing these three key factors and their interactions as critical for the emergence of a knowledge-based economy and society. Scholars interested in presenting at this conference should submit a paper for consideration before March 15, 2006.

CANMEDBIO 2006 

Toronto, 19-20 June, 2006

CANMEDBIO is an emerging technology showcase, seminar and partnering program for the CANadian MEDical device and BIOtechnology industries. Be a part of the event that will encourage increased commercialization of Canadian innovations and technology. Successful commercialization involves face-to-face connections between and among innovators, investors and companies. Moreover, commercial success is dependant on the financing and partnering companies can achieve to bring innovations to a global market.

Innovation, Competition and Growth: Shumpeterian Perspectives

Sophia-Antipolis, 22-24 June, 2006

Recent developments in economics have gone from the recognition of the importance of innovation (early studies of innovation, exogenous growth models) to the exploration of innovation mechanisms (more refined microeconomic and sectoral studies of innovation) to the incorporation into economic models of the results of the previous research (endogenous growth, evolutionary models). An important lesson to be drawn from all this research is that a purely macro-based analysis of growth is not enough. The ISS 2006 conference aims at favouring dialogue amongst open minded researchers sharing a common interest in innovation and in the work of Schumpeter. The following subjects provide examples of topics about which the dialogue could be especially fruitful. The growing importance of knowledge and of human capital, increasing returns and path dependence, the role of variety in economic growth, the role of time and importance of business history, the co-evolution of technology and institutions, the economics of agglomeration are just some examples of subjects that will be discussed at this years event.

The Business of Innovation

Saskatoon, 8-10 August, 2006

The World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organizations Biennial Congress – WAITRO 2006 – is an opportunity for the research and technology community worldwide to come together to learn from each other and from invited experts. WAITRO participants include potential collaborators from research and technology organizations in other parts of the world to develop projects of common interest. Representatives of International Finance Institutions and International Development Agencies will be present to assist in formulating projects that address the needs of the developing world.

The Future of Science Technology and Innovation Policy

Sussex, 11-13 September, 2006

This conference, besides celebrating the 40th Anniversary of SPRU (Science and Technology Policy Research), offers the opportunity to engage in a critical evaluation of the present and future research agenda of the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) field. This conference seeks to explore empirical, theoretical and applied policy approaches that can enable us to conceptualize the contradictory nature of modern science and technology and innovation, and thus provide practical policy guidance. Such a conference is particularly timely because many of the existing conceptual frameworks are apparently undergoing a period of what Kuhn called ‘normal science’ where their assumptions are rarely questioned, and where they are institutionally and academically isolated from criticism. We aim to identify fruitful new ways forward in the field of STI policy by subjecting these established frameworks to structured debate and critical evaluation. The conference will be organized in the form of plenary sessions, parallel sessions and set debates. It will cover a series of broad themes. These include: Ownership, Accountability and Relevance of Science – for example, the deficiencies of peer review, the pros and cons of patenting in universities, the shifting boundary between public and private knowledge, and processes for allocating resources between disciplines. Technology, Security and Sustainability – for example, the dual relationship between technology and security, changing environment and energy policy, the balance between sustainability and growth, and the role of technology in sustainable development. Dynamics of Innovation Interfaces – for example, the management and dynamics of innovation across different levels (such as individuals, groups, firms, sectors, networks and systems), user-centred innovation processes vs. producer-centered innovation processes, and the connection between innovation and entrepreneurship.

Blue Sky II: What Indicators for Science, Technology and Innovation Policies in the 21st Century?

Ottawa, 25-27 September, 2006

This forum will examine new areas for indicator development and set a broad agenda for future work on science, technology and innovation (STI) indicators. Emphasis will be placed on indicators of outcomes and impacts in order to support monitoring, benchmarking, foresight activity, and evaluation, applied to policies and programs, and their economic and social impacts. The Forum is expected to provide ideas and guidance for indicators work in both OECD and non OECD countries, as well as in their international organizations. The Forum will include plenary sessions featuring invited guest speakers who are leading authorities in their fields. Break-out sessions will discuss papers on specific themes selected through a call for papers.

New Generation Innovation: New Approaches and Policy Designs

Atlanta, 27-29 September, 2006

Particular areas of interest include: new developments in university-industry relationships, new strategies for technology-based local and regional economic development, technology transfer to and from the public sector, trajectories for emerging technologies. All session proposals, paper proposals and abstracts should be submitted electronically not later than Friday, May 12, 2006.

The 9th Annual Conference of the Competitiveness Institute (TCI): The Role of Cluster Governance and Companies’ Involvement in Clusters Initiatives
Lyon, France, 9-13 October, 2006

The goal of this conference is to share ideas, build alliances and explore the best modes of economic development. Additionally information is offered about specific clusters, introductory courses on cluster theory and presentations given by an array of world experts (academics, businesses and institutions).The main topics include competitiveness, innovation, cluster initiatives, industrial organization and corporate change. The theme of the 9th conference will be “Governance and business involvement in cluster initiatives”.

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This newsletter is prepared by Jen Nelles.
Project manager is David A. Wolfe.