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
McGuinty Government Supports Ontario’s Economic Advantage by Developing the Best Research Talent
Ontario’s talented academic researchers are getting a $14 million boost from the McGuinty government. The government is investing $51 million over five years in the Early Researcher Award program. This second round of the awards will support 104 leading early career researchers working at 22 institutions in 10 communities across the province. Awardees receive up to $100,000 from the Ontario government and $50,000 from their institutions.
US Department of Defense funds Texas Nanotechnology Consortium
he Department of Defense will use a $1.4 million appropriation secured by U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison to fund the Consortium for Nanomaterials for Aerospace Commerce and Technology (CONTACT), a consortium of seven leading Texas universities created to develop and commercialize revolutionary nanomaterials for the defense aerospace industry. CONTACT includes Rice University, The University of Texas at Austin, the University of Texas at Dallas, the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of Texas at Brownsville, the University of Texas Pan American and the University of Houston. CONTACT researchers will partner with the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate (AFRL/ML) in Dayton, Ohio to develop and rapidly commercialize the next-generation composites and smart materials the Air Force needs to ensure U.S. air superiority in the 21st Century.
Editor's Pick
At A Crossroads: Strengthening the Toronto Region’s Research and Innovation Economy
Tijs Creutzberg, TRRA
National investment key factor in successful R&D regions worldwide this report cautions that Canada may be left behind. Successful R&D regions around the world are benefiting from a steady and growing infusion of strategic public investment and the report finds that Canada is not keeping up with its key competitor regions. The study confirms that the broader Toronto region is a globally competitive R&D venue which is positioned to be amongst the top regions for innovation in the world. With a population of almost seven million, the region is home to world-leading high-tech industry clusters and a remarkable concentration of research excellence ranked second only to Boston in the number of science and engineering articles published. However, the report shows that the stakes are rising in the extremely competitive global R&D marketplace and national governments worldwide are responding by dramatically increasing their investment in regional R&D clusters.
Innovation Policy
Public Support for Science and Innovation
Australian Government Productivity Commission
This study has three major aims: to assess the impacts of public support for science and innovation; to identify any major impediments that affect the operation of the innovation system and the scope for mitigating such impediments; and to evaluate frameworks for assessing where and how public funding should be allocated, including any scope for improvements. It also provides a comparison of Australian performance in these areas with OECD countries.
SSTI
This resource guide focuses on three of the elements – intellectual infrastructure, capital, and entrepreneurial culture – and is intended to assist economic development practitioners in their efforts to accelerate transition to technologybased economies. Practitioners can use the guide to implement and update programs addressing these three critical elements required for a tech-based economy. The guide also begins to resolve one of the most challenging issues for the tech-based economic development community: the paucity of written information that captures the insights, wisdom and practical knowledge of people who have decades of experience in the field.
Cities, Clusters & Regions
A Regional Policy Blueprint Highlighting the Use of Strategic Intelligence in Cluster Policy
Strategic Intelligence and Industry Clusters (STRATINC)
The Blueprint draws on the experiences of six regions and contains material useful to both experienced practitioners and newcomers. It will be of particular interest to: 1) Regional agencies involved in regional innovation and cluster policies, 2) Business representatives such as Chambers of Commerce, 3) Consultants and other experts operating in the fields of strategic intelligence, knowledge management, foresight, cluster policy, and innovation management.
New Book: Urban and Regional Technology Planning: Planning Practices in the Global Knowledge Economy
Kenneth E. Corey and Mark I. Wilson
The contribution of the book is to empower regional and urban planners to work with and mobilize other local stakeholders to engage and plan for the opportunities and challenges that are presented by the forces of globalization. A principal theme is that these forces are facilitated by information and communications technologies (ICT). A further emphasis is the need for local communities to be innovative and foresighted by creating productive content for the ICTs to enable. The key message is constructed from analyses of global knowledge economy trends, relational planning theory and local knowledge-economy cases from the global economy’s three primary technology-economic regions from Eastern Asia, Western Europe and North America, including cases from Canada.
Cluster Complexes: A Framework for Understanding the Internationalization of Innovation Systems
Brian Wixted, CPROST
The literature on clustering that has developed over the last two decades and provides a wealth of information on the formation and competitiveness of places in the global economy. Similarly, the systems literature has been valuable in moving the debate around technology from a focus on the entrepreneur to one that encompasses institutions, government, suppliers, customers and universities. However, there remains an important limit to this research; the borders of political jurisdictions, usually nation states, typically delineate the studies. It is argued in this paper that during an era when the international architecture of production relationships is changing, this view of systems is hindering its further development. This paper briefly examines what has been learned of innovation systems, including clustering and also explores the limitations of this work. From this foundation it is proposes that a framework which understands clusters as nodes within extra-territorial networks is a promising approach for internationalizing the systems of innovation perspective.
Statistics & Indicators
OECD Compendium of Patent Statistics 2006
OECD
This report presents various patent indicators to reflect recent trends in innovative activity across a wide range of OECD and non-OECD countries, with 6 main sections: triadic patent families; patenting at the national, regional and international level; patenting in selected technology areas; patents by institutional sectors; international co-operation in patenting; European and international patent citations.
Events
DRUID-DIME Academy 2007 PhD Winter Conference on Geography, Innovation and Industrial Dynamics
Aalborg, Denmark, 25-27 January, 2007
The conference is open for all PhD students working within the broad field of “industrial dynamics”. The conference is organized by the DRUID Academy for doctoral education and training in collaboration with the EU 6th Framework Network of Excellence DIME Consortium. The event will take place in Denmark on January 25-27, 2007. All doctoral students who wish to present a paper at the DRUID-DIME Academy Winter 2007 Conference must submit an extended abstract (minimum 1000 words; maximum 2000 words) before the deadline of November 6, 2006 through the conference website.
Lisbon, Portugal, 2-5 April, 2007
This event by the Regional Studies Association will take place in Lisbon. Many topics will be discussed such as: developments in regional economics and spatial analysis; tourism, regional development and sustainability; knowledge, competition and cohesion; creativity, innovation and cultural economy, and global challenges for manufacturing and services.
Hydrogen Fuel & Fuel Cells 2007: International Conference and Trade Show
Vancouver, 29 April – 2 May, 2007
Today’s energy challenges have no boundaries. Energy security, climate change, and clean air concerns challenge communities around the world. International research, business and policy collaborations are ensuring that technologies, such as hydrogen and fuel cells, will provide a sustainable future for generations. This conference and trade show will highlight these global activities and developments. Canada, and particularly Vancouver, boasts unrivalled hydrogen and fuel cell expertise. Don’t miss out on the chance to explore BC’s Hydrogen Highway, experience the latest in hydrogen and fuel cell innovations and visit the most advanced hydrogen and fuel cell research facility… the National Research Council’s cutting-edge Institute for Fuel Cell Innovation.
Miami Beach, Florida, 13-17 May, 2007
IAMOT 2007 will provide an international technical forum for experts from industry and academia to exchange ideas and present results of ongoing research in the following tracks: Knowledge Management, Green Technologies, Social impact of technology development . MOT Education and Research / Corporate Universities . New Product/Service Development . National and Regional Systems of Innovation . Small and Medium Enterprises . Emerging Technologies . Technology Transfer, Marketing and Commercialization . Technology Foresight and Forecasting . Information and Communication Technology Management . The Integration of Technology and Business Strategies . R&D Management . Project and Program Management . Industrial and Manufacturing System Technologies / Supply Chain Management . New Forms of Organizations . Management of Technology in Developing Countries . Technological Alliances, Mergers and Acquisitions . Theory of Technology . Technology Incubation . Management of Technology for the Service Economy . Innovation/technological development and productivity
Singapore, 16-18 May, 2007
Organized for the first time in Asia, Triple Helix VI 2007 will provide a global forum for academic scholars from different disciplinary perspectives as well as policy makers, university administrators and private sector leaders from different countries to exchange and share new learning about the diverse emerging models of the entrepreneurial university, the changing dynamics of University- Industry-Government interactions around the world and the complex roles of the university in local, regional and national economic development.
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This newsletter is prepared by Jen Nelles.
Project manager is David A. Wolfe.