A digital toolkit for Ec Dev 2.0 | Number 10 | Circ: 4527

These are not articles

University of Waterloo Economic Development Cross-Border Seminar in Niagara Falls, New York

The University of Waterloo Economic Development Program provides training for professional certification to Canadian economic developers, but for the first time the Program is holding one of its popular seminars in the United States. On March 24th and 25th, participants from across North America will gather for a two-day session on “Reinventing the North American Economy” to be held in Niagara Falls, New York.  Presenters include business retention guru Eric Canada from Chicago, creative rural economies leader Dan Taylor from Prince Edward County, Ontario, and Green Energy Technology expert Paul Parker. Miller Dickinson Blais’ Brock Dickinson will facilitate a closing session featuring “Best Practices” including representatives of North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park and the Waterloo-based Canada’s Technology Triangle. The seminar’s closing overlaps with the opening of the annual Binational Economic and Tourism Summit, which runs March 25th and 26th. For details on the University of Waterloo seminar, contact Sharon Jones at the University of Waterloo, and for details on the Binational Summit, click here. 

China Overtaking U.S. on R&D Spending

Those interested in R&D commercialization as a driver of economic development should take note of a recent report that sheds light on emerging trends in the field. The US-based National Science Board has just released its Science & Engineering Indicators for 2010, and suggests that by 2014 (and possibly as early as 2012) the US will no longer be the world leader in R&D Expenditures. While European Union R&D expenditures are keeping pace with US efforts, R&D spending in Asia is growing rapidly. China is the key factor in this area, though South Korea is also having an impact. Kei Koizumi, Assistant Director for Federal R&D in the President’s Office of Science and Technology has described this trend as “worrisome,” and suggests that “U.S. dominance has eroded significantly.” This is usually code for increased funding, but in the current U.S. budget situation this may be difficult to achieve.

Study: Incubation Helps Tech Companies Succeed – Sort Of

The journal Technovation has just published a study by Joanne Scillitoe and Alok Chakrabarti entitled The Role of Incubator Interactions in Assisting New Ventures. The study looks at tech companies within business incubators in the U.S. and Finland – the acknowledged leaders in the field of technology incubation – and asks whether incubation support services really make a difference to a company’s success. They found that in-house business counseling services had a positive effect on a firm’s understanding of the business world, but did little to enhance the firm’s technical capacity or competitiveness. Only through technical networks and specialist technology support programs could firms build the expertise to be truly successful in their field. The bottom line? Incubation works just fine, but for technology firms, the best bet is to locate into a specialized technology incubator rather than a general “one size fits all” incubation program.

Seattle's Year of Urban Agriculture

The city government of Seattle has declared 2010 the Year of Urban Agriculture and put forward the Local Food Action Initiative. New zoning laws will allow backyard farmers greater flexibility in what they grow, raise and sell on residential property, and a bold pilot program is in place to create ten urban farms inside Seattle city limits that will allow the city to evaluate what regulations are necessary to support sustainable farming in an urban setting. The program aims to make locally-grown produce affordable and available to as many of Seattle’s diverse residents as possible while supporting the urban and exurban farmers who grow it. While many of the benefits of urban agriculture are intangible – improvements to public health and quality of life, along with a lighter carbon footprint – there are measurable financial perks as well. Aside from creating sustainable jobs in Seattle, the urban agriculture program aims to help protect the small farms in eastern King County that supply many of the city’s farmers’ markets. For further information on urban agriculture initiatives in Canada refer here, here and here.

NLREDA Launches New Performance Management Framework and Performance-Based Funding Model for REDBs

The Newfoundland and Labrador Regional  Economic Development Association (NLREDA) recently announced the launch of a performance management framework and performance-based funding model for Regional Economic Development Boards (REDBs). The performance management framework and performance-based funding model were developed with NLREDA’s funding partners the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and the Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development (INTRD). According to the announcement, the model will “produce outcome-based planning, reward excellence and superior performance, promote meaningful municipal participation in the REDB process, and serve as a tool to provide targeted feedback on REDB initiatives.”

Winnipeg: A Diverse City

Winnipeg, Manitoba, is becoming an increasingly diverse city. This is largely due to the growth in immigration to Manitoba, which increased by 9% in 2007 to almost 11,000 immigrants. Winnipeg's ability to attract new migrants will be vital in its future economic potential as the City faces challenges such as the changes labour market demographics and the likelihood of a shrinking workforce. More than 10 years ago the city launched an "Equity and Diversity Initiative" to help build and maintain a more diverse and equitable workforce. Several initiatives have been undertaken by the City to encourage the diversity momentum, such as an annual Youth Career Awareness Camp and the development of a Foreign Engineer Program. The Youth camp is a five-day summer camp for youth between the ages of 12 and 15, and aims to expose youth to the large variety of careers available at the City and to encourage young people to continue their educations. The Foreign Engineer Program provides a route for immigrants with engineering credentials obtained outside of Canada to meet part of the licensing requirements for professional engineering practice in Manitoba. This is a program offered by the University of Manitoba, and the City participates by providing paid employment opportunities for engineers admitted to the program. Click here to view other initiatives the City of Winnipeg has developed.

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