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Week of October 29 - November 4, 2007

This week’s NDE-news is something of an unintended special edition on innovation as it profiles five new—and very different—studies that examine various components of innovation policy.

Innovations in Technology Transfer and Commercialization

Our first report, Technology Transfer and Commercialization Partnerships, examines university best practices in the field of technology transfer. The report is a little different from the typical studies in this field as it does not profile the “usual suspects” like Stanford and MIT who are major players in university tech transfer. Instead, it profiles lesser-known institutions, like New York’s Alfred University and Springfield (MA) Technical Community College that are emerging as major players in certain industries or regions. What can we learn from these up-and-comers? The report contains a number of useful recommendations, but one key theme stands out. These colleges and universities are integral parts of a regional innovation ecosystem. They view their technology transfer activities as a critical component in advancing their institutions and building the prosperity of their regions.

Download a copy of the executive summary of Technology Transfer and Commercialization Partnerships, by Innovation Associates. The full report is available for purchase at: www.innovationassoc.com.

New Ways to Innovate

A new study from Britain’s National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts argues that new technologies are changing how we “do innovation.” These transforming technologies include rapid prototyping, virtual reality, eScience, and various new modeling and simulation techniques. The authors refer to these technologies as “Innovation Technology” or IvT. Thanks in part to IvT, innovation will no longer move along a linear pattern from basic R&D to a final product. Instead, the innovation process will be quicker, messier and less predictable. Innovation leadership will become the only real source of value for companies. Firms will no longer have an innovation strategy – innovation will be the strategy. What does this mean for governments and other institutions? At a minimum, it means they must become more entrepreneurial and nimble. Governments will also need to make new kinds of investments in IvT. For example, instead of simply backing IvT-related R&D, it may need to invest in new centers of excellence that help demonstrate the power and utility of these new technologies. It may also need to assume a broker role that helps build connections and networks between users and providers of innovation support.

Download the September 2007 National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts report, Innovation Technology: How New Technologies are Changing the Way We Innovate, by David Gann and Mark Dodgson.

Innovation in a Networked World

Innovation is not just changing due to the emergence of new technologies. It’s also changing due to the emergence of new organizational models—the networked form of innovation. An article in the latest edition of Innovations examines these changes. The authors. Diego Rodriguez and Doug Solomon, are both based at the leading design shop, IDEO, so they practice what they preach. They discuss the importance of new technologies, such as the IvT cited in the NESTA study above, and they also offer a helpful series of key questions that all organizations should ask when involved in the innovation process. Individuals and organizations must embrace massive change to operate in this new structure. Old leadership styles and approaches are no longer relevant; they must be replaced by a new culture of collaboration.

Learn more about the journal, Innovations, and access the Summer 2007 Innovations article, “Leadership and Innovation in a Networked World", by Diego Rodriguez and Doug Solomon.

The Emerging Innovation Shift

It used to be that the most profound global technology innovations emanated from inventors and multi-national corporations based in developed economies. That pattern seems to be changing as innovation is now becoming a truly global affair. A new Sloan Foundation study finds that, in the fields of information technology and manufacturing, emerging economies are becoming big players in “high-end innovation.” US, European and Japanese firms are now having to compete based on innovation (and not just cost) with firms from, among others, China, India, Brazil, and Mexico. The authors conclude that this innovation shift is an unintended consequence of offshoring. In an effort to reduce costs, managers have unwittingly created new competitors. This changed environment also means the future calculus surrounding offshoring will change. Developing economies can become not just places for low cost work, but can also contribute as full partners in the development of new innovations.

Download the 2007 Sloan Industry Studies Working Paper, “'Innovation Shift' to the Emerging Economies: Cases from IT and Heavy Industries,” by Leonard Lynn and Hal Salzman.

Innovation in India

India is one example cited in various articles about the global “innovation shift.” It is no longer just a local cost business location; it has become a major innovation player in its own right. But, a new study from India’s National Knowledge Commission shows that economic and technological challenges still face India’s political and business leaders. In general, the news about India’s innovation environment is pretty good. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are becoming a bigger part of the innovation ecosystem, as the innovation intensity (i.e. the amount of revenue generated by products that are less than three years old) of SMEs has rapidly grown. India businesses—large and small—see innovation as a future strategic priority, and 96% of large firms expect to increase spending on innovation in the next 3-5 years. The challenges facing Indian businesses will sound familiar to their brethren in the West. They include skill shortages, difficulties in collaborating with universities and government agencies, and a lack of an internal corporate focus on innovation as a strategy for growth and competitiveness.

Download the 2007 National Knowledge Commission study, Innovation in India.

Help Inc. Find Its Entrepreneur of the Year

Who do you think deserves to be Entrepreneur of the Year? Inc. would like to find out. The magazine with a 30 year history as a resource for entrepreneurs and small business owners has put a call out to NDE-news readers for their nominations. The first recipient of the award was Michael Dell in 1989. Since then, ten winners have been profiled (no award was given from 1996 – 2002), including last year’s winner, Ken Hendricks of ABC Supply, a wholesale distributor of roofing, siding and windows in Beloit, Wisconsin. If you don’t know of anyone to nominate, browse and rate the current entries.

Access the nomination form and the current entries on Inc.com.

The National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship is an initiative of the Public Forum Institute made possible by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City. Through NDE-news, we bring you short summaries and analyses of various trends driving entrepreneurship around the world. Subscribe now to receive your weekly copy. Archived issues are available online.

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All stories © 2007 The Public Forum Institute
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