Tuesday 22 May 2012

Guest Blog: New Brunswick IBED Strategy is on the Right Track

Guest Blog:  Rich Bendis
President  and CEO of Innovation America and is the Founder and Publisher of Innovation Daily. He currently  is also serving  as President and CEO of BioHealth Innovation Inc. ,a Central Maryland  Innovation Intermediary  which he created in 2011.

One of the predominant themes in innovation strategies around the world in recent times has been a concerted effort to fully integrate “innovation” in a state or region’s economic development efforts.  The approach has been variously described as “science-based economic development”, “technology-based economic development”, and more recently ‘innovation-based economic development” or IBED.  If you look at the most innovative economies in the US, Canada and abroad, you will probably find IBED at the heart of that region’s economic policies and strategies.  The core objectives of an IBED approach are:
  • Improving the competitiveness of key industrial sectors
  • Strengthening a region’s R&D capacity
  • Integrating technology policies into overall economic development planning 
  •  Promoting the development of strategic sectors
  • Establishing the business conditions attractive to both domestic and foreign investment in strategic technologies and sectors 
  •  Accelerating commercialization of relevant research
  • Identifying gaps in the Innovation Ecosystem and creating programs and financing vehicles to address the gaps
Another key aspect of IBED strategies is having clearly defined roles for the various actors – government, academia, research, industry and not for profit foundations.  In my experience working with many jurisdictions in the US and internationally, the most common attributes in successful strategies include: longevity / sustainability; continuous reinvention; strong private sector involvement and leadership; independent organizations or intermediaries; shared vision and goals; and coordinated efforts among the many stakeholders.

Having had the opportunity to spend some time with the working group that prepared the recently-released New Brunswick innovation strategy report, I am impressed with both the level of detail and strategic thinking around their IBED approach, and also with their efforts to study and understand how other jurisdictions have developed their IBED strategies.  The report makes reference to numerous exemplary practices around the world, and in fact I last met the working group during their mission to Finland last year where they not only were undertaking a very detailed examination of that country’s approach to innovation, but also engaging delegates from countries around the world at a conference that was focused on these types of strategies.  One of the delegations they met with was from the state of Iowa which was just coming through the very same process.

In the end, I think what leaders in New Brunswick should take note of is that, while taking the time to examine some of the very best approaches out there, the working group has clearly defined a strategy which reflects the assets, conditions, challenges and opportunities that exist in the province. The recommendations are thorough and necessarily touch a broad spectrum of issues and moving parts in New Brunswick’s innovation eco-system.  In this regard, it is most notable that the group has recommended an independent innovation intermediary to play the critical coordination role in the provincial system and also ensure the delivery of essential innovation support services to companies and entrepreneurs in the priority industry sectors.  In conjunction with the intermediary, they have also identified centres of expertise aligned with key sectors.

The working group appears to have provided the province a thorough and well thought out set of recommendations for an IBED strategy. This report puts New Brunswick on the right track. The key to success now, as it has been in all the successful jurisdictions I have studied and advised around the world, is that everybody has to get on board and begin the implementation process.  All the key stakeholders have to take ownership of the strategy and embrace it as their own.  A collective will to succeed and to work in a coordinated fashion over the long haul is critical.


Rich Bendis
President  and CEO of Innovation America