As a coordinated effort between governments, industry and academia, the new institute aims to capture the commercial potential of Canada’s existing research strength, and to act as a magnet to retain and attract top talent. This initiative marks the first of Canada’s “supercluster” endeavors.
In its 2017 budget, the federal government committed to invest $950 million in a small number of big bets, with the goal of creating “superclusters” – which we understand to be clusters that will boost the global competitiveness of Canadian industries, producing a large number of high-growth companies and successful exits.
To win globally, collaboration will be needed between Canada’s large businesses, startups, and post-secondary and research institutions to share the costs of research and development (R&D), move research to market, attract capital, and deepen the pool of research and business talent. As the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy articulates, it will also require strong connections between centres of excellence across the country. This degree of collaboration will not emerge without a deliberate strategy. This is the challenge that the government’s supercluster investment aims to tackle.
As the name implies, superclusters are an ambitious goal. Realizing this goal will require close attention to the appropriate roles for government, private and academic actors, a long-term commitment to performance management and evaluation, and coordination between governments and ministries to share data and streamline services.
Why building world-leading clusters matters
Whenever a particular area builds a critical mass of companies, scientists, knowledge workers and suppliers, the interactions between actors – both competitive and collaborative – become positively self-reinforcing. This elevates the entire cluster to more advanced levels of knowledge, expertise and productivity. This is how clusters like, yes, Silicon Valley, but also Boston (health technology) or Beer-Sheva in Israel (cyber security) have emerged as world leaders.
Here at home, we’re a small, open economy. We cannot hope to be world leading in all industries, and therefore need to align our existing areas of strength with emerging market opportunities. Success will require a razor-sharp focus on breaking into the top three globally in a handful of industries.
Superclusters: Canada’s $950-million commitment
As a coordinated effort between governments, industry and academia, the new institute aims to capture the commercial potential of Canada’s existing research strength, and to act as a magnet to retain and attract top talent. This initiative marks the first of Canada’s “supercluster” endeavors.
In its 2017 budget, the federal government committed to invest $950 million in a small number of big bets, with the goal of creating “superclusters” – which we understand to be clusters that will boost the global competitiveness of Canadian industries, producing a large number of high-growth companies and successful exits.
To win globally, collaboration will be needed between Canada’s large businesses, startups, and post-secondary and research institutions to share the costs of research and development (R&D), move research to market, attract capital, and deepen the pool of research and business talent. As the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy articulates, it will also require strong connections between centres of excellence across the country. This degree of collaboration will not emerge without a deliberate strategy. This is the challenge that the government’s supercluster investment aims to tackle.
As the name implies, superclusters are an ambitious goal. Realizing this goal will require close attention to the appropriate roles for government, private and academic actors, a long-term commitment to performance management and evaluation, and coordination between governments and ministries to share data and streamline services.
Why building world-leading clusters matters
Whenever a particular area builds a critical mass of companies, scientists, knowledge workers and suppliers, the interactions between actors – both competitive and collaborative – become positively self-reinforcing. This elevates the entire cluster to more advanced levels of knowledge, expertise and productivity. This is how clusters like, yes, Silicon Valley, but also Boston (health technology) or Beer-Sheva in Israel (cyber security) have emerged as world leaders.
Here at home, we’re a small, open economy. We cannot hope to be world leading in all industries, and therefore need to align our existing areas of strength with emerging market opportunities. Success will require a razor-sharp focus on breaking into the top three globally in a handful of industries.
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The role of government
Governments alone cannot and should not conjure up new clusters. Nevertheless, they have an important role to play in helping nascent clusters grow and blossom to become world leaders.
First, government can play a pivotal role by funding research that develops clusters. Mariana Mazzucato, an expert on the impact of the state on economic development, found that key technological developments that we use today, like GPS and touchscreens, which led to new industries, resulted from government-funded research or procurement. Clusters can emerge from one or more anchor firms commercializing a new, market changing technology, often based on research originally funded by government (such as a space agency or the military). Other firms then benefit from proximity to this original research and knowledge.
Second, evidence from Europe and the United States has shown that governments can play a key role in convening cluster actors and pooling resources to lower R&D and training costs and enable data sharing. Combined, these activities can enhance the competitiveness of a cluster. Manufacturing USA, backed by the US federal government, exemplifies this role.
Government must not overplay its position. It must know when to get out of the way to ensure that it does not stifle the natural “creative destruction” that underlies innovation.
Lessons for Canada
With these considerations in mind, the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship and the Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity present recommendations for Canada as it builds out its “supercluster” strategy.
We know in our gut that Canada has the ingredients to embrace the challenge of building world-leading clusters. The federal government has signaled it is serious about the task. With the funding announcement behind us, the real work can begin.
For more information, read Superclusters! Lessons + Opportunities for Canada.
This article was also posted on the website of the Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity.
For media enquiries, please contact Nina Rafeek Dow, Marketing + Communications Specialist at the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship.
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