PPF Releases "Leading Innovation - Insights from Canadian Regions"

It's a banner day for innovation in the news as we lead up to the 29 March Federal Budget. The Public Policy Forum this week released their report "Leading Innovation - Insights from Canadian Regions." It offers good insights on innovation and locality. The part on Accelerators, Incubators and Networks is perhaps most interesting as much for its definitions of these aspects of an innovation system. The focus on place is very important, as fostering resilient regional innovation is key to ensuring that we can transform the Canadian economy in areas where we once led. This relates to Jim Stanford's op-ed today on "buying Canadian." The Globe's cogent editorial on the report advises "Don’t just co-operate on innovation: Collaborate, too".  Last night the CBC featured a panel on innovation which, among other points, picked up the themes of education and teaching innovation skills, as well as a focus on the end user. Roger Martin's point is that innovation is understanding what the end user or customer wants or needs and creating products and services to meet this need. As Polytechnics Canada CEO Nobina Robinson says: companies commercialize; people innovate.