New Knowledge for a New Economy 2007 - (Page 8)

new KNOWLEDGE for a new economy The University Florida RICHARD Information Supplement PhD as Ecosystem Director and Professor of Business and Creativity, The Prosperity Institute, The Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto R “The highest result of education is tolerance.” Helen Keller fundamental forces. We argue that its role is much broader, going beyond technology to include both talent and tolerance. The 3Ts theory of economic development, which specifies the interaction of technology, talent and tolerance in economic development, provides a broad and over arching framework to understand the university’s role in economic development broadly. obert Merton long ago drew sociologists’ attention to the role of the university and academic science, highlighting its norms, value systems, structures, and differentiating academic and industrial or commercial science. But, most recent treatments have been solely economic or reductionist or both, focusing only on the university’s role in technology-generation, innovation and firm formation. While the importance of the university as a contributor to regional competitiveness through the generation of innovation can be significant, we believe the university’s role is equally as important from a social perspective, affecting both talent and attitudes. On its own, a university may be a substantial regional resource, but it is not enough. The university is not an “engine” of regional economic growth – it is part of a complex ecosystem that, when successful, both nourishes and is nourished by its surrounding community. Deeper and More Fundamental Contributions Most who have commented on the university’s role in the economy believe the key lies in increasing its ability to transfer research to industry, generate new inventions and patents, and spin-off its technology in the form of startup companies. As such, there has been a movement around the world to make universities “engines of innovation,” and to enhance their ability to commercialize their research. Universities have largely bought into this view because it makes their work more economically relevant and as a way to bolster their budgets. Unfortunately, not only does this view oversell the immediately commercial aspect of the university; it also misses the deeper and more fundamental contributions made by the university to innovative ecosystem, the larger economy, and society as a whole. We suggest that the university’s increasing role in the innovation process and in economic growth stems from deeper and more The “On-Off” Switch Strong university innovation does not Dr. Richard Florida necessarily translate into strong local high-tech industry. An apt, if oversimplified, metaphor for this dynamic is the university as the transmitter and the region as the receiver. In a few, highly selective cases the university sends out a strong signal which is picked up well by the region. But this is far from the norm. In a large number of cases, the university may be sending out a strong signal—it is carrying out a lot of technical R&D and producing patents—but the region’s receiver is switched off and unable to take in the signal the university sends out. Stolarick KEVIN Associate Director and Research Associate, The Prosperity Institute, The Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto PhD

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of New Knowledge for a New Economy 2007

General Printers - New Knowledge for a New Economy UCIT 2007
Anne Golden
Claire Morris
Steve MacLean
Richard Florida
Kevin Stolarick
Gerry Brown
Chad Gaffield
Penny Milton
Paul Cappon

New Knowledge for a New Economy 2007

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