Ideas, Institutions, and Interests

Ideas, Institutions, and Interests fills a critical gap in our knowledge of Canada's innovation system. While we never lack for studies of the nature of the Canadian federal system, the federal dimension of our science, technology, and innovation system, and the role of the provinces and territories in particular, has long been neglected. While there are many valuable insights from this comprehensive study, perhaps the most telling is the editors' observation that outside of the major metropolitan centres, the major issue for provincial innovation policies remains the challenge of reducing their exposure to economic volatility, the traditional 'staples trap, ' by upgrading to higher-value products and services in the commodity-based sectors and supporting the expansion of more innovation-intensive knowledge-based sectors in their respective economies. - David A. Wolfe, Professor of Political Science, University of Toronto Mississauga, and Co-Director of the Innovation Policy Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto This excellent collection outlining the history of research and innovation policy in different provinces and federal organizations provides the foundations on which to build so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past. A must-read for anyone wishing to tackle the much-needed coordination of Canadian innovation policy between multiple agencies and several levels of government. - Catherine Beaudry, Professor of Innovation Economics in the Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal and Canada Research Chair in the Creation, Development and the Commercialization of Innovation