Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Role of Cooperative Research Centers in Multi-scalar Innovation and Economic Development Policy in Canada and the US

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Cooperative Research Centers and Technical Innovation

  • 1076 Accesses

Abstract

In this chapter contribution to the edited volume, Jennifer Clark addresses the scale of policy interventions by comparing “innovation + development” (I+D) cooperative research centers in Canada and the US. Clark argues for an increased role for the region as an economic unit rather than as a political factor in the placement and coordination of I+D Centers. Through a comparison of how a “conscious geography” informs the organization of I+D research centers in the US and Canada, her analysis focuses on the variation in the models of multi-scalar policy coordination deployed through the I+D Center networks in the US and Canada. For a complementary examination, see the chapter contribution on international management practice in cooperative research centers by Lal and Boardman.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aaron K (2003) New York State’s centers of excellence win praise but no guarantee of new jobs. Knight Ridder Tribune Business News 1

    Google Scholar 

  • Alder G Michael (2006) State Technology Development and Commercialization Programs: A Survey of the States. National Centers of Excellence, WestCamp Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anton, Paul A et al (2006–2008) Responding to Minnesota’s Evolving Workforce Needs: Final Evaluation Report on the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Centers of Excellence. Saint Paul, MN: Wilder Research, 2009 Asheim B, Coenen L (2006) Contextualising regional innovation systems in a globalising learning economy: on knowledge bases and institutional frameworks. J Technol Transf 31(1):163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asheim B, Isaksen A (2002) Regional innovation systems: the integration of local ‘sticky’ and global ‘ubiquitous’ knowledge. J Technol Transf 27(1):77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asheim B, Coenen L et al (2007) Constructing knowledge-based regional advantage: implications for regional innovation policy. Int J Entrep Innov Manage 7(2–5):140

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson-Grosjean J (2002) Canadian science at the public/private divide: the NCE experiment. J Can Stud 37(3):71

    Google Scholar 

  • Bell S (1996) University-industry interaction in the Ontario Centres of Excellence. J High Educ 67(3):322

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benner C (2003) Labor flexibility and regional development: the role of labour market intermediaries. Reg Stud 37(6):621

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benneworth P, Charles D (2005) University spin-off policies and economic development in less successful regions: learning from two decades of policy practice. Eur Plann Stud 13(4):537

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bluestone B, Harrison B (1982) The deindustrialization of America: plant closings, community abandonment, and the dismantling of basic industry. Basic Books, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Boardman PC (2008) Beyond the stars: the impact of affiliation with university biotechnology centers on the industrial involvement of university scientists. Technovation 28(5):291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bozeman B (2000) Technology transfer and public policy: a review of research and theory. Res Policy 29(4,5):627

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bozeman B, Boardman C (2004) The NSF engineering research centers and the university-industry research revolution: a brief history featuring an interview with Erich Bloch. J Technol Transf 29(3–4):365

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bozeman B, Coker K (1992) Assessing the effectiveness of technology transfer from U.S. government R&D laboratories: The Impact of Market Orientation. Technovation 12(4):239

    Google Scholar 

  • Bozeman B, Laredo P et al (2007) Understanding the emergence and deployment of “nano” S&T. Res Policy 36(6):807

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braczyk H-J, Cooke P et al (1998) Regional innovation systems: the role of governances in a globalized world. UCL Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Christopherson S, Clark J (2007a) Remaking regional economies: power, labor, and firm strategies in the knowledge economy. Routledge, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Christopherson S, Clark J (2007b) Power in firm networks: what it means for regional innovation systems. Reg Stud 41(9):1223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark J (2004) Restructuring the region: the evolution of the optics and imaging industry in Rochester, New York. City and regional planning. Cornell University, Ithaca, p 220

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark J, Christopherson S (2009) Integrating investment and equity: a critical regionalist agenda for a progressive regionalism. J Plann Educ Res 28(3):341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke L (1991) Centralizing optics and imaging: Monroe County Economic Development Strategy. SPIE International Competitiveness and Business Techniques, Rochester, NY, International Society of Optics and Photonics

    Google Scholar 

  • Coburn CM, Brown DM (1997) Response: a state-federal partnership in support of science and technology. Econ Dev Q 11(4):296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooke P, Leydesdorff L (2006) Regional development in the knowledge-based economy: the construction of advantage. J Technol Transf 31(1):5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crevoisier O (2004) The innovative milieus approach: toward a territorialized understanding of the economy? Econ Geogr 80(4):367

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dicken P, Malmberg A (2001) Firms in territories: a relational perspective. Econ Geogr 77(4):345

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doloreux D (2004) Regional innovation systems in Canada: a comparative study. Reg Stud 38(5):481

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doloreux D, Dionne S (2008) Is regional innovation system development possible in peripheral regions? Some evidence from the case of La Pocatière, Canada. Entrep Reg Dev 20(3):259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ehrenberg R, Rizzo M et al (2003) Who bears the cost of science at universities. Cornell Higher Education Research Institute Working Paper, Ithaca

    Google Scholar 

  • Feldman M, Desrochers P (2003) Research universities and local economic development: lessons from the history of the Johns Hopkins University. Ind Innov 10(1):5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feller I (1997a) Federal and state government roles in science and technology. Econ Dev Q 11(4):283

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feller I (1997b) Manufacturing technology centers as components of regional technology infrastructures. Reg Sci Urban Econ 27(2):181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feller I (1997c) Rejoinder: response to Coburn and Brown. Econ Dev Q 11(4):310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feller I, Madden P et al (1987) The new agricultural research and technology transfer policy agenda. Res Policy 16(6):315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feller I, Ailes CP et al (2002) Impacts of research universities on technological innovation in industry: evidence from engineering research centers. Res Policy 31(3):457

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Florida R (2002) The learning region. In: Gertler M, Wolfe D (eds) Innovation and social learning: institutional adaptation in an era of technological change. Palgrave Macmillan, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Gargano CA (2006) Building the high-tech future. Econ Dev J 5(2):47

    Google Scholar 

  • Gertler MS, Wolfe DA (2002) Innovation and social learning: institutional adaptation in an era of technological change. Palgrave Macmillan, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Gieryn TF (1999) Cultural boundaries of science: credibility on the line. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Globerman S (2006) Canada’s regional innovation systems: the science-based industries. Can J Polit Sci 39(2):432

    Google Scholar 

  • Godin B, Dore C et al (2002) The production of knowledge in Canada: consolidation and diversification. J Can Stud 37(3):56

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray DO, Lindblad M et al (2001) Industry-university research centers: a multivariate analysis of member retention. J Technol Transf 26(3):247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey AB (1991) NSF’s role in photonics (optoelectronics, optical communications, information processing and optical computing). SPIE: International Competitiveness and Business Techniques, Rochester, NY, International Society for Optics and Photonics

    Google Scholar 

  • Kenney M, Patton D (2005) Entrepreneurial geographies: support networks in three high-technology industries. Econ Geogr 81(2):201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • KPMG CL (2002) Rank, Dennis. Evaluation of the Networks of Centres of Excellence: Final Report Ottawa: Network of Centers of Excellence (NCE) Directorate

    Google Scholar 

  • Lal B (2011) A global scan of engineering research centers: benchmarking engineering research and education

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin M-W, Bozeman B (2006) Researchers’ industry experience and productivity in university-industry research centers: a “scientific and technical human capital” explanation. J Technol Transf 31(2):269

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lowi TJ (1995) The end of the republican era. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman

    Google Scholar 

  • Malecki EJ (2004) Jockeying for position: what it means and why it matters to regional development policy when places compete. Reg Stud 38(9):1101

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markusen A (1996) Sticky places in slippery space: a typology of industrial districts. Econ Geogr 72(3):293

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin R, Sunley P (2006) Path dependence and regional economic evolution. J Econ Geogr 6(4):395

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey DB, Quintas P et al (1992) High-tech fantasies: science parks in society, science, and space. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • MNSCU (2005) Examples of centers of excellence in other states and systems. Minnesota State College and University System, Saint Paul

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan K (2004) Sustainable regions: governance, innovation and scale. Eur Plann Stud 12(6):871

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moulaert F, Sekia F (2003) Territorial innovation models: a critical survey. Reg Stud 37(3):289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noble DF (1977) America by design: science, technology, and the rise of corporate capitalism. Knopf, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Noble DF (1986) Forces of production: a social history of industrial automation. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Patel P, Pavitt K (1997) The technological competencies of the world’s largest firms: complex and path-dependent, but not much variety. Res Policy 26(2):141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peck J (1996) Work-place: the social regulation of labor markets. Guilford, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Perry B, May T (2007) Governance, science policy and regions: an introduction. Reg Stud 41(8):1039–1050

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perry B et al (2007) Building science regions in the European Research Area: governance in the territorial agora. Centre for Sustainable Urban and Regional Futures (SURF) at the University of Salford, Manchester

    Google Scholar 

  • Pike A, Rodríguez-Pose A et al (2006) Local and regional development. Routledge, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Piore MJ (2002) Thirty years later: internal labor markets, flexibility and the new economy. J Manage Gov 6(4):271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ponomariov B, Boardman PC (2008) The effect of informal industry contacts on the time university scientists allocate to collaborative research with industry. J Technol Transf 33(3):301

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter M, Group M et al (2001) Clusters of innovation: regional foundations of U.S. competitiveness. Council on Competitiveness, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Rae-Dupree J (2009) Innovation should mean more jobs, not less. The New York Times, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Rip A (2002) Regional innovation systems and the advent of strategic science. J Technol Transf 27(1):123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roessner JD (1985) Prospects for a national innovation policy in the USA. Futures 17(3):224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roessner D, Manrique L et al (2010) The economic impact of engineering research centers: preliminary results of a pilot study. J Technol Transf 35:475–493

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rood SA (2000) Government laboratory technology transfer: process and impact. Ashgate, Aldershot

    Google Scholar 

  • Salazar M, Holbrook A (2007) Canadian science, technology and innovation policy: the product of regional networking? Reg Stud 41(8):1129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simmie J (2005) Innovations and space: a critical review of the literature. Reg Stud 39(6):789

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steenhuis H-J, Gray DO (2006) The university as the engine of growth: an analysis of how universities can contribute to the economy. Int J Technol Transf Commercial 5(4):421

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sternberg E (1992) Photonic technology and industrial policy. State University of New York Press, Albany

    Google Scholar 

  • Storper M (1997) The regional world: territorial development in a global economy. Guilford, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Storper M (2002) Institutions of the learning economy. In: Gertler M, Wolfe D (eds) Innovation and social learning. Palgrave Macmillan, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Trippl M, Tödtling F (2007) Developing biotechnology clusters in non-high technology regions-the case of Austria. Ind Innov 14(1):47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vlannes NP (1991) A National Technology Center and Photonics. SPIE: International Competitiveness and Business Techniques Rochester, NY, International Society for Optics and Photonics

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe D, Holbrook A (2002) Knowledge, clusters and regional innovation: economic development in Canada. McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montréal

    Google Scholar 

  • Zysman J, Tyson LDA (1983) American industry in international competition: government ­policies and corporate strategies. Cornell University Press, Ithaca

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

First, I would like to acknowledge the financial support for this project ­provided through a Faculty Research Award from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Canada. Also, the special issue editors, Craig Boardman and Denis O. Gray, deserve special appreciation for their insights and advice. In addition, I would like to thank three anonymous reviewers for their comments on the manuscript. And finally, I thank several colleagues for comments on earlier versions of this manuscript: Aaron Levine, Carl DiSalvo, Benjamin Flowers, and Harley Etienne.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, 685 Cherry Street, Atlanta, GA, 30332-0345, USA

    Jennifer Clark

Authors
  1. Jennifer Clark
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer Clark .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. 1810 S. College Road, Columbus, 43210, USA

    Craig Boardman

  2. Campus Box 7650, Raleigh, 27695, USA

    Denis O. Gray

  3. Campus Box 7650, Raleigh, 27695, USA

    Drew Rivers

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Clark, J. (2013). The Role of Cooperative Research Centers in Multi-scalar Innovation and Economic Development Policy in Canada and the US. In: Boardman, C., Gray, D., Rivers, D. (eds) Cooperative Research Centers and Technical Innovation. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4388-9_12

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation