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Coordinating a conscious geography: the role of research centers in multi-scalar innovation policy and economic development in the US and Canada

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Abstract

This article contributes to the debate about the role of the region in the placement and coordination of research centers linking technology-led economic development and science, technology, and innovation policy. Through a comparison of how a “conscious geography” has informed the organization of innovation + development (I + D) research centers in the US and Canada, this analysis focuses on the variation in the models of multi-scalar policy coordination deployed through the I + D research center frameworks in the US and Canada. This article begins with a discussion of the theoretical arguments behind territorial innovation systems. It continues by describing the different models of I + D research centers in the US and Canada and the role of the region in each set of policy frameworks. The third section discusses ways policy outcomes are influenced by the initial consideration of the spatial distribution of production and innovation. The article concludes with the case for a policy model which prioritizes a role for the region as a site of economic and geographic analysis and a partner in the design of a multi-scalar innovation policy.

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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 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.

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

    Jennifer Clark

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Correspondence to Jennifer Clark.

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Clark, J. Coordinating a conscious geography: the role of research centers in multi-scalar innovation policy and economic development in the US and Canada. J Technol Transf 35, 460–474 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-009-9137-z

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