Innovation, Energy and Mines
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Manitoba Innovation Framework
Innovation thrives where high levels of interaction and collaboration take place among a wide range of stakeholders within an innovation system. It is the combination of businesses, institutions, infrastructure and policies, within that system, that create the conditions for innovation to take place. Manitoba's innovation capacity is fundamental to its future prospects for economic growth, wealth creation and rising standards of living.
A system of innovation may be conceptualized as a cycle that begins with the creation of new knowledge leading to the development of new products, processes and services. These result in business development, growth and attraction to capitalize on opportunities. As business opportunities mature, businesses, government and education and research institutions must review, analyze, reassess and set new goals based on the strengths and emerging opportunities created by the system. The cycle is complete when these new challenges and opportunities create the demand for new knowledge and ideas.
A network, or an interconnected set of activities, must take place throughout the cycle to effectively drive innovation. These activities include: doing basic and applied research, developing skills, protecting intellectual property, commercializing new technologies, finding sources of risk capital, providing business incubation resources, developing markets, providing appropriate infra-structure and creating relevant government policies and regulations. Extensive interaction and feedback among all stages and activities in the innovation process are a defining characteristic of effective systems of innovation.
The acquisition of knowledge and the capacity to continually learn and adapt to rapidly changing conditions are key competitive advantages in today’s global economy. Since people are the knowledge sources throughout the innovation cycle, the relationships between skilled individuals from businesses, research institutions, and marketing, finance and government organizations, are exceptionally important because they ultimately drive innovation activities in the economy.
