international

The European Union (EU) will commit €240 million (approximately 265 million USD) to create a nonprofit Research and Innovation Institute in Greece that will fund research and innovation to support the country’s efforts to pull it out of prolonged recession and create new high-paying jobs, according to the University World News. In addition to broadly supporting research and innovation, the Research and Innovation Institute is intended to spur private sector investment in participating academic institutions, research centers, companies, and scientists by reducing the risk that currently exist due to the Greek debt crisis. Through the European Investment Bank, the EU will make an investment of €180 million (approximately 201.2 million USD) at an interest rate which could be 0.7 percent to 0.8 percent. The Greek government will be responsible for contributing the remaining 25 percent (€60 million, approximately $67.1 million USD). Read the article…

A recently released report finds evidence that Canada’s tech sector – when properly defined – plays an important role in the nation’s economy. In The State of Canada’s Tech Sector, authors Creig Lamb and Matthew Seddon develop a definition of the tech sector based on those industries employing an oversized share of technology occupations. Ultimately, they suggest that the sector is responsible for $117 billion (88.9 billion USD) in economic output, roughly on par with finance and insurance and construction as a percent of total GDP (7.1 percent).

Around the world, accelerator programs continue to multiply, prompting the need for continued research on what they are, how they operate, and how they can be evaluated. The Global Accelerator Report 2015, recently released by Gust and Fundacity, highlights the global development of the accelerator industry and includes details on how accelerators are funded and insights into the industry’s future. The report, which examines accelerator programs in five regions, includes several ways to characterize the global industry, including profit structure, monetization sources, corporate partnerships, and exits. A separate analysis, as featured in CB Insights, suggests the importance of follow-on funding as a measure to evaluate accelerator programs.

When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released his administration’s proposed 2016 budget in late March, SSTI covered the significant funds it would allocate for science, research, and technology-based economic development, as well as the country’s plan for a national innovation agenda. To guide this forthcoming agenda, the Canadian government recently announced six priority areas of action, as well as its intent to conduct a series of engagement efforts that collect additional insight from the public. Central to their plan is the launch of a fully interactive website that will provide Canadians with the ability to offer their own views on how Canada can best support innovation and to vote on ideas that others presented. 

In an attempt to support their respective  innovation economies, several countries have announced new national investment strategies and other entrepreneurial support efforts that help startups access the capital necessary to move their business from an idea to a sustainable businesses. Efforts include a fintech focused-fund in Ireland, expansion of existing programs in two Oceanian countries, and a partnership between two of Asia’s largest economies.

While the first quarter of 2016 was slow for venture capital investments in the United Kingdom (UK), recent weeks have seen significant new developments in both financing and converting technologies from six UK universities into the marketplace.  The goal of these new funding initiatives is, in part, to improve the survival rate of small- and medium-sized businesses (only 45 percent of all UK startups survive beyond the first five years).

New Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released his administration’s 2016 proposed budget last week which, if passed, would allocate significant funds to scientific research and technology-based economic development. Throughout 2016 and 2017, the Canadian government will continue to develop an Innovation Agenda that fully describes their intentions, though the goal of developing an innovative and clean economy is one of the key pillars of the proposed budget. In total, C$2.3 billion (1.8 billion USD) would go toward strengthening science and research, while an additional C$334 million (257.2 million USD) would help to support business growth and innovation.

In the last month, several international countries and Hong Kong have made significant monetary contributions to establish investment funds that will make strategic investments in their country’s startups. These investment funds have a two-fold focus. First, they want to help provide early stage capital to companies that have the potential to spur economic prosperity within their borders. Second, they want to help make their companies more appealing to foreign investors.

As globalization transforms national R&D funding priorities and increase the demand for top S&T, nations are shifting their national R&D strategies toward initiatives intended to attract top scientists from other countries. These attraction efforts have a specific focus on repatriating top researchers by offering them access to the funds necessary to build world class facilities. In addition to large national commitments, foundations also have announced efforts to attract researchers by providing grant funding to support R&D projects and build facilities. In countries such as Singapore, these efforts have started to yield results as top expatriates have returned home to launch large-scale research projects to find transformational solutions to some of the globe’s most pressing issues.

Through a partnership with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, the government of Ontario is launching the Cluster Development Seed Fund, offering grants of up to $100,000 to support cluster initiatives. The funds are part of the Partnerships for Jobs and Growth Act, passed in 2014 by the Ontario government. According to the act, clusters – geographically concentrated groups of interconnected businesses and related entities – perform an important function in regional economic development by increasing productivity, innovation and competitiveness. To help support the development of these clusters, Ontario is offering funding through two streams: supporting cluster consortium building and networking, as well as research and feasibility studies.