The world may be flat for information and capital, but not for infrastructure or labour. Locations are stationary and to succeed and prosper, they must develop the capability to establish a path to prosperity that key local and regional players can agree upon. One of the challenges faced by locations is to
combine organized effort, targeted funding and partnerships to create a sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship culture.
In New Brunswick, Tech South East has emerged as an economic development community that exemplifies the benefits of sustained, organized effort towards creating a prosperous innovation engine. Tech South East was incorporated in 2009 as a non-profit, member-based organization supporting the information and communication technology and health and life science industries. Chaired by Spielo founder John Manship, Tech South East's board of directors possesses innovation, technology and entrepreneurship experience and represent technology-based business, research institutions, venture capital and local government. The organization's members include companies focused on digital media gaming and animation, software development, e-health, biotechnology and medical devices. Tech South East's members share a common goal of building on the community's strengths, such as Atlantic Lottery Corp., to accelerate the growth of Moncton's knowledge-based economy.
The research behind the formation of Tech South East began in 2004 with the establishment of a planning group of community leaders representing technology-based business, institutional research, venture capital and local government. To support this initiative, the Austin, Texas IC2 Institute was contracted to create an inventory of local assets that could be leveraged in an effort to grow local echnology-based industries.
A commissioned study by the IC2 Institute looked to identify a city similar in size and characteristics to Moncton as a benchmark city for growing a technology-based economy. That city turned out to be Oulu, Finland. A New Brunswick delegation visited Oulu in April 2007 and was immediately impressed by the impact that a focused effort could have on a community. With a population of 160,000, Oulu grew from a small base of technology companies to more than 800 technology firms in fewer than 20 years. The many constituents of the community, including business, research organizations and government, worked together to drive innovation through a common vision.
Today, Tech South East CEO Doug Robertson speaks enthusiastically about how key partners have a role to play in growing the local innovation-based economy. He also emphasizes the importance of working with local high schools to create awareness of the region's technology and health and life science sectors. Tech South East has reached agreements with many strategic partners from the government and academic sectors where they have clearly identified areas of mutual opportunity and created a roadmap for collaboration.
The hard fact is that New Brunswick's economic renewal will require a complex strategy. Approaches promoting regional integration are needed in areas such as energy, healthcare, education services and regulatory standards. This could mean raising some taxes as long as they are not an obstacle to investment, such as on consumption. It could also mean lowering other taxes, such as on training and investment on certain capital expenditures. It additionally requires investment in physical infrastructure, education and research. We do know that tax cuts alone cannot be enough.
We also know that while government needs to be a key player, prosperity will require community economic development and collaboration emphasizing innovation, enabled with 21st-century knowledge infrastructure in order that communities become more flexible, more productive and more competitive. We need a series of economic plans that are commensurate with the scale of our challenge. The Tech South East model is one blueprint worth emulating.
Peter Lindfield is chairman and CEO of the Carlisle Institute, a New Brunswick-based think-tank. He lives in the Fredericton area and can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
