Cities interested in bolstering their economies through innovation should look beyond the typical formalized processes.
Instead, a new paper from the Brookings Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Initiative on Innovation and Placemaking pushes economic development leaders to recognize that different types of firms innovate through distinct actors and both market and non-market channels. As a result, regions require industry-tailored innovation-support strategies.
In “How Firms Learn: Industry specific strategies for urban economies,” Brookings Senior Policy Analyst and Associate Fellow Scott Andes examines how manufacturing and software services firms develop new products, processes, and ideas. He illustrates three archetypal innovation models, which correspond to three industry types:
- Classic Industries, such as pharmaceuticals, work primarily with universities and other traditional innovation actors and use market channels, including contracts and licensing agreements, as sources of invention.
- Unconventional Industries, exemplified by small-and medium-sized manufacturers, primarily source innovation from clients and suppliers and pursue informal innovation channels, such as joint research agreements and supplier contracts.
- Mixed Industries predominantly rely on non-traditional actors but formal market channels to acquire innovation. Example industries include semiconductors, chemicals, and textiles.
“In order to build strong regional economies, urban economic development leaders should stop carbon copying other cities’ approaches and instead align local economic strategies with the particular ways their dominant industries innovate,” Andes said.
Specifically, public, private, and institutional stakeholders should develop strategies that:
- Recognize that all industries can be innovative, not just software and medical technology startups, and identify the particular innovation pathways utilized by local firms.
- Eliminate institution-wide technology transfer practices at research universities that focus on licensing and allow specific departments and centers to cater to different industries.
- Establish partnerships with non-research colleges and universities to support firms seeking short-term process innovation.
- Modify the traditional accelerator model to respond to the innovation needs of startups in nontraditional growth sectors.
- Link designers, engineers, and software developers in urban centers to manufacturing supply chains in the surrounding regions.
- Advance appropriate place-based strategies to increase the density of innovative firms and support organizations.
Such industry-contextualized approaches will allow for urban economic development resources to be used to their best advantage and firms and other innovation actors to maximize learning and economic power.
Sources of innovation and channels by which acquired, by industry. Source: Author’s analysis of Arora, Cohen, and Walsh (2014) and Graham (2009). Click image to enlarge.
Related Stories
Urban Planning | Aug 16, 2021
Building with bikes in mind: How cities can capitalize on the pandemic’s ‘bike boom’ to make streets safer for everyone
Since early 2020, Americans have been forced to sequester themselves in their homes with outdoor activities, in most cases, being the sole respite for social distancing. And many of people are going back to the basics with a quintessential outdoor activity: biking. Bike sales absolutely skyrocketed during the pandemic, growing by 69% in 2020.
Resiliency | Jun 24, 2021
Oceanographer John Englander talks resiliency and buildings [new on HorizonTV]
New on HorizonTV, oceanographer John Englander discusses his latest book, which warns that, regardless of resilience efforts, sea levels will rise by meters in the coming decades. Adaptation, he says, is the key to future building design and construction.
Urban Planning | May 3, 2021
SWA/Balsley unveils Nelson Mandela Park Master Plan for Rotterdam
The conceptual plan provides much-needed central neighborhood and civic open space in the city’s South Maashaven district.
University Buildings | Apr 29, 2021
The Weekly Show, April 29, 2021: COVID-19's impact on campus planning, and bird management strategies
This week on The Weekly show, BD+C Senior Editor John Caulfield interviews a duo of industry experts on 1) how campus planning has changed during the pandemic and 2) managing bird infestations on construction sites and completed buildings.
Urban Planning | Dec 6, 2020
Ford lays out plans for mobility innovation district in Detroit
Its centerpiece is an abandoned train depot whose architecture and decay reflect two sides of this city’s past.
Resiliency | Nov 5, 2020
CRE investors are concerned that cities aren’t resilient enough for climate change
A new ULI-Heitman report states that the biggest challenge to valuation is measuring urban risk mitigation.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 22, 2020
The Weekly show: Universal design in multifamily housing, reimagining urban spaces, back to campus trends
BD+C editors speak with experts from KTGY Architecture + Planning, LS3P, and Omgivning on the October 22 episode of "The Weekly." The episode is available for viewing on demand.
Urban Planning | Jan 23, 2020
Unicorn Island’s first building nears completion
The building is the first on the 67-hectare island.
AEC Tech | Jan 16, 2020
EC firms with a clear ‘digital roadmap’ should excel in 2020
Deloitte, in new report, lays out a risk mitigation strategy that relies on tech.
Urban Planning | Jan 13, 2020
Henning Larsen designs all-timber neighborhood for Copenhagen
The project hopes to set a standard for how modern communities can live in harmony with nature.