Capacity Building for Innovation

Capacity building for Innovation (CBI)

Description

During the last decades we have seen an intensification of several social complex challenges linked to economy, financial institutions, environment, increase global interaction, amongst others. To better tackle them we required knowledge and capacities at different levels, from individual to country and even globally.

The mission of CBI at the Centre for Leadership Excellence (CLE) is to contribute to capacity building for innovation and economic development in the global economy, and study the role of innovation and its effects on the economy and society.

Our research projects are organized in the following interconnected areas:

Global value chains and global innovation networks

  • Commodity Chains, Governance and Urban Democracy - A Comparative Study of Four Canadian Cities: Halifax, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver

    This research project has two objectives. On the one hand, it aims at comparing how four Canadian cities (Halifax, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver) are positioned in global commodity and value chains. On the other hand, it examines the direct and indirect roles of stakeholders and democratic entities in all four cases.

Partners: Dorval Brunelle, UQAM; Peter V. Hall, Simon Fraser University; Jean Michel Montsion, York University; Claudia De Fuentes, SMU.

  • Benefiting from Global Innovation Networks (BeGIN): Who builds what knowledge from global connections?

    The main premise of this Benefiting from Global Innovation Networks (BeGIN) study is that both developed and developing countries’ innovation and economic development outcomes can be sustained or improved, when they benefit from knowledge arising from global innovation networks (GINs).

    Partners: Claudia De Fuentes, SMU; Jahan Peerally, HEC Montreal; Jason Rhinelander, SMU; Richard Woolley, INGENIO; Rodrigo Costas, Leiden University.


  • Government support for innovation
    • Crowding-in or crowding-out? Analysis of innovation government support for firms located in Canada

      Drawing on innovation studies literature, and on quasi-experimental methodologies, this study aims to investigate the presence of additionality effects of innovation policy instruments for firms located in Canada, differentiating from demand vs. supply policy instruments. Another relevant component from the study is the ex-post analysis of the effects of these programs on firms’ performance and other potential spillovers.

      Partners: Claudia De Fuentes, SMU; Joniada Milla, SMU.
  • Social Innovation
    • Learning and building technological capabilities in global ecosystems of innovation

      This project uses theories from social innovation, social entrepreneurship, innovation studies and international business to analyze latecomer social enterprises (LCSEs), their ecosystems of innovation and provide a framework for collecting, organizing and analyzing data when studying LCSEs’ technological capability building processes.

      Partners: Jahan Peerally, HEC Montreal; Claudia De Fuentes, SMU.

    • Rural Agri-business and Immigration

      In rural Nova Scotia, there are a number of institutions, organizations and government agencies that are engaged in rural development, agri-food industries, food security, immigration attraction and retention.

      The Objective of this initiative will be to bring together the primary stakeholders involved in rural, agri-business and immigration to identify a strategy of engaging the existing agri-food industry and creating strategic links to the newcomer population with an interest in food production and processing.

      Partners: Chris Atwood CBDC Bluewater; Claudia De Fuentes, SMU.