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OCETA accelerates the commercialization and market adoption of clean technologies and environmentally sustainable solutions. OCETA provides technical and business services to support technology entrepreneurs and start-up companies with commercializing and bringing their innovations to market. These services include: * Business mentoring and coaching: Strengthening management capability, strategic planning, route to market, IP strategy and protection. * Business networks: Connecting entrepreneurs to networks of established peers, mentors and experts. * Technology: Providing 3rd party assessment, demonstration, verification, scale-up and deployment. * Financing: Finding access to capital and improving investment readiness. * Marketing: Assisting in market niche identification and segmentation and export assistance.

From Booklist: Joachimsthaler offers another book that promotes use of reinvented basic marketing principles to assist highly innovative companies. The author describes his DIG model (Demand-First Innovation & Growth), which consists of three interlinked parts: explore the demand for their products and services through an in-depth understanding of how people behave and live their lives and how they consume; apply an innovative routine of structured thinking to identify opportunities that customers cannot articulate; and formulate a strategy for effectively pursuing new opportunities. We learn that although most companies conduct some type of market research, they may fail to look for real opportunities and quantify them or fail to develop viable action plans that lead to results. This model illustrates how to become an unbiased observer of people's consumption and usage behaviors and offers a new approach to identifying and executing a company's growth strategy. Joachimsthaler, a consultant, reports that "successful opportunities for innovation and growth are right here, in front of us, and we often can't see them or don't act on them." Mary Whaley Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

As McKinsey & Company's business journal, The McKinsey Quarterly offers public, non-profit, and private management "new ways of thinking." Focus is placed on strategy, corporate finance, governance, economic studies, IT, organization, marketing, and operations. Articles are free (dating back to 1992), a selection of which are available with free registration. Some "premium" articles are available to Premium Members (paid subscribers).

Advertisers are criticized as people who look for the creative and edgy, not the obvious. They will not be happy.Marketing people are criticized for getting hopelessly entangled in corporate egos and complicated projects. They will not be happy.Research people are criticized for generating more confusion than clarity. They will not be happy. Some big companies are criticized for their ill-fated marketing programs or lack of proper strategy. They will not be happy.Wall Street is criticized for putting too much emphasis on growth that is unnecessary and can be destructive to a brand. They will just ignore this criticism and continue trying to make as much money as they can. But this is a book not written to make people happy but to explain to marketers what their real problem is. Only then will they begin to look for the obvious solutions that will separate their products from their competitors -- in a way that is equally obvious to customers. All this comes with no jargon, no numbers, no complexity, and a great deal of common sense.

Consider the two faces of the global innovation movement. Company A, having grown through acquisition, produces multiple brands for multiple markets and operates a worldwide network of research and product development centers. Each of its R&D sites was initially responsible for its own brands and local market, but with globalization these distinctions have lost their importance. Company B, on the other hand, was built largely through internal growth and has two global brands. It operates one primary R&D center supported by a handful of special-purpose sites around the world. This comparatively sparse network has helped Company B win wide admiration for the efficiency of its engineering. Because expanding the number of nodes in a network exponentially increases its complexity, it is not surprising that Company A's R&D structure is more expensive to operate. Company A has considered closing some sites, but has resisted doing so because it fears losing capabilities and insights, and roiling local markets. Meanwhile, incremental budget cuts have chipped away at engineer and supplier morale. Having built its network to maximize the value associated with market access, it is now forced to manage the network for cost. Most global innovation networks look like Company A's - and suffer the same problems. Company B's R&D structure is clearly more productive, but it is not necessarily ideal either. Its network might be too compact, limiting access to knowledge that could maximize performance. Thus, to identify principles and practices for creating a truly well-designed innovation network, Booz Allen Hamilton and INSEAD, the international business school, surveyed R&D leaders in 186 companies from 17 industry sectors in 19 nations in 2005. The survey results, and our own experience, suggest one central truth: Organizations benefit when they configure their innovation networks for cost and manage them for value.

Social media strategy templates: download the "tactical approaches and tools" and "strategy simulation game" . Made for non-profits, but applicable to for-profit businesses as well. From We Are Media's two-day intensive workshop.

Canada has always had to fight hard to attract talent and investment. As stated in Pharmafocus.com, "MaRS Discovery District helps to foster and accelerate the growth of successful Canadian businesses." MaRS Innovation has also been launched to accelerate ideas onto the market.

Subscribe to BCG Publications to get access to a variety of BCG publications and press releases. Industry topics span from social impact to financial services to automotive. Business topics include marketing, strategy, corporate development and diversity, among others. Search by keyword or select an industry or topic to find and read overviews, table of contents, author bios, and reader comments.

Rotman NeXus provides a variety of services to non-profit and social enterprise businesses. In addition to providing organizational help including budgeting, market research, and operational design, Rotman NeXus calculates the social and economic impacts of projects for a small fee. Roman NeXus is staffed by University of Toronto's second year Joseph L. Rotman School of Management top-tier MBA students.

Miller Thomson LLP has announced a multi-faceted partnership with MaRS Discovery District. The partnership gives Miller Thomson an ongoing, collaborative presence at MaRS, providing counsel in business-critical areas such as business planning, finance, intellectual property management, and go-to-market strategies.

A blog for small businesses (even hobbypreneurs) with posts and whole categories on online marketing. From financing to strategy.

Mike McDerment, CEO of Freshbooks.com and Reuven Cohen, founder and chief technologist for Enomaly Inc. provide some tips on how start-ups can use today's technology to tell their tale and sell their products. To learn more about how technology and cloud computing can help companies and individuals improve business advantage and processes the MeshU event will be taking place on May 22 at the MaRS Centre.

A Canadian Federally Registered Charitable Organization since 1999, Homeland Int., Inc. seeks to provide housing and better-quality-of-living services to global communities. The non-profit organization seeks entrepreneurs, lawyers, mentors, philanthropists, corporate leaders, and others. These individuals and companies can donate their time, commitment, collective knowledge, management resources, and other skills towards assisting communities with social implementation strategies and many other community-building projects.

Clean Tech Funding\n\nIf you have a new, innovative technology that helps address climate change or promotes clean water, land or air, then Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) wants to hear from you.(\n\nSDTC supports late-stage development and pre-commercial demonstration of clean technologies by Canadian companies.( (The Statement of Interest (SOI) is an initial application used for preliminary screening and is subject to a competitive review process by SDTC and a panel of independent experts. ( (Applications are evaluated on the basis of their fit with SDTC's mandate, selection criteria, and the quality of technology, marketing and business capabilities. ( (IMPORTANT - Prior to submitting an application and to ensure a good fit:\n\n 1. First review the "Application Advice" section and subsections on SDTC's web site, starting at http://www.sdtc.ca/en/funding/advice/index.htm.\n 2. Register for one of their free online webinars or workshop to learn more - see http://sdtc.ca/en/news/events/200803-61120.htm for details. \n 3. Then discuss your proposed project with one of their Applications Managers.\n

To have a successful biotech initiative proximity to academic hubs and capital remains a crucial factor in hatching a thriving cluster. MaRS Discovery District is a good example of a vertical incubator and offers many services to help entrepreneurs at different stages.

The University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School (of business) provides free online access Knowledge@Wharton, its online business journal. The online journal focuses on: * business trends * interviews (faculty & business leaders) * business research * reviews (conferences, book, etc) * providing a search database to over 1,500 relevant articles and abstracts Major categories include Innovation and Entrepreneurship , Business Ethics, Marketing, Finance and Investment, and more. There is a "Special Sections" page that links to more in-depth articles which readers can post comments to. And last but not least, the site also has podcasts accessible via iTunes.

This toolkit presents a methodology for communicating innovation and the commercial opportunity that an innovation represents. It is developed for - and with - inventors, scientists and technology entrepreneurs.

This online chapter of Canadian Business provides established and up-and-coming Canadian entrepreneurs with current and newsworthy information. Focus is placed on finance, management, sales and marketing, technology, and exporting. In addition: * A 'Personal Development' section provides information on best practices, stress management, and more. * A 'How To' section provides information on dealing with various business problems. o From legal matters to corporate motivation. * A 'Startup Guide' section provides the reader with a report on 2008's best niches for start-ups. * Access to PROFIT Magazine is also given.

Waterloo-based ClevrU has made no secret about its strategy to target the e-teaching sector in emerging markets like China, India and Brazil.

Daniel Patricio's take on Net Change Week at MaRS. Net Change week is a city wide event designed to reduce the divide between digital professionals and social change-makers.