Martin also managed to lure Richard Florida to Toronto in 2007 to direct the Rotman School's new $120-million Martin Prosperity Institute. Spinning off from much of Florida's research, the institute's goal is to build a leading think-tank on the role of sub-national factors – location, place and city-regions – in global economic prosperity. By taking an integrated view of prosperity, the institute will look beyond economic measures to include the importance of quality of place and the development of people’s creative potential. I'm looking forward to ongoing conversations with our new friends at the Rotman school. I suspect there might even be a collaboration or two about to happen as well. Bottom line: if you want to learn about innovation, Toronto is the place to be.