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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.

IDC is a global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. Technology advice can be searched by industry (energy, financial, health, life sciences, manufacturing, and other), or by country/region. The Canadian site provides geographical, business, communications, consumer, web, health, manufacturing, financial and other market reports. For the full list go here. The site also requires a subscription (free) to access most full-text documents - some reports may still require payment.

A Web 2.0 focused resource site for entrepreneurs, Virtual Handshake provides links to industry blogs, wikis, and discussion groups. Links to informative social networking sites, software (freeware), and other virtual communities can also be found, as is a comprehensive directory of other online networking/social software companies.

Canadian Patents and Copyrights

The mission of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) is to accelerate Canada's economic development by: * Fostering the use of intellectual property systems and the exploitation of intellectual property information; * Encouraging invention, innovation, and creativity in Canada; * Administering Canada's intellectual property systems (patents, trade-marks, copyrights, industrial designs, and integrated circuit topographies); and * Promoting Canada's international intellectual property interests. The web site includes comprehensive databases for trade-marks, copyrights, industrial designs, etc. It also has information that is useful for first time inventors, including a section for learning about IP, and a range of publications such as guides to trade-marks, copyrights, and patents.

Several high-rise sites in the downtown core have been temporarily shut down as the developers wait for the economic climate to improve. Mention of MaRS Discovery Districts' expansion on hold.

As Government of Canada's quarterly publication on venture capital (VC), this site provides current information on Canada's VC industry and tracks trends in investment activity. It also reports on VC-related research and examines technology clusters where VC investment takes place.

MaRS client, TheRedPin.com launches their new site for helping condo buyers in Toronto.

An all encompassing web site for the Canadian life science industry, find the latest news releases, directory of organizations, events, etc.

Canada's Technology Triangle Inc (CTT) is a not-for-profit, public-private regional economic development partnership that markets the competitive advantages of the Waterloo Region to the world, and works to attract new businesses, investment and talent to the Region. As an information provider and business network facilitator, CTT is typically the first point of contact for enterprises outside the Waterloo Region interested in start-up, expansion, or relocation to the Waterloo Region. CTT's activity complements its partner municipalities, who focus on local business retention and expansion, and investment-related site location, business cost, servicing, and development approval considerations. CTT's municipal partners are the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo, and the townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich.

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

As a site of the Kauffman Foundation, this portal provides links to entrepreneurship and technology commercialization publications including 742 journals, 197 books, 70 reports, 73 conferences, and 116 working-papers. All publications are summarized via free access to their abstract, however access to their full-text depends entirely on their publisher/vendor: some are free, some are pay per view, and some require paid subscription. The portal provides direct linking to full-text if available. Since the portal operates on strict headings, it provides excellent access to publications. Since it links to several citation softwares, it is an excellent resource for those looking to compile lists of references. Otherwise, it is an excellent resource for entrepreneurs wanting to keep up with entrepreneurial research and findings, as well as for those wanting to publish entrepreneurial written work. For an example of what can be found on the portal, download the full text version of "The Entrepreneurial Spawing of Scientists and Engineers: Stars, Slugs, and the Small Firm Effect".

This Government of Ontario site provides business advice to several groups of individuals, including youth entrepreneurs and women entrepreneurs. Information tools such as Business Guides, Interactive Business Planners, and Event Workshops are offered. Users can also subscribe to Podcasting sessions such as the Canada Business Audio Workshop. While all documents can be accessed in English and in French, some are now also translated to Spanish, Arabic, Korean, Punjabi and Chinese.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) publishes yearly reports on Canadians' research dollars at work. In addition to reporting on specific health care 'research successes' and developments, the site links to regional profiles (Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario, The Prairies, and British Columbia). The 2006-2007 editions are now up.\n\nCIHR's 2-page Commercialization report (PDF) for 2006-2007 reveals Canada's Innovation Index for the year as well as the country's shift towards investing in new companies and capacities. CIHR's commercialization strategy includes research, talent, capital, and linkages.

A former MaRS tenant is now at an innovation lab in Seoul, Korea. He wrote to us and said that "Being around the great minds [at MaRS] while my poorly planned and funded venture fizzled was a great education for me." He's working on this, a site for bloggers to do interviews online in video.  The meetings are recorded, and the blogger can embed the meeting into a website instantly.

Worldchanging is poised to be the Whole Earth Catalog for this millennium. Written by leading new thinkers who believe that the means for building a better future lie all around us, Worldchanging is packed with the information, resources, reviews, and ideas that give readers the tools they need to make a difference. Brought together by Alex Steffen, co-founder of the popular and award-winning web site Worldchanging.com, this team of top-notch writers includes Cameron Sinclair, founder of Architecture for Humanity, Geekcorps founder Ethan Zuckerman, sustainable food expert Anna Lappé, and many others. Renowned designer Stefan Sagmeister brings his extraordinary talents to Worldchanging, resulting in a book that will challenge readers to personally redefine the conversation about the future.

The site offers tips on how to build a business, access to NPG journals by subject area (biotechnology to development to pharmacology), tool kit downloads, nature news and events, start-up profiles, and a handful of discussion articles on amazing entrepreneurs!

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.

'The Daily Resource for Entrepreneurs' provides free access to INC. Magazine ['Handbook of the American Entrepreneur'] and Inc.TV. It also provides free access to many entrepreneur-centric Resource Centres, Blogs, Technologies, and Events. It is highly current and relevant Though a wonderful resource for all entrepreneurs, Inc.com is also very good for newbies. Its' "Start-Up" section provides links to columns, how-to guides, articles, and other recommended resources. There is even an interactive Ask the Expert section to the site.

gagglescape is a forum for Canada's entrepreneurs and venture investors. While they have an information technology bias, gagglescape is a place to find or exchange information on all innovation-driven markets. The site uses social networking tools to help promote entrepreneurship and investment in Canadian knowledge based industries.