We are starting off with first pillar of the Silicon Valley Model: The Innovation Ecosystem.
Innovation ecosystem. The concept has two (2) keywords: innovation and ecosystem. Let's define both. According to Microsoft® Encarta® Reference Library 2004:
in·no·va·tion [ìnn? váy sh’n](plural in·no·va·tions)
n 1. origination: the act or process of inventing or introducing something new.
2. new idea or method: something newly invented or a new way of doing things suspicious of fax machines and other technological innovations.
ec·o·sys·tem [éko sìst?m, ?ko sìst?m](plural ec·o·sys·tems) n organisms and their environment: a localized group of interdependent organisms together with the environment that they inhabit and depend on.
Innovation starts with an idea or a thought. An idea or thought always starts on somebody's head, therefore innovation starts with people. The complexity of information and communication technology together with the seemingly evolving convergence of these technologies, naturally requires the relationships and exchanges of people with diverse expertise and knowledge. People however do not churn out ideas in a vaccuum. Even artists have to get some inspiration or some environment within which they derive a vision of their art.
Discussions of creating an Innovation Ecosystem must therefore start with "Who are the people, the players or characters within this ecosystem?" Who should be in this ecosystem? What are the traits of people who will drive this innovation? What competence, experience, educational background or expertise must they have? What institutions will they be coming from or even getting them together?
The other question will be "What constitutes this ecosystem?" What environment will get these people together? What will make them stay there and thrive. We need therefore to discuss places or centers, projects or events, relationships or networks, and even culture. A culture that nurtures excellence, dedication, commitment, failures or mistakes, and risk-taking.
It is important that you have the proper perspective when joining the Online Focus Group discussions. I spent more than three (3) months to find reference materials that will help participants start off the discussions and interaction in the right direction.
You may think that your contributions will stop after the last day of the discussion. It will not. Go to this blogsite or better yet register and subscribe to get updates and post your comments there. Enter your email address in the field on the right side of this page and click "subscribe" to get an email containing the latest posts on this blog site. I may not be able to include your comments in the final discussion but it will surely guide me during the live summit strategic planning workshop. We need everyone's help.
Please always remember that the 2nd Cebu ICT Summit is going to come up with blueprint for Cebu's economic development until 2010 to 2015 it is vital that we get every stakeholder to participate and commit to making the plan happen.
Let's do our homework and do some serious reading. You have a lot to read! Start with the information I prepared below.
Relevant Online FGD Readings:
Economic Development Board - Singapore
Progress in today's rapidly innovating and expansively globalising world requires the readiness to adopt and adapt to new technologies and techniques for greater efficiency and value. Singapore understands the challenges that globalisation, rising Asian economies and local economic maturation bring, and has set a host of initiatives in motion to respond accordingly. These initiatives are the wards of the Economic Development Board - the organisation responsible for the continued economic success of Singapore and the companies on its shores.
Source URL:
http://www.sedb.com/edb/sg/en_uk/index/about_us/edb_investments.html
Global Entreprolis Singapore
Global Entrepolis @ Singapore (GES) is an international marketplace connecting enterprises to funds, markets, partners, and technology. It is a dynamic platform for networking opportunities, where large enterprises, technopreneurial startups and the venture capital community can meet, interact and transact. Each group benefits by leveraging on the others' strengths, and value is created.
Source URL:
http://www.globalentrepolis.com/en/faqs/faqs.html
Singapore takes giant step into bio sciences
By Tony Sitathan
One of the clear tests of attracting more talent into Singapore is to improve its infrastructure conditions. Hence, Singapore has came up with the concept of a biopolis, a city dedicated to biomedical science where there would be interaction among the various research and medical communities from the research institutes of molecular biology, genomics, bioinformatics, bioengineering, bio-processing technology and chemistry.
Source URL:
http://www.atimes.com/se-asia/DF18Ae04.html
Skills That Are Most Welcome
The Government has committed a total of S$7 billion to the third national Science & Technology 2005 (S&T 2005) Plan. This details Singapore's intention to identify and build world-class science and technology capabilities in niche areas, and to strengthen private sector R&D initiatives. The S&T 2005 Plan will see more collaborative partnerships with world-class research organisations and institutions. With the increase in PhD research scientists and engineers, manpower development programmes like the R&D Fellowship Programme will be internationally recognised.
Source URL:
http://www.contactsingapore.org.sg/oppor_research.shtml
Bridging the Digital Divide
By Teresa Peters
Executive Director, Bridges.org
Installing computers and connections in underdeveloped communities is only part of what is needed to put information and communications technology to use for socio-economic development. An understanding of grassroots realities, pooling of resources, and a favorable regulatory system are among the many elements necessary in an effective approach to the digital divide.
Source:
http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itgic/1103/ijge/gj08.htm
EDB – Singapore Economic Development Board
The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) is the lead agency that plans and executes strategies to sustain Singapore as a compelling global hub for business and investment. Set up in 1961, EDB acts as catalyst and facilitator to nurture a vibrant, self-sustaining enterprise ecosystem, creating a conducive environment for startups and companies of all sizes. The Board works closely with other agencies to promote innovation and develop human, intellectual, financial and cultural capital in Singapore.
Source URL:
http://www.edb.gov.sg/edb/sg/en_uk/index/about_us.html
Where should the Philippines build its Silicon Valley environment?
By DENNIS POSADAS
Consultant UP Ayala Technology Business Incubator
Cebu is very gung-ho on developing itself as an IT hub. I had the pleasure of visiting Cebu a few weeks ago. Its laid back vacation type atmosphere can serve to enable the phrase "work hard, but party hard". Of all the local government groups that I have met, Cebu seems to be the most determined to implement the Silicon Valley concept. If Cebuanos can beef up their universities (like University of San Carlos, UP, etc.) and tap their expatriate community, they can achieve great strides in certain niche areas.
Source URL:
http://itmatters.com.ph/columns.php?id=peso_092605
Singapore takes giant step into bio sciences
By Tony Sitathan
The biopolis is to be built on 90 hectares of land and it will feature dedicated new buildings, the first of which are due to open next year. It will be designed to house between 20,000 and 30,000 scientists for work, and for about 1,000 residents. There are plans to make the biopolis completely self-contained with apartments, schools, shops and entertainment, and even a monorail to transport residents.
Source URL:
http://www.atimes.com/se-asia/DF18Ae04.html
Building An Asian Silicon Valley Ecosystem
For many...countries, the key driver of economic development was innovation. In South Korea, innovation was applied first to traditional industries and now to semiconductors. In Taiwan, it was initially applied to personal computer accessories and now to contract wafer fabrication. In Singapore it was applied to contract electronics and semiconductor manufacturing.
Source URL:
http://www.ey.com/global/download.nsf/Philippines/SGV_Review_June_2005/$file/sgvreview_june05.pdf
Can Cebu Foster a High-Tech Cluster?
By Michael Alan Hamlin
February 26, 2001
No one knows for sure how to foster a high-tech industrial cluster. In fact, no government or private-sector consortium has ever strategically intended to develop an industrial cluster of any kind and actually succeeded. Instead, industrial clusters tend to develop when all the ingredients of the particularly appropriate soup are in place, sort of like some theories of natural creation. What we do know about high-tech cluster evolution is that like most evolutionary processes, it’s messy, and chaotic. We also know that at the center of the process are heavyweight educational institutions that attract — but frequently fail to retain — very bright people. They leave to start fulfilling their visions, but still draw on the pool of bright people they leave behind. While there are other ingredients to the evolutionary soup that produces high-tech clusters, they seem to be drawn together by intellectual excellence manifest in innovative ideas with apparently practical application.
Source URL:
http://www.teamasia.com/media/2001/02262001.htm
Information and Governance in the Silicon Valley Model
Masahiko Aoki
October 1999
This paper argues that the truly unique role of venture capitalists is found in their information-mediating and governance functions, which can be understood only in the context of relationships between the "clustering" of entrepreneurial firms and (a club) of venture capitalists. The entrepreneurial firms in Silicon Valley compete in innovation and thus their activities are fundamentally substitutes. Therefore, their information processing activities need to be encapsulated from each other to excel competitors. A new product system may be then evolutionarily formed by combining modular products ex post that evolve from such decentralized efforts. In order for such evolutionary selection is possible, however, common standards for interfaces among modular products need to be provided to make individual product attributes compatible. Venture capitalists plays an important role in mediating information necessary for endogenously forming and governing competition among entrepreneurs under such framework. The first section assembles stylized facts about venture capital - entrepreneurial firm relationships as a basis for modeling. The second section presents a framework for comparing information systemic aspects of alternative R&D organizations and tries to understand the unique innovation capability of the Silicon Valley model. The third section then proceeds to the analysis of the venture capital governance as an institution for supporting such information system. Repeated tournaments among initially funded firms for refinancing necessary for the completion of projects, and the threat of termination of financial support by the venture capitalist, are seen to provide greater incentives for the entrepreneurs than under traditional arms length financing. The fourth section discusses the incentives of the venture capitalist and other institutional characteristics of the Silicon Valley model.
Source URL:
http://www-econ.stanford.edu/faculty/workp/swp99028.pdf
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Microsoft® Encarta® Reference Library 2004 and Microsoft® is a trademark and tradename of Microsoft Corporation.
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