THE RISE OF INNOVATION DISTRICTS

More documents

Recommendations

Info

dustry clusters, provide information fornew discoveries and help firms acquireresources and enter new markets.Networks are generally described aseither having strong ties or weak ties. 6Strong ties occur between peopleor firms with a working or professionalhistory that have higherlevels of trust, are willing to sharemore detailed information, andare more apt to participate jointproblem solving. Networking assetsthat build strong ties focuson strengthening relationshipswithin similar fields. These typesof assets include: “tech regulars”(where “techies” discuss problemsor advances in their work as acollective), workshops and trainingsessions for specific fields,industry-specific conferences andmeetings and industry-specificblogs for local firms and entrepreneurs.—To help develop networks, 22@Barcelona organizes manyevents including their monthly networking breakfasts.Credit: Barcelona City Council. Area of Economy, Business andEmployment“It’s all about programming:choreographing ‘spontaneous’opportunities for smart people tointeract with each other. This is whatseparates us from traditional scienceparks.” 7Weak ties occur between peopleor firms working within differentcontexts or economic clusterswhere there is infrequent contact.Weak ties provide access to newinformation, new contacts andbusiness leads outside of existingnetworks. Networking assetsthat build weak ties focuson building new relationships7
across sectors. Examples include:networking breakfasts (whereexperts and star innovators offernew insights in their fields followedby open time to network),innovation centers, hack-a-thonsacross industry clusters such aslife sciences and tech, tech-jamstart-up classes and even the choreographedopen spaces betweenbuildings.Research indicates that both strongties and weak ties are fundamental tothe innovation process and firm success.88
Page 1 and 2: THE RISE OFINNOVATIONDISTRICTS:A Ne
Page 3 and 4: of cities like Atlanta, Baltimore,
Page 5 and 6: physical geography of the district)
Page 7: new form of micro-housing is alsoem
Page 17: PHILADELPHIA: UNIVERSITY CITYAnchor
Page 21 and 22: BOSTON: INNOVATION DISTRICTRe-Imagi
Page 23 and 24: Endnotes1. Anchor institutions are

THE RISE OF INNOVATION DISTRICTS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?