The National Research Council’s annual Regional Innovation Forum looked within and around the world for insight into how to grow the Ottawa area’s burgeoning but beleaguered knowledge-based economy. Hard hit by the telecom slump, Ottawa and environs are also home to small but growing concentrations of information, environmental, life science and medical devices companies.

Their perspectives on the way ahead were complemented by views from Silicon Valley and Iceland, with a thematic focus on converging technologies and new product markets in the areas of health, climate change and security.

The Forum was kicked off by an inspiring speech from Terry Matthews, who delivered the same message the following day at the Smart City conference (see back page). It also heard from the likes of Jon Slangerup, president and CEO of Stuart Energy Inc, and his firm’s success in selling hydrogen energy stations to foreign markets.

A particularly insightful presentation was made by Rod Bryden, CEO of WorldHeart Corp, detailing the difficulties of growing a leading-edge medical devices firm in the midst of cautious financial markets. WorldHeart is getting close to launching an improved version of its left ventricular assist device for heart patients, but market uncertainty and the shaky macro economic environment south of the border are making the arduous move towards commercialization in a new product market more difficult.

“At the macro level, where is the US economy going? Is there going to be a prolonged period of stagnation? What happens to that economy when it stops borrowing a billion and a quarter dollars a day from the rest of the world to preserve its spending habits,” said Bryden. “Canada’s public sector is in much better shape than most countries. As we now turn to the business of re-establishing fair value for the Canadian dollar, it’s going to be a challenge for industry in Canada to do that and preserve their market share.”

The Forum also featured two workshops focusing on overcoming barriers in developing new products and business strategies to create new product markets.

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