Industry Canada Issues Cluster Study on ICT, Life Sciences and Converging Technologies

A recently released study (Cluster Study) by Industry Canada compares the status and growth opportunities of three related industry sectors – information and communications technologies (ICT); life sciences (LS); and converging next-generation technologies (CNT) – in the four urban clusters of Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. On the quantitative side, there are statistics on the number of companies and the number of employees in each cluster and sector. On the qualitative side, there are comments on the depth and diversity of various sub-sectors, together with recommendations for policy development by governments. A key finding is that government policies should encourage diversity within the four metropolitan clusters in order to keep the clusters more resilient during downturns in the business cycle. On a related topic, the Cluster Study recommends government support to stimulate R&D alliances between biotech firms and Canadian-based pharmaceutical firms. For the full text of the Executive Summary of the Study ("A Comparative Study of the Information and Communications, Life Sciences, and Converging Next-Generation Technology Clusters in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa"), visit: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/inict-tic.nsf/en/it07731e.html. Summary by: The Editor