Submitted by Fabio Sobreira Campos da Costa (fabio.sobreira@ufpe.br) on 2016-09-01T15:53:02Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) MGP - Dissertação FERNANDA LAURA M J L DOS SANTOS CD ata original.pdf: 1169828 bytes, checksum: b963ca867af022a3861e5587a0540dea (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-01T15:53:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) MGP - Dissertação FERNANDA LAURA M J L DOS SANTOS CD ata original.pdf: 1169828 bytes, checksum: b963ca867af022a3861e5587a0540dea (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-01-29 / Após os trabalhos de Schumpeter, o fenômeno da inovação ganhou bastante destaque, uma vez que passou a ser percebido como essencial para o desenvolvimento econômico e social no sistema capitalista. A necessidade de compreender os aspectos da inovação é fortalecida à medida em que as atividades baseadas em conhecimento integram parte significativa da economia global. Sendo assim, o tema é explorado com frequência dentro e fora da academia, a partir de diferentes perspectivas. A presente discussão tem o intuito de abordar a percepção de gestores de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (CT&I) de uma universidade federal sobre o processo de inovação e a política de CT&I estabelecidos na instituição, uma vez que foi detectada a necessidade de compreender o ponto de vista desses atores formuladores de política. Para tanto, a abordagem teórica adotada tomou como base os conceitos do processo de inovação e seus modelos, com maior ênfase no sistema de inovação, bem como a manifestação das políticas públicas que atuam sobre esse campo, suas características, e como elas se subdividem e se relacionam. A metodologia aplicada teve uma pesquisa qualitativa, por meio do método de análise de conteúdo e com a técnica de análise categorial. A pesquisa de campo teve como locus a Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE) e investigou, por meio de entrevistas semi-estruturadas, gestores de alto nível na área de CT&I. Para a análise desta pesquisa, os dados foram estruturados em quatro eixos temáticos, os quais trataram sobre o entendimento sobre CT&I; os atores na produção do conhecimento; a lógica e o foco da política institucional e os instrumentos de avaliação e análise. Esses eixos guiaram a busca pelo atendimento aos objetivos da pesquisa, na qual foi possível observar uma considerável proximidade da percepção dos gestores entrevistados com os princípios da perspectiva sistêmica no tocante ao processo de inovação, enquanto, na abordagem da política de CT&I, houve a identificação de apenas alguns aspectos dessa teoria, evidenciando áreas que sofrem com algum tipo de deficiência institucional. / After Schumpeter’s works, the phenomenon of innovation has gained much attention as it came to be perceived as essential for economic and social development in the capitalist system. The need to understand the aspects of innovation is strengthened to the extent that the activities based on knowledge integrate significant part of the global economy. Thus, currently, the subject is explored often in and out of academia, from different perspectives. This discussion aims to address the perception of Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I) managers of a federal university on the innovation process and ST&I policy established in the institution, since the need to comprehend the point of view of these policy-makers actors was detected. Therefore, the adopted theoretical approach was based on the concepts of the innovation process and its models, with greater emphasis on innovation systems and the manifestation of public policies that act on this field, its characteristics, and how they are divided and related. The methodology applied obtained a qualitative research, through the method of content analysis and the technique of categorical analysis. The field research had as locus the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) and investigated, through semi-structured interviews, senior managers in the STI area. For this research’s analysis, data were structured into four themes, which treated on the understanding of STI; actors in the production of knowledge; the logic and focus of institutional policy and instruments of evaluation and analysis. These themes guided the search for meeting the research objectives, in which it was observed a considerable proximity to the perception of the managers interviewed with the principles of the systemic perspective with regard to the innovation process, while on the approach of the ST&I policy, there was an identification of only some aspects of this theory, evidencing areas that suffer from some kind of institutional deficiency.

China and Russia – two giants in the group of emerging markets – continue to attract wide attention as evolving science and technological superpowers. However, both countries demonstrate mixed success in innovation development and are struggling to overcome the legacies of the former state planning system and accelerate their transition to effective national innovation systems. This study employs a number of theoretical constructs and evidence sources to evaluate the existing path dependencies and compare the achievements of China and Russia in fostering development and effective systems of innovation and governance. A detailed analysis of the state planning legacies is provided together with a study of innovation system transformation and the role of public policy in (re)building national innovation capabilities in China and Russia. The system-evolutionary approach is applied to provide a detailed assessment of the strategic effort undertaken by the governments of both countries. Several government failures and path dependencies seem to prevent the nations from implementing a more effective reform. Yet, there are a number of complementarities and opportunities for mutual learning where both countries can benefit from closer collaboration. The challenges of turning universities into research institutions, increasing productivity of state-owned enterprises, constructing effective science parks, promoting indigenous innovation, ensuring more even distribution of innovation development across regions, turning ‘brain drain’ into ‘brain gain’, and improving intellectual property rights protection are common in Russia and China. As a lens through which to identify and assess innovation systems transformation, the thesis examines emerging nanotechnology development in China and Russia. Nanotechnology is a new science and technology area where policies seem to be independent of many system weaknesses and contribute to breaking existing development lock-ins due to its explorative nature and assumed transformative capacity. Yet, a number of path dependencies do exist in this area but seem to play a marginal role in its progression. An early assessment is provided of nanotechnology impacts on broader socioeconomic development of China and Russia in six key areas: institutional development, knowledge flows, and network efficiency; research and education capabilities; industrial and enterprise growth; cluster and network development; regional spread; and product innovation.The conclusion summarizes the main findings, revisits the major research questions, links the analysis to the conceptual framework, and offers a number of policy recommendations that seem relevant to both Russia and China with a need to increase the transparency of innovation policy, improve the regulation for innovation process, and promote growth of the private sector to ensure effective technology transfer.Results from this study have been reported in various forms in the author’s articles published in Research Policy, Science and Public Policy, Review of Policy Research, International Journal of Economics and Business Research, and European Journal of Development Research as well as presented at a number of international conferences (see Appendix).

The detrimental consequences associated with industrial models of food production are becoming more difficult to ignore. In response, one dominant approach to mitigating the myriad environmental, social, and ethical harms relating to food has sought to increase the efficiency of agricultural outputs through scientific and technological innovation. Although technology certainly has some role to play in any vision of a sustainable future, technocratic approaches to problem solving are insufficient—and arguably inappropriate—for addressing many of the kinds of complex challenges that we face today. There are recent indications that both agri-food law and policy and innovation policy are being taken more seriously in Canada, which creates an opportunity to reflect more deliberately on their ends and means. This dissertation explores the topic of how laws, policies, and other tools of governance can work to better align technological innovations in the agri-food sector with shared environmental goals and ethical aspirations. Taking a critical legal perspective closely informed by feminist insights and the work of existing, analogous justice movements, I examine several interlinkages between technology, law, the environment, and society to evaluate some of the failings of existing approaches to food systems transformation and to offer a contribution to the conversation about alternative pathways. Given the context-specific nature of food systems and food systems governance, my focus is primarily on Canada, but the universal importance of food in a globalized world renders some comparative and transnational discussion unavoidable. I use case studies and discourse analysis to demonstrate that, when considered through a justice-oriented lens, several of the new and emerging technologies being championed in the agri-food sector may not be as beneficial as their proponents claim. Instead, they may serve to retrench injustice and cement existing, exploitative power structures, making them more difficult to challenge and change later down the line. Thus, if technologies are to serve public instead of private interests in the ways they are incentivized, designed, regulated, and used, we will need to see broad systemic and structural reforms informed by thoughtful shifts in our values and priorities, rather than merely reactive adjustments to our policies and practices. Though this undertaking will be difficult, it is not impossible; this dissertation offers one way to facilitate the process of seeding change for environmental sustainability and technological justice.

The Master's thesis "Swedish innovation policy: success or paradox?" focuses on Sweden's public policy for innovation during the past two decades. It, however, deviates somewhat from the conventional notion that places Sweden in the forefront when it comes to innovation. On the contrary this study follows the line of thought that believes there is an imbalance between the inputs to innovation in terms of R&D investments, which are truly outstanding, and the economic outputs that have been rather unimpressive and could be higher. Using the innovation systems perspective, a theoretical framework that has grown popular with academics and policymakers alike, the thesis analyzes Sweden's innovation policy, aiming to find out, whether the government really performs the activities, that the innovation systems theory views as vital. While it can be said that the innovation policy truly fulfills a wide range of activities that the theory views as key, there is still room for improvement in several areas, due to which the innovation paradox is still in operation, albeit we can view it less as an acute problem but a rather an opportunity, which policy has not been able to capitalize on.

Tackling grand challenges such as anthropogenic climate change, urgently requires an increase in bio-based resource utilization in regard to offsetting fossil dependencies within industrial sectors, also known as bioeconomic shifts. Bioeconomic shifts can be achieved by implementing Mission-oriented innovation (MOI), which concerns facilitating and directing resources towards achieving predetermined missions. Public actors within Uppsala region have proposed a regional mission which communicates their approach towards achieving a bioeconomic shift. Therefore, this study explores the empirical and contextual barriers to MOI- implementation towards increasing local bio-based rest flow utilization, enabling an expansion biochar within Uppsala region. To satisfy the purpose and research question, an inductive qualitative interview-based case study was performed. This allowed for an understanding of contextual barriers regarding an implementation of MOI from the perceptions of the purposefully sampled interviewees. Thematic analysis was then applied to uncover codes and themes within the gathered data. Noteworthy, and a valuable takeaway for future studies regarding MOI-implementations, is that many of the observed barriers could be mitigated through further developing abilities that enable codification of tacit knowledge. Difficulties in facilitating necessary cooptation, uncertainty associated with innovation, and lengthy payback horizons contribute to MOI-implementation barriers within Uppsala region. A lack of structures that enable the synchronization of, and cooperation between, public and private actors has resulted in barriers for public actors to incentivize and facilitate activities towards achieving a regional expansion of biochar. Also, a lack of resource allocation to enable an MOI-implementation, results in barriers towards exploiting/counteracting contextual advantages/disadvantages towards achieving the regional mission. Contextual advantages include mobility of knowledgeable individuals, universities, and waste management facilities. Contextual disadvantages regard insufficient resource allocations, lack of public actor involvement, and policy which is currently unable of facilitating necessary activities. The results and associated theory support the notion that innovation policy should communicate routes and directions, and better organize actors and activities towards specific missions. Increasing the ability to assess previous and future MOI-implementations, while incentivizing cooperation through shared risks and rewards. Increased communication and assessments of MOI-implementations could also increase the ability to further develop contextual advantages. Contributing and expanding upon existing MOI-literature, this study emphasizes codification of knowledge as to increase the transferability of MOI-related policies and activities between, and within domains. Increased transferability could entail positive spillover effects, regarding the ability of actors to learn from successful, and non-successful MOI-related activities. This knowledge could increase the success rate of MOI-implementations, thus increasing the ability to further develop MOI-implementation frameworks.

Certaines applications thérapeutiques de la médecine génomique sont susceptibles de mener à une amélioration considérable de la santé des populations des pays en développement dans les années à venir. La mise en place de politiques d’innovation efficaces demeure toutefois cruciale afin d’assurer la réalisation des promesses de la révolution génomique. Dans le domaine biomédical, la commercialisation des fruits de la recherche s’est établie comme le paradigme dominant au sein du système d’innovation. Plusieurs études récentes ont cependant démontré que l’emphase mise sur la commercialisation et la protection de la propriété intellectuelle a donné lieu à des résultats décevants. Certains acteurs du système d’innovation avancent donc désormais qu’il est nécessaire d’aller au-delà de la commercialisation de la recherche et de mettre en place des politiques basées sur le paradigme de la valorisation de la recherche, qui favorise l’atteinte d’objectifs sociaux ainsi qu’économiques. L’objectif de notre mémoire est de documenter l’impact des politiques d’innovation de projets internationaux de science ouverte en génomique médicale sur le développement des capacités en recherche et développement en génomique et l’accès à la médecine génomique dans les pays en développement. Nous avons ainsi réalisé une étude de cas impliquant quatre projets internationaux de science ouverte en génomique médicale. Les résultats de notre étude de cas ont démontré que ces projets jouent un rôle important dans le développement des capacités en recherche et en développement en génomique dans les pays en développement, mais qu’ils y jouent un rôle beaucoup plus limité sur le plan de l’accès aux applications de la médecine génomique. / Some therapeutic applications of genomic medicine are likely to lead to considerable improvement in the health care of developing countries in the coming years. However, the establishment of efficient innovation policies remains vital in order to ensure the progress of the genomic revolution. In the biomedical field, the commercialisation of the results of research has established itself as the dominant paradigm in the innovation system. However, many recent studies have demonstrated that this emphasis on commercialisation and the protection of intellectual property has led to deceiving results. Some stakeholders of the innovation system thus argue that it is now necessary to go beyond the commercialisation of research and implement policies based on the research valorisation paradigm, which supports the achievement of social as well as economic objectives. The objective of our thesis is to document the impact of international open science genomic medicine projects’ innovation policies on research and developement in genomics capacity building and access to genomic medicine in developing countries. We have thus developed a case study involving four international open science genomic medicine research projects. The results of our study have demonstrated that these projects play an important role in research and development in genomics capacity building in developing countries, but play a more limited role with regard to access to genomic medicine in these countries.

Le sujet de cette thèse de doctorat s’articule autour de l’analyse des politiques de la Chine, des investissements directs étrangers, et de la collaboration internationale en matière d’innovation. Le premier chapitre, co-écrit avec Ilja Rudyk, explore la montée des inventions chinoises en Europe, ainsi que le développement des politiques d’innovation de la Chine. Notre étude évalue les effets de ces politiques sur la propriété nationale dans les technologies stratégiques en utilisant des données sur les brevets européens. De plus, notre méthodologie permet d’évaluer les effets de ces politiques sur les caractéristiques des brevets, réémettant la qualité de ces derniers. Le second chapitre est un travail conjoint avec Anthony Howell et Jia Lin qui examine les effets des fusions et acquisitions transfrontalières sur les innovations chinoises et sur la performance financière des entreprises qui réalisent ces investissements directs étrangers. Le troisième chapitre traite de la relation entre la collaboration internationale et la qualité des brevets en analysant les demandes de brevet chinois en Europe. Il examine la structure des co-inventions internationales chinoises en Europe et analyse le rôle que joue les co-inventions transfrontalières sur la qualité des demandes de brevet chinoises à l’étranger. Ce chapitre contribue ainsi à la compréhension de l’internationalisation et du rattrapage technologique de la Chine. / The subject of this doctoral thesis revolves around the analysis of China’s policies, foreign direct investment, and international collaboration with regard to innovation. Chapter one, co-written with Ilja Rudyk, explores the rise of Chinese inventions in Europe, China’s innovation policies, and assesses their effect with regard to domestic ownership in strategic technologies through the lens of European patent data. Further, our methodology allows for an assessment of effects of the policies on characteristics of the patents, reflecting their quality. Chapter two, joint work with Anthony Howell and Jia Lin, investigates the effects of Chinese cross-border mergers and acquisitions on the domestic innovation activities and financial performance of the firms engaging in such foreign direct investment. The third chapter addresses the relationship between international collaboration and patent quality through an analysis of Chinese patent applications in Europe. It investigates the pattern of Chinese international co-inventions in Europe and scrutinizes the role cross-border co-invention play for the quality of Chinese overseas patent applications. It thereby contributes to the understanding of China’s internationalization and technological catch-up.

Esta tese teve como objetivo analisar as mudanças nas universidades públicas federais brasileiras nos Governos Lula (2003-2010) e Dilma (2011-2016), a partir das políticas de ampliação do acesso ao ensino superior e de incentivo à inovação. Essas mudanças foram analisadas na totalidade social, buscando compreender como as alterações nas táticas neoliberais modificaram a organização das universidades públicas federais brasileiras. A universidade pública não foi considerada uma estrutura estática, mas como síntese de múltiplas relações dotadas de contradições. Visando a compreender as consequências do avanço neoliberal no contexto do capitalismo dependente, recorri ao pensamento social brasileiro por meio da categoria padrão dependente de educação superior de Florestan Fernandes. A partir das condições concretas do desenvolvimento do ensino superior brasileiro, defendo que a articulação entre as políticas de ampliação ao acesso e de incentivo à inovação aprofunda o padrão dependente de educação superior. O método do materialismo histórico-dialético foi escolhido para o desenvolvimento da pesquisa. Os dados foram coletados por meio da pesquisa bibliográfica, análise documental e realização de entrevistas semiestruturadas com gestores e especialistas de notório saber. O neoliberalismo acadêmico foi implementado no Brasil por meio de uma série de reformas estruturais. As bases foram construídas desde a Reforma Universitária de 1968, marco no predomínio do ensino superior privado e direcionamento das universidades públicas para a pesquisa. O neoliberalismo acadêmico ortodoxo foi marcado por políticas que priorizaram os investimentos da educação básica, no desenvolvimento de políticas de ensino superior voltadas, prioritariamente, para a expansão do ensino privado e por tentativas de modificação da natureza jurídica das universidades pública federais O novo neoliberalismo acadêmico, implementado a partir do Governo Lula, foi caracterizado: pela criação de políticas inclusivas; pela flexibilização da formação por meio da oferta de novas modalidades de cursos; pela modificação no financiamento; pelo estabelecimento do empreendedorismo, como cultura a ser disseminada nos processos de ensino, pesquisa, extensão; pela difusão do gerencialismo na organização das universidades; e pela flexibilização e precarização do trabalho. Essas mudanças reproduzem o padrão dependente de educação superior, pois são baseadas na importação de modelos de educação, direcionam para a importação de conhecimentos e estruturam grande parte do sistema de educação superior voltado para o trabalho simples. Ademais, aprofunda o padrão dependente de educação ao direcionar a pesquisa de excelência realizada nas universidades públicas federais para os interesses privados nacionais e para os países centrais. Assim, a mudança no projeto para as universidades públicas brasileiras no novo neoliberalismo criou novos mecanismos de integrá-las aos circuitos de reprodução do capital, sem a modificação da sua natureza jurídica, ou seja, criou-se, em um contexto de aceleração tecnológica, novas formas imperialistas de apropriação do conhecimento produzido pelas universidades públicas brasileiras. / This thesis aimed at analyzing the changes in the Brazilian federal public universities in the Lula (2003-2010) and Dilma (2011-2016) Governments, from the perspective of the access expansion policies for students and the fostering innovation policies. These changes were analyzed in the social totality method, trying to understand how the changes in neoliberal tactics modified the organization of Brazilian federal public universities. The public university was not considered a static structure, but as a synthesis of multiple relations endowed with contradictions. Seeking to understand the consequences of the neoliberal evolution within the context of the dependent capitalism, I recurred to the Brazilian social thought, from the higher-education dependent pattern category of Florestan Fernandes. Based in the concrete contradictions on the development in the Brazilian higher education, I defend the articulation between the access expansion policies for students and the fostering innovation policies strengthens the dependent pattern of the higher education. The historical-dialectical materialism method was chosen for the research development, and data collected through bibliographic sources, documental analysis and semi-structured interviews with senior-level managers and experts of notorious knowledge. Academic neoliberalism was being implemented in Brazil through a series of structural reforms. The bases were built since the 1968 University Reform, a milestone in the predominance of private higher education and the direction of public universities for research. Orthodox academic neoliberalism was marked by policies that prioritized investments in basic education and in the development of higher education policies geared primarily to the expansion of private education and by attempts to modify the legal nature of federal public universities The new academic neoliberalism, implemented from the Lula Government, was characterized by: the creation of inclusive policies; the implementation of the flexibility in the student formation from new models of courses; the implementation of entrepreneurship as culture to be disseminated in the process of teaching, research and extension programs; through the managerialism diffusion in the structure and management of the public universities; and through the faculty work flexibilization and precarization. These changes reproduce the higher-education dependent pattern, since are based upon three factors: the external educational model's importation, the external knowledge importation, and the organization of the major part of the higher educational system to the simple work. Furthermore, was identified that the orientation of the public university's cutting-edge research to national private’s and dominant country's interests also strength the higher educational dependent pattern. Therefore, the changes during this period after the neoliberal project to the Brazilian public universities in the new neoliberalism promoted a new mechanism to integrate them to the capital reproduction system, without the modification of their juridical nature. That means, in a context of technological acceleration, the creation of new forms imperialist of appropriation of the knowledge produced by the Brazilian public universities.

Esta tese versa sobre uma das formas mais engenhosas de comércio internacional, embora seja egressa de antigas práticas do comércio em todo o mundo. Trata-se do intercâmbio compensado, um sistema muito utilizado, no século passado, nos países Cortina de Ferro, e que mais recentemente renasce nos países do Terceiro Mundo, onde socorrem países com escassez de divisas, substituindo moedas por countertrade. O objetivo principal desse trabalho é o de verificar as possibilidades da aplicação desse sistema de trocas compensadas no mercado da América Latina, como ênfase no mercado brasileiro e equatoriano. O levantamento bibliográfico apontou a existência de formas mais recentes de utilização de operações desse tipo no sofisticado mundo do comércio exterior atual. Os conceitos e as formas do intercâmbio compensado evoluíram fortemente nesses últimos anos e requereu o estudo de operações cometidas em várias partes do mundo, envolvendo desde empresas estatais a empresas de variados portes, inclusive de grandes multinacionais com operação ao redor de todo o mundo. Parece não haver impedimentos de qualquer natureza para países ou empresas privadas e públicas. Esse levantamento motivou o autor a desenvolver pesquisa qualitativa em amostra intencional, para conhecer o uso real e concreto dessas operações no Brasil e no Equador, com o objetivo de identificar barreiras e outras dificuldades à adoção dessas operações. O Brasil foi escolhido por apresentar uma economia multisetorial capaz de produzir uma oferta diversificada para os países Latino-Americanos e, de outro, o Equador país que necessita de altos volumes de importações, nos próximos anos, para conseguir imputar maior dinamismo a sua vida econômica. Foram realizadas 55 entrevistas com empresários brasileiros, localizados no Estado de São Paulo e o Brasil e 155 com empresários equatorianos, todos envolvidos com comércio internacional, sejam eles, industriais ou comerciantes. A análise dos resultados apontou para um desconhecimento quase completo desse sistema de trocas nos dois países, evidenciando ser esse o maior problema para a adoção das trocas compensadas. Por outro lado, as informações apresentadas sobre esse tema evidenciaram um entusiasmo inicial pelas perspectivas que oferecem para novos negócios com países da região, e revelam um interesse forte dos empresários em conhecer os procedimentos para realização dessas operações. Parece muito pertinente, portanto, que os dois governos locais precisem levar ao empresariado informações e disponibilizassem alguma forma de apoio a esse sistema de comércio que dispensa o uso de divisas, sejam elas quais forem. / This doctoral thesis deals is about one the most recent forms of international trade, although it comes from the oldest commercial philosophy. It is the compensated exchange, a system well-known in the Iron Curtain countries, but lately in the countries of the Third World where they are replacing the money by the countertrade. Its main objective was to verify if it is possible to be applied it in the Brazilian market, in the Ecuadorian market and in general in the Latin American market. As a first step, a bibliographical survey was made looking to understand, from its origin, the concepts of the new forms of exchange offset to its application from the experiences of multinational companies and countries that have used this new form of foreign trade. What was sought was to prove its effectiveness, the next step was to develop a quantitative research that takes us to the real, practical and concrete thinking about the use of the countertrade. Based on a questionnaire designed for this purpose, a pilot was carried out together with a population of 150 foreign trade entrepreneurs, traders and industrial entrepreneurs from Ecuador. As well as qualitative research with a population of 50 foreign trade entrepreneurs, traders and industrial entrepreneurs from Brazil, mostly from the State of São Paulo. After analyzing the results, we have been able to understand two important things. The first: that most entrepreneurs do not know the countertrade, therefore, it is important to start both in Brazil and Ecuador begin to disseminate this new form of international trade. And the second: surprisingly, the entrepreneurs who knew how the countretrade operates were very open to this new form of commerce

This paper draws on evidence from Victoria to examine why more innovation takes place in some areas than in others. In so doing, it explores the relationship between innovation and networks. / Despite a large number of recent government policy statements on innovation, there has been very little attention paid to the spatial dimensions of innovation. / The literature on innovation increasingly points to the important role played by local and regional networks in driving innovation. Innovation is the result of the production, use and diffusion of knowledge, and this demands collaboration involving networks of individuals, organisations and institutions. / To test the theory of a connection between networks and innovation across regional Victoria, patent data is used as a proxy measure for innovation. This data is then cross-referenced with various social and economic data sets. / The analysis reveals that innovation in Victoria is substantially concentrated in ‘hot spots’ such as inner Melbourne. In some parts of Victoria very little innovation takes place at all. / This research has found that all things being equal, more innovation will take place in those areas in which there is a greater density of informal networks. However, not all types of networks are positive, and they are more important in provincial areas than in big cities. Innovation clearly has a spatial aspect, and innovation policy needs to give particular attention to the requirements of provincial areas.