Innovation in Real Places: Strategies for Prosperity in an Unforgiving World

Innovation in Real Places challenges prevailing ideas about innovation and offers a guide to identifying the best growth strategy for communities. It argues that the dominant ideas on innovation have a feeble understanding of global production and innovation and that communities should focus on where they fit in the global production process rather than pursuing the Silicon Valley model.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 280 pages
Publication date: 18 May 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

Winner of the Balsillie Prize for Public Policy
Winner of the Donner Prize
A Summer Book of 2021,
Financial Times
Longlisted Financial Times and McKinsey Best Business Book of the Year
A challenge to prevailing ideas about innovation and a guide to identifying the best growth strategy for your community.
Across the world, cities and regions have wasted trillions of dollars on blindly copying the Silicon Valley model of growth creation. Since the early years of the information age, we have been told that economic growth derives from harnessing technological innovation. To do this, places must create good education systems, partner with local research universities, and attract innovative hi-tech firms. We have lived with this system for decades, and the result is clear: a small number of regions and cities at the top of the high-tech industry, but many more fighting a losing battle to retain economic dynamism.
But are there other models that don't rely on a flourishing high-tech industry? In Innovation in Real Places, Dan Breznitz argues that there are. The purveyors of the dominant ideas on innovation have a feeble understanding of the big picture on global production and innovation. They conflate innovation with invention and suffer from techno-fetishism. In their devotion to start-ups, they refuse to admit that the real obstacle to growth for most cities is the overwhelming power of the real hubs, which siphon up vast amounts of talent and money. Communities waste time, money, and energy pursuing this road to nowhere.
Breznitz proposes that communities instead focus on where they fit in the four stages in the global production process. Some are at the highest end, and that is where the Clevelands, Sheffields, and Baltimores are being pushed toward. But that is bad advice. Success lies in recognizing that every community is unique and that its growth strategy should be tailored to its specific strengths and weaknesses.
The first step is to identify the key industries that drive your local economy. This may include manufacturing, healthcare, tourism, or agriculture. Once you have identified these industries, you need to understand how they are evolving and what opportunities and challenges they present.
Next, you need to focus on developing the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in these industries. This may involve investing in education and training programs, partnering with local research universities, or attracting innovative companies to your region.
Finally, you need to create a supportive environment that encourages innovation and entrepreneurship. This may include providing access to capital, supporting small businesses, and promoting collaboration between different sectors of the economy.
In conclusion, Innovation in Real Places offers a powerful challenge to prevailing ideas about innovation and growth. By focusing on where communities fit in the global production process and developing a tailored growth strategy, we can create a more sustainable and prosperous future for all.

Weight: 410g
Dimension: 156 x 236 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780197695173