How Canada can join the race to innovate
Last week, from the World Government Summit in Dubai, UAE, I wrote about three key trends for the future. This week, I want to share a few individual “moments” that had takeaways for Canadian entrepreneurs and leaders who want to own their own future. The daring of Dubai In the first presentation of the three- day summit, Klaus Schwab, f ounder of t he World Economic Forum and the Davos summits, congratulated Dubai “for having the courage and the foresight to transform a meeting into an ongoing international organization.” That was the first I’d heard that the fouryear-old summit will become a permanent think- tank, based in Dubai, researching and promoting improved governance for an increasingly uncertain world.
It’s a gutsy move, given this event is not yet a global i nstitution. Although it boasted attendees from 125 countries, at least 80 per cent of attendees were UAE citizens, as you can’t mistake their national costume: the dashing white robes of the men and the black robes of the women.
Clearly, Dubai’s leadership harbour enormous ambitions and think long term. More Canadian leaders should do the same. Dubai’s population is only 2.5 million, about the size of Greater Vancouver and half that of Toronto. When did the country that produced the CPR, Expo 67 and the CN Tower stop thinking big? The Arab advantage Arab scientists developed most of what we now think of as mathematics. That’s just the start, as Jim Al- Khalili, an Iraqi-born physics professor at the University of Surrey in England, reminded the summit from the 8th to 13th centuries, Islam led the world in science, astronomy, medicine, engineering and geography.
In Islam’s Golden Age, “science was encouraged for the purpose of learning and discovery,” Al- Khalili said. “Science wasn’t a construct of the West, ever, although that’s the narrative being taught in Arab schools today.”
Today, Al- Khalili said, Islamic countries spend less than 0.5 per cent of gross domestic product on research and development ( Canada spends 1.6 per cent; the U. S., 2.8 per cent). He sees promising pro- science initiatives in wealthier Arab countries such as UAE, Qatar, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, but said there’s a long way to go.
“There need to be changes in the whole infrastructure, from education to R&D. And one way of encouraging this is to get the message across that this spirit of rational inquiry, that transcends religion, culture and language, was alive and well here in the Golden Age… There is nothing, whether in their culture, their faith or their politics, that stands in their way.”
Canadians, too, need to stand up for science. The Conference Board of Canada gives us a “C” for the number of university students studying science, math, computer studies and engineering, just 21.2 per cent, compared with Finland at 32 per cent, and Germany, 30 per cent. Women especially are underrepresented in engineering and computer science. The Conference Board also hands us a “C” for business i nnovation, urging companies to invest more in innovation, R& D, and commercialization of new ideas. Canada’s resource- heavy economy will see no renaissance without more science and discovery. The U. S. doubles down on innovation As head of the U. S. delegation, Stefan Selig, under Secretary for international trade, delivered a rousing defence of the need for innovation in both business and government. “Government will be judged by how well it enables its citizens to achieve the gains posed by the i nnovation economy,” he said.
For example, the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services now has its own venture capital fund. It hands out innovation awards and supports entrepreneur-in- residence and innovator-in- residence programs. It’s also developing models for rapid testing of new service and payment solutions.
Canadian entrepreneurs offer endless solutions for boosting the efficiency and effectiveness of institutions and other businesses, and must insist customers, and especially governments, adopt more i nnovation-friendly cultures and purchasing policies. The world is a better place Last year, the rate of extreme poverty around the globe dipped below 10 per cent for the first time ever, Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, said. “This is tremendous progress. In the past 15 years, one billion people have been lifted out of poverty.”
This should remind Canadian entrepreneurs that around the world, their prospect list continues to grow. Emerging economies and middle classes want what the West has, and need the products and services you create. Seek out Export Development Canada and Global Affairs Canada ( the new name for the international trade ministry). Join trade groups and international chambers of commerce. Talk to business colleagues about how they assess new export markets. The competition is fierce, but the rewards are huge.
In light of the conflict in the Middle East, Kim feels an urgency to act that could also inspire entrepreneurs preparing to go global: “This is a time for urgent and positive action. There is such a thing as being too late.”
SCIENCE WASN’T A CONSTRUCT OF THE WEST, EVER.