EDA Journal Vol 12. No.1 Autumn 2019 | Page 16

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY CONDITIONS FOR A LOCAL KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY Reflecting upon what I have written here and gleaned from other sources and research, it is clear that a local knowledge economy is not one- dimensional. That it can be described as a jigsaw puzzle with specific pieces each uniquely important. Three of the pieces are academia, industry and the public sector. A fourth is a governance committee characterised by a forward-looking and collaborative mindset. A fifth piece is a shared understanding and commitment to pursue opportunities in a single sector. The last piece of the jigsaw is for the cluster to be imbued with culture of learning and entrepreneurialism, of the acceptance of what is new, fresh and potentially disruptive. While it will take time to successfully put together this jigsaw puzzle, when it does get going there are observations that can be made to help ensure the ongoing health of your “local knowledge economy cluster”. Through their LEED (Local Economic and Employment Development) program a few years back the OECD published a paper that listed several such observations. This study developed a set of measurements that could be used to understand the performance of “local business clusters in the knowledge economy”. They nominated measurements such as employment growth, increases in firm profitability and viability as well as the age of firms in the cluster. Among the findings were two observations. Firstly, clusters devoted to knowledge-intensive service activities outperform hi-tech manufacturing when it comes to employment growth and economic turnover. Secondly, entrepreneurism (ie. young firms) is linked to growth in both employment and economic turnover. CREATING A LOCAL KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY Thinking about these jigsaw puzzle pieces and what is common among them, one can see that the successful creation of a local knowledge economy cluster does indeed come down to people. It comes down to those willing to champion such an initiative, and those willing to support these champions. There is no set profile for a champion. Referring to the examples used in this article: Bio Turku got started with a property developer, and Silicon Valley had academic John Terman as its primary instigator. In short, it does come down to leadership, to men and women able to see where the possibilities lie. Then, as the vision of the early leader(s) comes into view, people and organisations from each of the components of the Triple Helix need to be gathered. Where the overarching intent is to ensure the three knowledge economy factors and the remaining pieces of the jigsaw are harmoniously unfolding the founding idea. Where the possibilities are found in leveraging the existing strengths, skills and knowledge of your local economy. Where like-minded people and organisations are drawn to the nascent vision. And where structures are put in place to ensure long term success. The creation of a local knowledge economy requires intent. It is built on the long-term effort to harness to potential of the production, distribution and application of knowledge. In this context, relevant are the words of Winston Churchill: “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” REFERENCES Citi-GPS “Technology at work 2.0: The future is not what it used to be”, Oxford Martin School David P, Foray D (1994). “Accessing and expanding the science and technology knowledge base”, DSTI/STP/TIP (94)4, OECD, Paris Moretti, E (2010). “Local Multipliers”, American Economic Review: Papers and proceedings 100, May 2010, pp373-377 Romer P (1986), “Increasing Returns and Long-Run Growth”, The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 94, No. 5 (Oct, 1986), pp. 1002-1037 Ross, A (2018). “The Industries of the Future”, Simon and Schuster, Great Britain Schultz T (1980). “Investing in people: The economics of population quality”, The Royer Lectures, University of California Press, 1981, London Temouri, Y. (2012), “The Cluster Scoreboard: Measuring the Performance of Local Business Clusters in the Knowledge Economy”, OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Working Papers, 2012/13, OECD Publishing. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Paul Tero is currently undertaking the practice-based PhD program at Swinburne University. Where his research is focused on approaches to long term peri-urban outcomes with respect to tradable goods in the knowledge economy (aka “The Industries of the Future”) He holds Masters degrees in Business Administration (Technology Management), International Business, and Strategic Foresight. Aside from the EDA he is a member of the Australian Computer Society, the Association of Professional Futurists, and the Professional Speakers Association. In recent times he held executive roles in local business groups and is well experienced in the education and information technology sectors. He has published a Kindle-based career choices workbook entitled “Jobs. Future. You.” and speaks to business groups, councils and secondary schools about the future of business and of work. He is currently contributing a series of articles exploring aspects of the digital economy on the Association of Professional Futurists web-site (apf.org/blog). Paul can be contacted through his LinkedIn profile (https://www.linkedin. com/in/paultero) VOL.12 NO.1 2019 | 16