A NEW consortium that aims to address the poor record of growth and survival among [South Africa’s] small businesses, particularly black-owned start-ups, will be launched early in the new year. Innovation has often been described as a key measure of economic development. Scientific and innovation-based output is an important part of the Department of Science and Technology’s 10-year innovation plan, which aims to develop SA’s knowledge economy and boost economic competitiveness and job creation. Rest
UAB already has transformed metro Birmingham. The world-class medical center draws in hundreds of millions of dollars of research money each year to aid its quest to find cures for cancer, AIDS and other diseases. It is the workplace for more than 21,000. It treats Alabama’s sick and provides a home for art and culture in the city. It is also the lifeline for a region that is struggling, providing the region and the state a key to the new knowledge economy. Rest
The [new $45M Brown University] medical school has brought some 400 students and 50 faculty members to the Knowledge District. Combined with the jobs promised by Hasbro and 38 Studios, and employees who work for existing companies in the area, new “knowledge economy” jobs in Providence number more than 1,000. To foster more jobs, a group overseeing the growth of the knowledge economy, the Innovation Providence Implementation Council, has awarded $410,000 in seed money to companies, institutions and individuals in the areas of health care, technology, research and design, alternative energy and work force development. The grants are financed by sources including foundations, the chamber and the United States Economic Development Administration. Full NY Times article