Accelerating Clean Innovation in Canada's Energy and Natural Resource Sectors - the Role of Public Policy and Institutions

1. Knowledge Synthesis Report
Accelerating Clean Innovation in Canada’s Energy and Natural
Resource Sectors – the role of public policy and institutions
Brendan Haley, Stewart Elgie, Geoff McCarney
Research Supported by Canada’s Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council

2. Innovation Perspectives
Innovation
Perspective
Sustainability
Problem
Type of Analysis Climate Policy Implications
Innovation
Pipeline
Market Failures
Trade‐off / optimal policy mix
between demand‐pull and
supply‐push
Promote R&D
Create demand through smart
regulations, carbon pricing
Systems of
Innovation
Systems Failures
Analyze evolution / transition
Technology and sector specific
studies of innovation
processes and structural
barriers
Create protected spaces for new
tech
Promote diversity and
experimentation
Long‐term visions
Evolutionary
Economic
Geography
Regional Lock‐in
Analyze regional assets
Explore interactions within and
between sectors
Promote strategic coupling
between local/global economies
Promote “green linkages” with
traditional sectors
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3. Canada in Global Cleantech Innovation Index (2014)
General
Innovation
Drivers
Emerging
Cleantech
Innovation
Commercialized
Cleantech
Innovation
Cleantech
Specific
Innovation
Drivers
Canada’s
Rank
3 10 14 18
Top 2
Countries
in Index
Sweden/
Switzerland
Israel/
Finland
Denmark/
Brazil
Denmark/
United States
3
(Parad et al. 2014)

4. Canada’s Culture of Entrepreneurship (?)
4

5. Canada in Global Cleantech Innovation Index (2014)
General
Innovation
Drivers
Emerging
Cleantech
Innovation
Commercialized
Cleantech
Innovation
Cleantech
Specific
Innovation
Drivers
Canada’s
Rank
3 10 14 18
Top 2
Countries
in Index
Sweden/
Switzerland
Israel/
Finland
Denmark/
Brazil
Denmark/
United States
5
(Parad et al. 2014)

6. Diagnostic Monitoring
6
SearchSearch
ExperimentExperiment
MonitorMonitorLearnLearn
AdaptAdapt

7. Where are green inter‐sectoral linkages?
7
Forestry
Natural Resource Sectors
Bio‐plastics
Light‐weight
components
MedicineAuto
Oil & Gas
Geology &
Drilling
Project
Management
Geothermal
Large‐scale
off‐grid
renewables
??

8. What institutional structures are required?
▣ Scale‐up support (financing, exports, procurement)
▣ Promoting experimentation and creating options
□ ARPA‐E in US
▣ Intermediary organizations to make connections between
sectors
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9. Further Research
▣ Create better publicly available firm‐level data. To inform
stakeholders and enable evaluation of government
programs
▣ How to make identification of Canadian strengths part of
an ongoing “diagnostic monitoring” process?
▣ Consider public administration challenges of promoting
experimentation/failure and evaluation of “soft” innovation
activities
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10. Thanks!
10
Brendan Haley, PhD
Research Associate
Sustainable Prosperity
bhaley@sustainableprosperity.ca