Lighting the Way Knowledge Assessment in Prince Edward Island (1999) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 35-50
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From page 35... ...
On the other hand, a feeling that there is a present need for new initiatives motivated the proposals made here. It is possible that if in fact there had been an earlier similar initiative, it was not demonstrably effective.
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From page 36... ...
CLIMATE FOR THE NEW ECONOMY The experience of successful centers of enterprise creation like Silicon Valley has led many jurisdictions to create business incubators and development centers to try to duplicate that environment. However, the specific issues that arose in the virtual case studies did not lend themselves to remedy through incubators, and we hesitate to recommend such initiatives.
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From page 37... ...
This is an experimental partnership that includes, among others, Harvard University, the University of Missouri, and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The idea is to build on the competitive advantages inherent in an inner city location to stimulate private enterprise there.
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From page 38... ...
The kinds of program that a CNE would seem uniquely suited to develop include: · encouraging and enabling a dynamic, entrepreneurial culture on the Island through educational programs at the primary and secondary school level; · linking the technology base of PEI, private as well as university, with entrepreneurial courses, if possible at the graduate level, in the universities; · creating effective mentorship for new ventures, in part through expatriate Islanders who might be induced to return, if only briefly; · enabling the wise use of capital resources by both government and private investors, especially for first stage venture investment; and, · providing or arranging for facilities and support for new ventures with the potential for significant growth. This prototype, or one like it, could be used as the point of departure for an Island conference aimed at designing such an institution.
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From page 39... ...
We would propose that such a survey be carried out, and it also explore opportunities or needs for other services that would take advantage of the telecommunications potential of PEI. Distance education, high speed Internet usage, information services, and other unmet and unrealized opportunities should be explored in order to put to work the high powered network that would be the envy of any jurisdiction.
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From page 40... ...
and the Confederation Bridge, which offer significant The Anne-With-An-E Brand Anne of Green Gables is, in the words of Mark Twain, "the dearest. and most loveable child in fiction since the immortal Alice." The book, penned by Prince Edward Island author Lucy Maud Montgomery in 1908, has sold tens of millions of copies world-wide, and been translated into dozens of languages.
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From page 41... ...
We also urge that sufficient flexibility be afforded to the Federal and provincial laboratories to carry out generic technological research to benefit producers on the Island, even where it does not maximize net income. This could be contract research, with appropriate proprietary safeguards, or exploratory research that could benefit classes of enterpnses.
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From page 42... ...
In recent memory, the world has seen devastating disease decimate the swine herds of Taiwan and Haiti, and a retrovirus threatens the poultry industry of North America. Prince Edward Island could offer a resource that would help secure the world's food supply, either as a depository of germ plasm or a facility for reconstituting decimated herds.
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From page 43... ...
Combining technology available from the Belvedere Group of research facilities with the geographic characteristics of the Island could allow ventures to develop that serve commodity production worldwide. Certain strains of animals, such as pigs genetically engineered to provide organs for human organ transplant or blood transfusion, are extremely valuable.
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From page 44... ...
A small number of high quality masters and eventually even doctoral programs in selected fields of particular advantage to PEI, like marine science and engineering, would change the climate of education on the Island. The additional benefit to the local economy would come from the presence of a cadre of research professors and graduate students, available for consultation and employment with local industry.
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From page 45... ...
recovering the lost subjects of an earlier brain drain, who return to their homeland bringing back their education, experience, and resources. Turkey, Peru, Malaysia, and more recently China, provide examples of what can be done through alumni programs, tours of the homeland, and advertising campaigns.
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From page 46... ...
Successful venture financing also requires skill in managing the risks inherent in a new venture and in recognizing the quality of a management team. Those that follow narrow bureaucratic rules or principles are less likely to develop profitable portfolios than those that invest in people, recognizing dynamic leadership, special knowledge, and a skilled and dedicated management team without preconceived ideas about favored sectors, number of jobs generated, or other arbitrary criteria.
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From page 47... ...
Department of Agriculture. It was set up in 1992 as a venture capital firm that makes investments in companies to help commercialize agriculturally based industrial products, non-food and non-feed, from agricultural and forestry materials and animal byproducts.
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From page 48... ...
Here too, success is measured by rate of return to the entire portfolio, and it will be necessary to separate the decision making from political accountability. An independent board of directors with known skills and with absolute discretion to select recipients according to broad economic criteria will lead to better decision making and insulate the government from charges of favoritism or responsibility for losses.
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From page 49... ...
This would be principally a social equity program, but its popularity may help build support for a larger venture capital facility. Other first stage financing facilities can be organized by the private sector.
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From page 50... ...
Several of the virtual case studies have resulted in deals, prospectuses, even recruitment of management teams, and some of the vanguard enterprises may one day become real enterprises. The process of gathering interested, informed, and energetic people in a structured exercise has proved catalytic, and in one form or another should be continued.
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