Do Dense Districts Breed Innovation?

By Grant Ruffinengo, Strategic Initiatives and Operations Specialist, ONSIDE

If you’re in downtown Halifax and you walk 5-kilometres in any direction, you’ll find three universities, 2,000 companies both small & large, 200+ startups and scale-ups, and a slew of different incubators and accelerators.

In Cape Breton, a network of physical spaces is being developed in different communities across the highlands, so each community can have a maker space, crafting space, or a coworking space that best serves its needs.

Rural communities in Nova Scotia are supported by the NSCC, which aims to create a network of rural hubs housed within NSCC campuses and are curated alongside programming offered within the community’s NSCC.

All of these things happening in Nova Scotia, are examples of Innovation Districts in action.

Innovation Districts, by the Brookings Institute’s definition, are geographic areas where leading-edge anchor institutions and companies cluster and connect with start-ups, business incubators and accelerators.

The idea of having a small geographic area densely populated with all the needed pillars for a high-functioning ecosystem is what drives innovation. Then, by focusing the efforts of a district on an industry or vertical that it is already skilled at, you have a relatively small area punching far above its weight and contributing huge things to the greater economy.

The Global Institute of Innovation Districts defines the main pillars that contribute to the development of a successful innovation districts as:

●      Anchor institutions, such as advanced research universities and medical centers.

○    Institutions should contribute an abundance of proprietary research that could potentially be taken to market.

●      Local, state, regional, and, increasingly, national governments.

○    Governments make forward-thinking policy decisions that create a sustainable environment for innovation, and innovation that is inclusive for all.

●      Community, civic, workforce development, and local-serving not-for-profit organizations

○    Training continuously up-skills workers to contribute to a fast-paced and adaptive work atmosphere

●      Anchor and growth companies, particularly those with research and development strengths.

○    Corporates that have a problem and are willing to pay for innovative solutions to those problems.

●      Start-ups, spin-offs, and scale-ups, which are increasingly eager to be engaged in the development of districts

○    Entrepreneurs provide insight to ensure that the innovation district is continuing to support and nurture entrepreneurship.

●      Master developers and major land owners

○    Developers are needed to ensure that human-scale elements remain within the district such as affordability, diversity and vibrancy.

●      Venture Capitalists and other investors

○    Investment is paramount to ensuring a healthy innovation district, so that entrepreneurs can get the capital needed to scale their solutions

●      The growing number of intermediaries that work across actors or sectors

○    Intermediaries work across sectors and verticals to ensure collaboration and coordination is happening amongst the organizations within the district

In Nova Scotia, the Innovation District that most closely aligns with Brookfields’ 12 Principles guiding Innovation Districts is housed in Halifax. 

However, one of Nova Scotia’s biggest challenges (and one of Canada’s as a whole) is the sparsity of its population. Which is why the Cape Breton and Rural Innovation Districts have adjusted the model to fit and better serve their context.

Innovation Hubs follow relatively the same principles as Innovation Districts, however they are better-suited to address the need within a local rural community and operate with a more scaled-down approach, as described by the Aspen Institute.

Critically, the most important element to foster either a good Innovation District, or Hub, is placemaking. Placemaking is the opportunity for planners and innovators to run free with their creative mind to connect people to place and ensure spaces are best-designed to serve the entrepreneurial community that surrounds it.

At ONSIDE, we believe Innovation Districts have critical roles to play in Nova Scotia’s momentum towards a more innovative and solution-driven economy. We encourage you to get involved with your Innovation District and see how you can start your entrepreneurial journey!