Comments on: Innovation Taskforce Appointed

By: The Irish Economy » Blog Archive » Innovation Taskforce Report Released

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:06:39 +0000

[...] report, a summary and a video featuring lots of people telling us how cool innovation is). I was critical of the composition of the taskforce when it was appointed but, rather than fire off knee-jerk [...]

By: Brendan K O'Rourke

Brendan K O'Rourke — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 11:05:33 +0000

I agree that the utopia of the smart economy is a bit of a joke. However, often the opposite argument seems to be a rather Luddite one that says ‘let’s not waste money on this learning lark, only a few of us are fit for it, better to be realistic get back to 1970 participation rates and know our place ‘. Even if it were desirable to freeze learning I have little doubts that with or without Ireland’s participation much of what employs our people will be done cheaper better faster and with fewer people in 10 years time, so we’ll be left with the ‘residual’ part of the workforce in any case. The smart economy talk at least the virtue of vision for what might be done with what today is left as a ‘residual’ section of the labour force.

In my view Karl Whelan’s link to Lester’s thoughts on some of the myths and realities of a university role in the economy is well-worth reading. So thanks @Karl Whelan.

By: The Irish Economy » Blog Archive » Some More Contributions to Innovation Debate

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:06:50 +0000

[...] supplement had a useful article discussing the economist-free Innovation Task Force that I mentioned last [...]

By: Frank Devitt

Frank Devitt — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:17:08 +0000

Karl, I agree. The make-up of the Taskforce does indeed cause concern that an understanding of what business innovation is really about has not yet been grasped, viz. it decidedly is NOT primarily about research or science or technology. It is well proven that the quantity of business innovation stemming directly from public S&T research is “vanisingly small” (Erik Arnold, Technopolis, UK). This is well supported by others, e.g. Nathan Rosenberg, Amar Bhide, etc.
It is a shame that these plain facts are enduringly ignored, despite having an inexorable logic as well as supporting data from many economists (e.g. Jordan & O’Leary, UCC).
DCU’s president’s blog, referred to above by Mark Dowling, discusses a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Science of last Thursday week (18th June). Unfortunately, that blog comment refers only to SFI’s contribution. It doesn’t refer to the contribution of myself or Sean McNulty, where we argued (cogently and convincingly, I think) that S&T research is far less than half of what contributes to business innovation in practice and our innovation policy, being thus incomplete, is therefore wasteful.
You can see the full transcript here (5 pages): http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=EDJ20090618.XML&Ex=All&Page=1
and presentations here: http://www.oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp?fn=/documents/Committees30thDail/J-EducationScience/Presentations/document1.htm

By: Brian Woods

Brian Woods — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:21:09 +0000

@ Brian Lucy. Yes!

This idea about a ’smart’ economy is harebrained. Not because of the basic principle, but the dopey assumptions about the manner in which it will operate. A ’smart’ economy needs few ‘workers’ - so what happens to the residuals?

Anyway, there are so many A-list persons on the group that it will be unworkable. Now if Cowen had chosen only five - you might just have got a result.

Brian P

Innos;

More trees - thousands of hectares of them (broadleaf and fruit bearing)
More clean fresh water - clean up the pollution - inland fisheries
Electrified rail transport - re-lay track on some of the old permanent ways - circumnavigate the island with a heavy-rail track - tire, not spokes!
Update the major internal waterways for commercial traffic
Farming without commercial inorganic fertilizers - different crop varieties - phase out grazing and switch to tillage - horses!
Clustering of habitations - re-locate 50% of population from eastern corridor to a southern corridor

Add you idea! - rule out nothing until you run it through your head for a while - you never know what might pop-up!

bpw

By: Mark Dowling

Mark Dowling — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:22:02 +0000

this blog post may be of interest:
http://universitydiary.wordpress.com/2009/06/28/debating-innovation/

By: Brian Lucey

Brian Lucey — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:11:37 +0000

If were moving to a smart economy does that mean we had a dumb one?

By: George

George — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:35:15 +0000

@Antoin Didn’t you know that ‘the green economy is the smart economy’? If he says that on the radio once more…

By: Ronnie O'Toole

Ronnie O'Toole — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:30:29 +0000

The one promise made in the Smart economy document which alone (if followed through) would make the document worthwhile is:

“We will publish a whole-of-Government response to recommendations contained in reports of the Competition Authority within nine months of their publication;”

Or put another way:

“We won’t just put competition authority recommendations on the shelf as we have in the past, and we will actively consider them, and give considered reasons for any recommendation we chose not to implement.”

By: Antoin O Lachtnain

Antoin O Lachtnain — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:59:22 +0000

On the RTE radio news bulletin at 8am, the newsreader referred to ‘the so-called smart economy’. I laughed and laughed.

By: Conor

Conor — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:29:27 +0000

The second I saw this list alarm bells started to ring. I agree completely with Michael, nobody will go against the grain here and if they do we wont know about it. To many connections.

The team should be more academic and research based. No need for corporate (well at least not as many) heads on this board.

By: Cowen appoints economy taskforce - Page 2 - Politics.ie

Cowen appoints economy taskforce - Page 2 - Politics.ie — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:57:09 +0000

[...] Cowen appointing, a force tasked to be smart? How about Cowen appointing an economic task force that does not contain a single economist? More cause for despair: Cowen announces appointment of 28-strong insider-dominated Irish [...]

By: Enda

Enda — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:34:09 +0000

Sure what advice could a macroeconomist provide that Mary Coughlan couldn’t?

The failure of this government to look at TFP in any meaningful way is disheartening. €1240m on agriculture and €6m on competition policy.

By: Michael Hennigan - Finfacts

Michael Hennigan - Finfacts — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:59:51 +0000

This 28-strong group is dominated by insiders including the hired gun of the universities lobby group.

Who of the insiders is going to object to the gravy train?

Enterprise Ireland claims a survival rate for Irish university spinouts over the past 10 years is 90%.

The claim is ludicrous when compared with US data.

I understand the UCD/TCD alliance was stitched together without Professor Mark Keane, the Vice President for Innovation at UCD being consulted.

http://www.finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews/article_1017028.shtml