Sometimes, it’s those who measure innovation who turn out to be innovators themselves.
Such is the case with the Indiana Business Research Center and its research tool known as Innovation 2.0. Described as a “portal” to various types and amounts of data collected by federal and state sources, Innovation 2.0 offers insight into a region’s potential for innovation and its innovative output.
When using Innovation 2.0, economic development directors can identify innovation-based strengths and weaknesses of a regional economy. In some cases, the data involves foundational elements currently in place for a region to realize innovation-driven growth. In other cases, the data describes to what degree a region is attractive to new talent or businesses — as well as how they stack up in being able to retain existing businesses.
Some areas of exploration within Innovation 2.0 include:
- Human capital and knowledge creation;
- Business dynamics;
- Business profile;
- Employment and productivity;
- Economic well-being;
- Social capital.
The designers of Innovation 2.0 stress that the tool should not be used primarily to attract outside firms, talent and resources — but to identify local sources of innovation as well as ways to bolster them. In their own words: “Encouraging homegrown entrepreneurs with personal commitments to the region … is preferred over attracting talent with minimal personal investment in the region.”
To learn more about Innovation 2.0, read here.
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