Promoting Innovation Economy

Tomoaki Watanabe (Keio University)2017.01.25.

Slingshot Philippines 2017 Maker EditionJan 25-27, 2017, Cebu, Philippines

About me- Broadband Policies/ Wikipedia/ Creative Commons/ Open Education/ Open Data/ Digital Fabrication/ …

- http://innovation-nippon.jp

- Openness, ICT policies, Information society studies

- Keio University/ GLOCOM/ Creative Commons Japan/ Open Knowledge Japan

Today’s talk1. Concept of Innovation

2. Patterns of Innovation (a general theoretical view)

3. Common bottlenecks for innovation and possible responses

1. Concept of Innovation

Why Innovation Economy?- A source of competitiveness- Not wealth of natural resources- Not wealth of low-cost labor

A common option for economic growth and wealthA major option for high value-added economyAn approach to remain competitive globally (national economy sas well as corporate values)

Broader view of innovation & economy- Innovation is not limited to global competitiveness- Innovation in a broad sense can improve the economy,

any firms or sectors

Major characteristics- Newness- Goodness

A way to improve productivity, which is new to its adopter

Implications: * A practice, product is NOT necessarily effective for everyone * It is NOT necessarily new to everyone* It could be innovation just for one person or a small group

Optional characteristics- Non-obviousness v. known method to productivity gain (e.g. investment into a better well-known machinaries)- Novelty to the society v. immitation of others (cf. diffusion of innovation)- Relation with new technology/ R&D (i.e. innovation via invention) v. productivity gains via branding or division of labor- Disruption v. marginal/ incremental improvement

ProductivityProductivity = Output/ Input

Productivity gains: Efficient production (less waste, lower error rates, fewer people, faster process) More value-added with the same input (time, materials, labor, etc.) Different set of input, different output with higher mkt value

Could FabLabs help innovation?Yes.A FabLab can..1. bring productivity gains for its users.

e.g. mold for candies, package designs (Bohol) 2. help its users innovate for themselves or their customers

e.g. hold workshops and training classesusers create coin case, souvenir robots (Bohol)

Local conditions matter- Availability of low-cost products

(i.e. imported items on the dollar stores)- Level of local users/ businesses in using technologies

(can the Lab and Lab users help them?)- Transportation and information infrastructure

(level of competition with non-local players)

Difficulty of labs in major cities in developed countries

2. Patterns of Innovation (a general theoretical view)

Digital Fab Technologies and InnovationThe digital fabrication technologies are - More affordable than conventional (industry-grade)

counterparts- Easier to use than analogue- Made accessible via FabLabsBroader range of people enabled to get involved into

making

With the new people come new ideas, expertise, knowledge from the ground

FabLab’s contributions- Make the techonlogies accessible

- Physically and skill-wise- Connect people with different backgrounds- Fostering users to Learn, Make, Share

Bring in new elements and foster connections

Specific types of innovation - Open innovation (Chesbrough)- User innovation (Hippel)

Highly relevant to FabLabs and digital fabrication technologies

Open innovation- Corporations may turn to outside parties and resources

for innovation. - Crowdsoursing, strategic partnership, M&A, consortium,

open licensing of internal resources, etc...

- FabLab can foster collaboration & networking through make-a-thons and other events

Local needs can meet local makers

User innovation- Users often innovate by themselves (by alone, by a

group)* Users include corporate as well as individual users.

- FabLab can let companies to meet and interact with users.

- A company can host a FabLab for interaction; a hack-a-thon around their products; a project to develop a new product with users

Peer-based innovation(cf. peer-based social production, by Yochai Benkler)

- Innovation can happen without corporate element

- Some through collaboration (e.g. Wikipedia)- Some through remixing of existing elements (e.g. CC-

licensed photos)

3. Common bottlenecks for innovation and possible responses

Common bottlenecksFabLabs- Resourceful people- Sufficient revenue

Business users- Passionate leader- Skilled participants - business development & product

design- Initial funding

Make-a-thonInviting diverse peopleFoster collaborationMutual learning, better design ideas, networking,

supplying skilled participants

Prototyping as a businessFabLabs (esp. with advanced-level staffs) provide prototyping and small-quantity making

- Versatality and breadth of technological options- Proximity to local businesses - A variety of financial scheme: leasing, revenue-share, retain

rights and sell to different clients, pay-by-equity etc.

Revenue stream for the labInitial boost to business users/ businesses

Resource sharing- Business mentoring- Open data- Discount on rent, telecom, utils. etc. in exchange for name recognition& networking opportunity

Crowdfunding and micro-financingFab projects: small-scale, high-diversity, medium-risk investment = high-cost of reviewing, low-return Lab staff as the first reviewer

Government (financial) support + microfinance org + lab staff= financing scheme for fab projects

Microfinance org may turn to crowdfunding

Recommended for FabLabs- Longer-term make-a-thon- Prototyping- Investment-type revenue model

Recommendations for policy makers- Explore financing schemes (possibly a broader issue than just fab/ maker domain)- Open data- Facilitate resource sharing