Oct 5, 2026 · 35 min · 10 segments
*What turns a collection of institutions into an innovation ecosystem?* In this episode, **John Howard**, Visiting Professor at UTS and Leader of the Acton Institute for Policy Research and…
I wonder, just listening to your story, I was wondering, I hear two things there, which is one is, in certain cases, setting up maybe external entities.
So not necessarily trying to do it from within the existing organizations, but building external entities.
Is that a crucial element to it? If it's the vice chancellor of a university or someone in government spotting that opportunity, would you define it as crucial in building an innovation ecosystem? Or could it also come from the ground up by smaller maybe initiatives?
I think the book looks at it from the top down and the role of MIT, for example, in moving the Kendall Square ecosystem forward, combined with the Cambridge City Council and the Cambridge Development Authority.
So that ensured that the purpose was made clear and that there were outcomes that could be delivered.
So it wasn't just a matter of providing money for buildings, it was a matter of supporting the development of an ecosystem.
But in terms of your question, I've got to ask, for what are the incentives and what are the drivers for the bottom-up initiatives of people wanting to get together to achieve an outcome? And I say that carefully, that an ecosystem is really about outcomes.
But at the end of the day, and I suppose I say this as an economist, that there has to be something of value delivered at the end.
Well, not necessarily at the end, but delivered as an outcome, not just simply a series of outputs.
So where's the value creation? And some would say it's a number of jobs created, the investment attracted.
And there's a thinking about that's becoming as important as productivity, if you like, in driving innovation, innovation policy and innovation strategy.
It makes me wonder, how do we measure it? Because often when I read these reports of innovation ecosystems or sometimes just of anchor institutions such as universities, you got these really economic impact reports that say that they've contributed so many millions or billions to the regional or national or global economy.
And Always makes me wonder, I've never gone through the exercise, but I reckon that if I'd add all those reports together, they're probably more than a national GDP.
Or for example, in Australia, adding all the impact reports together of some of these ecosystems.
I wonder, just listening to your story, I was wondering, I hear two things there, which is one is, in certain cases, setting up maybe external entities.
So not necessarily trying to do it from within the existing organizations, but building external entities.
Is that a crucial element to it? If it's the vice chancellor of a university or someone in government spotting that opportunity, would you define it as crucial in building an innovation ecosystem? Or could it also come from the ground up by smaller maybe initiatives?
I think the book looks at it from the top down and the role of MIT, for example, in moving the Kendall Square ecosystem forward, combined with the Cambridge City Council and the Cambridge Development Authority.
So that ensured that the purpose was made clear and that there were outcomes that could be delivered.
So it wasn't just a matter of providing money for buildings, it was a matter of supporting the development of an ecosystem.
But in terms of your question, I've got to ask, for what are the incentives and what are the drivers for the bottom-up initiatives of people wanting to get together to achieve an outcome? And I say that carefully, that an ecosystem is really about outcomes.
But at the end of the day, and I suppose I say this as an economist, that there has to be something of value delivered at the end.
Well, not necessarily at the end, but delivered as an outcome, not just simply a series of outputs.
So where's the value creation? And some would say it's a number of jobs created, the investment attracted.
And there's a thinking about that's becoming as important as productivity, if you like, in driving innovation, innovation policy and innovation strategy.
It makes me wonder, how do we measure it? Because often when I read these reports of innovation ecosystems or sometimes just of anchor institutions such as universities, you got these really economic impact reports that say that they've contributed so many millions or billions to the regional or national or global economy.
And Always makes me wonder, I've never gone through the exercise, but I reckon that if I'd add all those reports together, they're probably more than a national GDP.
Or for example, in Australia, adding all the impact reports together of some of these ecosystems.
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