Facilitating Innovation in Agricultural Biotechnology : An Examination of the Ag-West Biotech Model, 1989-2004

Abstract

Innovation is more than just science. Innovation encompasses a diversity of disciplines, such as law (patents and freedom to operate), economics (spill-over benefits and returns to investment), political science (government policy and international trade barriers), and psychology (consumer responses). Clearly, the multiple disciplines that can -- and have -- investigated aspects of cycles of innovation or innovation systems indicate that the concept of innovation is extremely broad. This article examines Ag-West Biotech, a non-profit venture funded by the Saskatchewan government. Ag-West Biotech has delivered a wide range of services to the Saskatchewan biotechnology industry by acting as a mediator between business and government, as project facilitator and financier, and by offering visible leadership and direction for the biotechnology sector.