Innovation Incubators Research Articles

The Debt Dilemma: Driver or Brake of Innovation in the EU?

In the current economic environment, the issue of increasing indebtedness is receiving considerable attention. This article delves deeper into a comprehensive analysis of how different forms of debt – from households to corporations to governments – affect innovation performance within the European Union (EU). Since the EU includes 25 different countries, it provides a rich background for this analysis covering the period from 2013 to 2021. By applying regression analysis techniques on a large dataset, this study offers a new insight into the complex relationship between indebtedness and innovation performance. A key part of this analysis is the Global Innovation Index, widely recognized as a metric for evaluating innovation performance among nations. The empirical findings of this study reveal a subtle dynamic: while government debt appears to be a drag on innovation performance, private sector indebtedness, including both households and non-financial institutions, shows a positive effect. This dichotomy underlines the crucial importance of implementing responsible fiscal policies that prioritize the promotion of innovation without jeopardizing financial stability. In addition, the research highlights the importance of fostering collaboration between the public and private sectors, supporting university research, and developing innovation incubators to create a robust innovation environment. In addition, this study not only clarifies the current status, but also identifies areas requiring further research, such as research into other factors influencing the innovation environment. However, it is important to acknowledge the limitations associated with the current understanding of the relationship between debt and innovation. These limitations underscore the need for continued refinement of methodologies and investigation of other factors that may influence this interaction, thereby providing fertile ground for future research efforts. In conclusion, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of how debt dynamics shape innovation outcomes in the EU context.

Regional Resilience Innovation Incubator (NSF)

Regional Resilience Innovation Incubator (NSF)

Impact of Veterans Affairs Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Centers: Incubators of innovation in geriatrics.

Since their inception in 1975, the Department of Veterans Affairs Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Centers (GRECCs) have served as incubators of innovation in geriatrics. Their contributions to the VA mission were last reviewed in 2012. Herein, we describe the continuing impact of GRECCs in research, clinical, and educational areas, focusing on the period between 2018 and 2022. GRECC research spans the continuum from bench to bedside, with a growing research portfolio notable for highly influential publications. GRECC education connects healthcare professions trainees and practicing clinicians, as well as Veterans and their caregivers, to engaging learning experiences. Clinical advancements, including age-friendly care, span the continuum of care and leverage technology to link disparate geographical sites. GRECCs are uniquely positioned to serve older adults given their alignment with the largest integrated health system in the United States and their integration with academic health centers. As such, the GRECCs honor Veterans as they age by building VA capacity to care for the increasing number of aging Veterans seeking care from VA. GRECC advancements also benefit non-VA healthcare systems, their academic affiliates, and non-Veteran older adults. GRECCs make invaluable contributions to advancing geriatric and gerontological science, training healthcare professionals, and developing innovative models of geriatric care.

Understanding the contemporary history of urban economic change: The case of entrepreneurial innovation

AbstractIn the opening decades of the twenty‐first century certain cities around the world emerged as hubs of entrepreneurial innovation. This paper explores this urban economic change phenomenon through in‐depth and comparative qualitative analysis. It focuses on the recent contemporary history of New York, Los Angeles, London, Berlin, Tokyo and Shanghai prior to the global COVID pandemic. Based on an analysis of the drivers, mechanisms and processes of change, it is found that these cities acted as places of possibility for many individuals who previously may have been unlikely to engage in entrepreneurship. The cities were found to have established new development paths through entrepreneurial innovation stemming from co‐creation network dynamics, with key human agents playing pivotal roles. Common elements include the rise of venture capital, the growth of entrepreneurial cultures, and institutional policy changes. Notably, entrepreneurial innovation was found to be closely tied to changes in large corporates. This innovation evolved through the proliferation of new infrastructure such as co‐working spaces and innovation incubators, with each city being utilised as a test‐bed for new ideas. Finally, the emergence of a darker side to entrepreneurial innovation is found in terms of growing urban inequality.

Innovative measurement, trade-off-synergy relationship and influencing factors for agricultural net carbon emissions and effective supply of agricultural products in China

Sensitive zone of global climate change has been formed in China, and it has become a hot topic how can agriculture ensure food security and the supply of important agricultural products while achieving the “Dual Carbon” goal in the country. Based on such background, this paper uses the IPCC carbon emission calculation method, environmental input-output model and economic-water-carbon coefficient method to measure agricultural net carbon emissions, adopts bivariate spatial auto-correlation analysis and SYS-GMM to explore separately the relationship between agricultural net carbon emissions and effective supply of agricultural products, as well as the carbon reduction effect, growth effect and reasonable range of green technology innovation. The results show that: (1) China's agricultural net carbon emissions reveal a spatial distribution of “higher in the east than in the west than in the center” and a temporal characteristic of increasing year by year; China's effective supply of agricultural products shows an increasing trend and a spatial distribution of “higher in the east than in the center than in the west” in 2006–2012 and “higher in the east than in the west than in the center” in 2013–2020. (2) In 2006, 2010, 2015 and 2020, the number of provinces that belong to low-low agglomeration trade-off zone, low-high agglomeration synergy zone, non-significant zone, high-low agglomeration non-trade-off-synergy zone and high-high agglomeration trade-off zone averagely accounted for 12.500 %, 30.000 %, 26.667 %, 9.167 % and 21.667 % of the totality, respectively. (3) The carbon reduction and production growth effects of green technology innovation both show an inverted “U-shape”, and green technology innovation is conducive to both reducing agricultural net carbon emissions and improving supply of agricultural products when it is within a reasonable range of greater than 0.930. (4) Green technology innovation not only has significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity impact, but also exhibits a differential effect on productive agricultural carbon emissions, agricultural trade carbon emissions, agricultural carbon sinks, total output of agricultural products and agricultural net imports in international trade. Therefore, it is proposed that China should establish and improve green technology innovation incubation platforms, guide all participants to ensure the investment and application of green technology products within a reasonable range, formulate and implement regional differential policies and plan in accordance with local conditions, drive ultimately coordinated promotion of agricultural carbon emission reduction and product supply guarantee and lay an important foundation for achieving high-quality economic development and efficient ecological protection.

Navigating Now and Next: Recent Advances and Future Horizons in Robotic Radical Prostatectomy.

Robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) has become the leading approach for radical prostatectomy driven by innovations aimed at improving functional and oncological outcomes. The initial advancement in this field was transperitoneal multiport robotics, which has since undergone numerous technical modifications. These enhancements include the development of extraperitoneal, transperineal, and transvesical approaches to radical prostatectomy, greatly facilitated by the advent of the Single Port (SP) robot. This review offers a comprehensive analysis of these evolving techniques and their impact on RARP. Additionally, we explore the transformative role of artificial intelligence (AI) in digitizing robotic prostatectomy. AI advancements, particularly in automated surgical video analysis using computer vision technology, are unprecedented in their scope. These developments hold the potential to revolutionize surgeon feedback and assessment and transform surgical documentation, and they could lay the groundwork for real-time AI decision support during surgical procedures in the future. Furthermore, we discuss future robotic platforms and their potential to further enhance the field of RARP. Overall, the field of minimally invasive radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer has been an incubator of innovation over the last two decades. This review focuses on some recent developments in robotic prostatectomy, provides an overview of the next frontier in AI innovation during prostate cancer surgery, and highlights novel robotic platforms that may play an increasing role in prostate cancer surgery in the future.

Entrepreneurial Management Structure and Performance of Small and Medium Livestock Enterprises in Kenya

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial management structure and the performance of small and medium livestock farms in Kenya, with a focus on examining the moderating effect of the regulatory framework on this relationship. The study was grounded in key theoretical frameworks, including Joseph Schumpeter’s theory of innovation, Knight’s Uncertainty Bearing theory, McClelland’s theory of motivation, the Resource-Based View theory, and the Neo-Classical Theory of Management (Elton Mayo). These theories provided a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing entrepreneurial success in the livestock sector. A mixed research design was adopted, targeting a population of 500 livestock enterprises in Turkana County. Stratified sampling was employed to ensure representation across different enterprise sizes, resulting in a sample of 196 entrepreneurs. Data was collected using meticulously designed questionnaires, and the validity and reliability of these instruments were confirmed through pilot testing. The analysis revealed that entrepreneurial management structures, when effectively aligned with supportive regulatory frameworks, significantly enhance the performance of small and medium livestock enterprises in Kenya. To further strengthen the livestock sector, the study recommends that SMEs adopt comprehensive strategies, including product diversification, differentiation, cost reduction, and internationalization. Additionally, technological and innovation incubators should play a crucial role in ensuring that new technologies are relevant, compatible, and beneficial to the livestock sector. Government intervention is vital, with the need for incentives to enhance competitiveness, alongside strategies to retain market share in a challenging environment. The study also emphasizes the importance of implementing performance-based reward schemes and continuous managerial training to boost decision-making and enterprise success. Moreover, robust anti-corruption policies and streamlined tax systems are essential to reducing bureaucracy in the livestock value chain. These findings are expected to benefit a wide range of stakeholders, including entrepreneurs, policymakers, implementers, and the broader public, contributing to sustainable growth in the livestock sector.

"Technology is the enabler Enhancing “one team, one record, one number, one fund” and connecting Home Care utilization to outcomes for patients and providers”.

Since 2012, St. Joseph’s Health System has been testing and evaluating Integrated Models of Care while maintaining a focused commitment to spreading and scaling sustainable integrated service delivery and integrated funding models.
 Our collective learnings and expanding partnerships are being celebrated through the creation of the SJHS Centre for Integrated Care. The Centre for Integrated Care, or “CIC”, is an innovation incubator and accelerator powered by the St. Joseph’s Health System (SJHS), the Research Institute of St. Joe's Hamilton, and the partners we work with.
 We believe getting timely and adequate care should be less complicated: fewer steps, less confusion, less wasted effort, more sharing, and more time to spend with people. Integrated care means integrating people who provide care and the systems they use. We prefer practical and simple innovations that fit within existing resources. Our mission is to integrate systems and remove barriers to advance people-centred care.
 Our hub includes patients, families/caregivers, care providers, health care leaders, researchers, educators, and technology experts who are united in one goal: to improve the delivery of health and social services for better outcomes.
 During the presentation we will describe our Integrated Comprehensive Care (ICC) Program for COPD and CHF patients and highlight how the work and in particular the technology, has enabled integration at the micro, meso, and macro levels with a specific focus on equity, access, and provider experience.
 We will touch on learnings from the pandemic and provide a visual representation linking actual volume and type of home care utilization to outcomes both the year prior to the pandemic and two years during the pandemic; Understanding service delivery trends is important to understanding how resources are contributing to an outcome, such as community staffing decisions impacting hospital lengths of stay. Discussion begins with best practice care standards and pathways. Funding constraints are secondary. The ongoing dialogue between and within acute and home and community care serves to educate and adjust practice as the evidence directs. This approach comes from establishing a shared vision, transparency, trust, and hard work upfront when developing programs. As opposed to command and control, it’s a collective goal to provide the best care within the existing resources and be open to shuffling resources, and looking at other ways of delivering care, including the use of technology, to provide services.
 Time permitting, we will engage participants in discussions around how we can collectively advance integrated care and suggest opportunities for moving forward.
 At the end of the day, technology is not the driver in health care. Rather, care is enabled by technology – to support remote access, consistent practice, easily accessible synchronous documentation, ongoing refinement of best practice, and much more. It is essential to the future of health care, meeting client expectations and supporting practitioners to give their best.

Academic entrepreneurship as a source of innovation for sustainable development

The article comprises an analysis of academic entrepreneurship, from the perspective of innovation and sustainability. It aims to identify and assess the innovation and eco-innovation support programs implemented by academics at higher education institutions. The paper presents the typology of innovation and associated concepts, including the notion of innovation for sustainable development (eco-innovation). It also reviews the existing literature in the field of academic entrepreneurship, which is a broad concept, requiring a unique and geographically specific approach. The following research methods were adopted - case study (the subject of the study was the Center for Knowledge and Technology Transfer), based on document analysis, and structured interviews with a purposively selected group of academic innovation developers. The analysis conducted allows a conclusion that one of the main barriers to the implementation of innovation is the lack of adequate funds for research task implementation. The analyzed Innovation Incubator program, despite its significant contribution to the sustainable support of innovation, requires certain changes and improvements to ameliorate the cooperation between the academic circles and business.

ICT Adoption for Sustainable Logistics Development in the HoReCa and Wholesale Sectors

Applying Information and communication technologies (ICT) tools is crucial for businesses to stay competitive and sustainable. The aim of this study is to investigate the attitudes of the Hotel, Restaurant, and Catering sector (HoReCa) and wholesale companies towards using ICT tools to improve B2B communication and drive sustainable development. Through in-depth interviews with representatives from twenty HoReCa firms and seven wholesale suppliers, the ICT tool was found to be well received and could potentially improve the efficiency and sustainability of their cooperation. The hypothesis states that these sectors have significant potential to adopt novel tools to improve communication channels and make their logistics operations more sustainable. As part of the Incubator of Innovation 4.0 project grant at Gdynia Maritime University, a mobile application was developed to support the development of sustainable supply chains that minimize environmental impact, support long-term economic viability, and improve warehouse management and distribution channels for services and goods. This tool could facilitate the streamlining of processes and enable stakeholders to adapt to dynamic changes in the socio-economic environment, ultimately leading to more efficient and flexible operations.

CAS launches the CAS Innovation Incubator

CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society, is inviting applications to its innovator incubator. Launched in October, the CAS Innovation Incubator provides early-stage innovators with access to CAS content and technology, expert advice, and in some cases, financial support. “We set up this new Innovation Incubator at CAS because we want to be true to the ACS vision to improve people’s lives through the transforming power of chemistry and related sciences,” says Michael Dennis, vice president of innovation of CAS. CAS will offer successful applicants access to CAS solutions, such as CAS SciFinder, and CAS technologies, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence software that can predict synthetic routes and mine scientific patents. CAS experts will also offer support in areas such as scientific content management and AI. Applicants should be start-ups or early-stage organizations. Individual entrepreneurs from industry and academia may also be eligible. Applications should be made

Operating efficiency of the innovation ecosystem of college students’ start-ups based on three-stage DEA model

Taking 20 innovation and entrepreneurship bases (college students’ start-ups) in Liaoning Province as the research object, an evaluation indicator system of the operating efficiency of the innovation ecosystem of college students’ start-ups was constructed. The innovation incubation ability and the operating efficiency of the innovation ecosystem of these bases were evaluated using the three-stage DEA model, and the factors affecting the operating efficiency were analyzed. Then, the effects of five environment variables (including the per capita GDP, the business volume of telecommunications service, the number of graduates, the local financial expenditure on science and technology, and the Internet penetration rate, as the explanatory variables) on the operating efficiency of the innovation ecosystem of college students’ start-ups were studied by using efficiency values excluding environment variables and random factors as the explained variables, and five environment variables as the explanatory variables.

Performance management: Learning community, capacity building, and innovation incubator

ABSTRACT In 2009, the Central New York Community Foundation (CNYCF) noticed a need in the community for greater sophistication in the area of data collection and management, with the goal of demonstrating and increasing impact. Federal funding frequently requires proven impact, but across New York State, few organizations can document this at a level that is competitive. To meet this challenge, CNYCF set out to build capacity in our community across a wide variety of nonprofit organizations. In this paper, we chronicle the ten year journey that included the evolution of a performance management learning community and the eventual launch of a community-wide and free data system to foster increased community data capacity.

Universities at the Heart of attractive territories: A Novum Trivium formula in the era of energy consumption optimization

Today, it has become fruitless, reducing the role of the university to its sole mission of education. Undoubtedly, a university is a source of knowledge that acts as an incubator for creativity and innovation; however, more light should be shed on how universities help create a vibrant economy by providing employment opportunities, promoting highquality research, and stimulating investment. In this work, we focus on displaying a new adaptable trinity formula that places the university, with all its missions, in the heart of an attractive territory. It is in this vein that we study the importance of well-choosing the remaining territorial components to be part of the trivium formula. The main aim of the current premise is to highlight the significance of adjusting territorial innovation models, such as business ecosystems of innovation and triple helix models of innovation, in accordance with the weight of keystone components of territory and how they participate in its attractiveness, all of which are orchestrated by universities. The importance of this topic lies in recognizing the potential of universities as accelerators for territorial advancement, including their role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, by acknowledging their many distinct contributions to fostering innovation and protecting the environment. Adopting the trivium formula means providing a blueprint that encourages fortifying links within a territory’s components, thus enhancing relations between universities and other pieces of the territorial development puzzle we built this work upon as a method to understand innovative territories, from green innovation to industrial intelligence.

Innovation and internationalisation in a digital world: the focal role of innovation incubators

Innovation and internationalisation in a digital world: the focal role of innovation incubators

Research on the Measurement of Innovation Efficiency in National High-tech Zones: Based on the Comparison of Three Urban Agglomerations in China

The high-quality development of national high-tech zones is a matter of great concern for both the government and scholars as it serves as an important base for realizing scientific and technological innovation and industrialization of achievements. This paper constructs a conceptual model of the national high-tech zone innovation system by breaking it down into two subsystems: the innovation R&D subsystem and the innovation incubation subsystem. Through the use of a two-phase Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model, the innovation efficiency of each subsystem is measured for the 42 national high-tech zones in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta urban agglomerations. The research conclusion indicates that the majority of the high-tech zones in China are high in both research and development (R&D) efficiency and achievement conversion rate, indicating generally high overall innovation efficiency. However, there is a gap between the three urban agglomerations in terms of innovation resources and transformation environment, with Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei High-tech Zone having low transformation efficiency, and some areas of Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta having low efficiency in technology R&D. Furthermore, the study finds that the innovation modes and paths of high-tech zones within urban agglomerations are quite different in the process of coordinated development of innovation. Therefore, the paper proposes two innovative development paths: the endogenous growth path and the exogenous driving path. The research results provide a tool for more objective evaluation of the innovation efficiency of national high-tech zones in different urban agglomerations in China, and provide a decision-making basis for different regions to implement corresponding innovative development paths.

Operationalizing Academic-Industry Partnerships to Advance Digital Health Equity: Lessons Learned.

Technological innovation can improve health care and population health. However, it is not often designed with public health systems and diverse patients in mind. In 2016, university faculty digital health experts established an innovation incubator in an academic setting based in a public health care system. The incubator conducted projects with a cohort of private technology companies and sparked cross-sector dialogue about digital health equity. The incubator completed rapid-cycle research and evaluation projects with industry and in partnership with publicly insured patients and public health care workers to improve the fit of technology with diverse user needs and preferences. Lessons learned include the importance of an explicit focus on equity, early alignment of expectations, broader investment and communications, and inclusive stakeholder relationships. Partnerships between the digital health industry and public health researchers can bridge the gap between technology offerings and the needs and preferences of publicly insured patients.

Background, Essence and Development Tendency of China-Israel Innovation Cooperation

On March 21st, 2017, China and Israel announced the establishment of "Innovative Comprehensive Partnership", which is a new milestone in the development of bilateral relations between the two countries since the establishment of China and Israel in 1992. In the field of scientific and technological innovation, China and Israel have complementary advantages. China's advantages mainly lie in infrastructure and creative output (such as the technology output), while Israel's advantages lie in system, human capital and research, market maturity and commercial maturity. China-Israel scientific and technological innovation cooperation is mainly reflected in two aspects: the mechanism of innovate cooperation and the level of innovation project. (1) The mechanism of innovate cooperation is led by the China-Israel Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation, and local governments, enterprises and universities actively cooperate to build an Industry-University-Research's innovative ecologically chain; (2) Innovation projects mainly focus on the establishment of international innovation parks and private innovation and venture capital activities. In the future, the two countries should strengthen the mechanism and improve the evaluation in terms of innovation. (1) For the former, the two countries should try their best to attract larger enterprises and scientific research institutes in the province to carry out scientific and technological innovation cooperation with innovative enterprises, scientific research institutes and innovation incubators in Israel. (2) For the latter, for the innovation projects of China and Israel at the government level, an authoritative evaluation and supervision team should be set up on the basis of the China-Israel Innovation Cooperation Joint Committee to conduct a comprehensive investigation and study on the large-scale projects currently cooperating between China and Israel, so as to obtain relevant investigation reports. Although China and Israel have made achievements in the process of building a comprehensive partnership for innovation, they should also be aware of some shortcomings and challenges they are currently facing. (1) The main shortcomings include that there is no scientific and comprehensive evaluation mechanism for innovative enterprises of both sides, and high expense and high risks of the cooperation; (2) The homogenization of Israeli innovative enterprises introduced by local provinces and cities in China is serious, and there is a possibility that different provinces and cities compete for high-quality enterprises to enter the park, resulting in higher introduction costs. Local provinces and cities should be encouraged to discuss and cooperate to reduce the introduction costs; the main challenges are the cultural differences between Chinese and Israeli enterprises and the insufficient protection of intellectual property rights, which leads to the reluctance of some high-quality innovative enterprises to cooperate. Generally speaking, the establishment of an "innovative and comprehensive partnership" between China and Israel has a positive effect on the development of China-Israel relations, conforms to the common interests of both countries, and can effectively promote the exchanges among the governments, enterprises, universities and the public of the two countries, and promote the further development of bilateral relations.

Universities as incubators of innovation: The role of a university playfulness climate in teachers' sustainable teaching innovation

With institutions of higher education recognizing the importance of implementing sustainability education, universities have begun exploring the driving factors of sustainable teaching innovation among higher education faculty. However, the crucial role of higher education faculty in the educational innovation process has been neglected. This study adopted a two-wave tracking survey method, collected 354 valid questionnaires from the university innovation and entrepreneurship education alliance of the eastern coastal provinces of China, and tested the research model using hierarchical regression. The findings indicate that (1) university playfulness climate can predict teachers' sustainable teaching innovation; (2) job engagement positively mediates the relationship between university playfulness climate and sustainable teaching innovation; and (3) the sensitivity of teachers’ teaching and learning positively moderates the effects of university playfulness climate and job engagement on teachers' sustainable teaching innovation. These findings suggest that the role of the university playfulness climate is being considered and may be closely related to university social innovation through teachers' sustainable teaching innovation.

Evolutionary networks of interurban technological collaboration across Chinese city-regions

ABSTRACT Urban agglomeration has the function of being an incubator for innovation. Previous studies have only focused on the output of innovation, ignoring the knowledge cooperation and exchange between cities, which is an important embodiment of the incubation. Compared with scientific cooperation, technical cooperation is more experimental and application oriented, requires more face-to-face communication, and is more sensitive to distance. In this paper co-patent data were selected to show the development and differences of intercity technological cooperation networks within Chinese urban agglomerations. The results show that the technical cooperation network within Chinese urban regions has generally developed rapidly in the past decade, especially those in eastern China, which have become the closest urban regions in China’s technical cooperation.