There is a new buzz word accentuating the Newfoundland and Labrador vocabulary these days. No, it is not surplus! The word is innovation! Another means to an end... or a beginning, I suppose, depending on whether your glass is half empty or half full.
According to the Newfoundland & Labrador government innovation is about change. It is about new ideas, learning to do thing differently, and dealing with familiar situations in a new way.
Innovation is really a catalyst. It has the potential to create and sustain economic activity. But it is only a catalyst - it is only one ingredient in a process. If you don't follow the process and add other ingredients, innovation is worthless. Even if innovation is revolutionary, if we don't have a process to take it to the market, it won't create or sustain a darn thing.
There are many definitions of the word, but a particular apt description, from an educational perspective at least, comes from the Conference Board of Canada (2004) in suggesting that it is “a process through which economic or social value is extracted from knowledge...through the generation, development and implementation of ideas...to produce new or significantly improved products or processes.”. In that context, post-secondary institutions are in position to be fundamentally important in fostering innovative activity in this province.
According to Dr. Robert Gordon, President of Humber College in Toronto, “while few will refute that post-secondary institutions (colleges in particular) play a meaningful role in our society today in both preparing and educating a skilled, competent workforce, not as many would readily acknowledge that colleges serve as a catalytic sounding board to assist economic sectors in achieving positive growth, development and innovative breakthroughs”.
In this province we have the opportunity to create an environment which embraces innovation by cultivating partnerships, by trying new ideas of content and delivery, and by empowering students and staff alike. College of the North Atlantic should be in the forefront of technological advancement and cutting edge learning systems in order to provide its learners with the skills and attitudes that will surely be required in our local and global economy.
I think we would all agree that, today, education is the primary ticket to success, both for individuals and for organizations and the province as a whole. College of the North Atlantic has, to some degree, been training many of tomorrow’s leaders and supporting productive innovations by creating and implementing ideas and knowledge. There is so much more to be done, however!
If any institution wishes to remain relevant in today’s highly competitive world, they must accept that standing still is not an option. Nor will the current government support indefinitely any institution which does not seem to be providing what the new economy requires. With the right measures in place, including visionary leadership, policies and funding, and strong partnerships throughout the province much can be achieved in the months and years ahead.
At the very least, according to Gordon, “it is incumbent upon our colleges to implement sustainable improvements in curriculum, efficiency and productivity, and to instill a consistent commitment to embrace leading edge educational practices and ideas as a vital component of the lives of everyone in their institutions. Not to do so will mean the college has failed in their mission, and, worse, could seriously diminish their relevance to tomorrow’s society”.
Many community colleges throughout North America have gone beyond traditional education and training to play an important role in support of local social and economic development. They are strengthening the foundation for development in their communities and regions by building capacity, promoting regional cooperation, supporting small business initiatives and through innovation.
Rebuilding devastated communities and revitalizing the regional economy(s) of Newfoundland and Labrador has already proven to be a daunting and difficult task. In addition, the complex arena of competitive players - government, regional economic development boards, municipalities, the university, the college, and others - has not made the process any easier. It takes more than good intentions to rebuild an economy, especially in places that have lost their traditional job base and have no obvious prospects for the future.
To survive, and more importantly, to flourish, those communities and regions must develop a new economic core based on distinctive assets that can make them competitive in the larger economy. This requires insight and vision that goes well beyond the traditional community economic development work of recruiting a plant to fill a vacant building.
A new consciousness normally precedes change and that has not yet been fully realized in Newfoundland and Labrador. Attempting to revitalize our rural economy through a myriad of haphazard social and economic development initiatives simply does not work. Broken economies and shattered communities are evidence of this!
Exposure to new and innovative ideas and a raised awareness of a community’s need for new direction is an essential first step in the development process. Providing learning opportunities that both expand a community’s vision and dispenses concrete knowledge of successful practices is absolutely essential. This crucial first step cannot be left to chance, or assimilated in a piecemeal fashion, or undertaken by ill-prepared government agencies, or coordinated by a weak-kneed public post-secondary education system.
Luckily, I think, the current administration gets the picture! Let’s hope it is not too little, too late, for rural regions of the province.
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