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A Canadian Agora for Bio-Sciences - Founding Ideas

Copyright 1998 by Arupa Tesolin - Intuita, amended from my strategic planning document with support and guidance by Dr. Rolf Wasen, Consulting Engineer, Agora for Advanced Industrial Applications and Bionics, Sigtuna, Sweden.  For general information ognly.  

Agora means -  "a meeting place of the minds"

Purpose: To promote creativity, interdisciplinary exchange and development for individuals in the fields of Science and Technology

Introduction:  A new Agora initiative is proposed to explore as well as cultivate the knowledge which
has been suppressed by existing barriers in today's business world. The fertile environment of an Agora (which means "meeting place of the minds") for new ideas along with a carefully-developed process of business discipline intends to commercialize upon new methods of interaction which promotes creativity, interdisciplinary exchange and development for individuals in the fields of Science and Technology. 

It’s principal aim will be to couple a learning and innovation renaissance in science and technology with a proven process of business structure and discipline which effectively leads to the commercialization of new products. There are no bounds to those who may participate, as creativity will not necessarily be based on academia or industry. 

One of the founding principles is to enable creative minds to have access to continued learning at the leading edge of scientific development and to be able to engage in trans-disciplinary projects in completely new areas of knowledge-based research. The Agora would also support the ability of industrial scientific professionals to pursue their own special interests and projects which may lie outside the business interests of their organization. 

Creative inspiration and support for a Canadian Agora has been given by Dr. Rolf Wasen of Sweden who is involved in one of two Agoras under development in Sweden (one in Sigtuna focused on biosystems and the other in Vadstena focused on advance industrial applications and bionics) that are in the early implementation stages and can provide experience sharing and collaboration. In 1996 the Sigtuna group hosted an international conference to study the way viruses pack their tails during replication which involved a collaboration among scientists, biologists, chemists and mathematicians.

Inspiration, founded on knowledge, can reshape the landscape of our world. But, without structure, inspiration (as ideas or concepts) cannot take a useful shape. Without discipline, the time and energy given to developing good ideas or concepts will not be efficient or profitable, nor will it realize its maximum growth potential. 


Driving Values: 
well-being for the world microcosm
concern for future generations
advancement of human health potential

Driving Needs:
need to provide solutions for human/health challenges
creating sustainable environmental/human futures 

Mission
The mission of the Agora is to create a new frontier of science which combines
emerging insights and discoveries in science and technology. It is intended to
cross-fertilize the creative thinking abundant in our world with well-educated
engineers/scientists resulting in technological breakthroughs necessary for the
Canadian industry to remain competitive in the global marketplace and, more
importantly, to create a better world to live in. 

Background
Creative advancement for individuals in the fields of science and engineering have intrinsic
limits in both academia and in industry. These limits are created by known realities in both
areas; in industry limits are imposed by particular business interests of the employer; in
academia, by research grants awarded to favored areas and the need to fulfill an academic
workload. There is a third source of knowledge, however, which is largely neglected by
society. Many entrepreneurs, inventors and experienced "people of the trade" are ignored
for their ability to create new ideas and find ways to make them work. Quite often,
industry pillages the individual of creativity, inducing a barrier of mistrust. 

In all cases the interests and choices of the creative minds, professionals or otherwise, are
compromised in some way. The basic choice is remain working in a non-stimulating
industry office, develop pure research at a university, or build inventions in basements.
There are few bridges to tie these resources together and make the best of an individual's
experience and maturity. This compromise impacts negatively on potential innovation by
restraining the pursuit of unique individual interests once such a person enters the
industry. Such individual pursuits would likely lead to new breakthroughs and inventions.
The innovation culture that currently predominates in industry is adaptive because needs
are generally business-driven rather than research-driven. A very large untapped
opportunity exists here! 

Engineers and scientists in industry need to work on projects which are based upon
personal inspiration to maintain enthusiasm as well as an edge in their profession while
continuing to evolve in professional knowledge and applied research. Many such creative
professionals are restrained by static organizational cultures that value generic
management skills over the specialized skills and needs of professionals. Indeed it is not
uncommon for such professionals to be faced with the choice of continuing as a manager
or continuing in their chosen profession; a dilemma, and potential loss for science and
technology for the years invested in the profession. Many others become overspecialized
in a particular area and underdeveloped in the field as a whole. Without a significant
opportunity to impact this there is a danger that they could become overspecialized and
technically obsolete. It is a fact of life that most organizations now do little to minimize
the chances of this happening and it does happen. 

In order to maintain the true spirit of an Agora, it must exist as an autonomous structure
outside the control of, but with the support of both industry and academia. The autonomy
itself would maximize creative benefits for engineers and scientists as well as creating
potential innovation for both industry and education.

Strategic Plan
The strategic plan for collaboration and technology transfer that supports this mission
recognizes that academia and creative (inventive) thinking are different cultures. Unique
breakthroughs are most prevalent when a bridge exists between the two. The Agora acts
as such a bridge, focusing the activities of a diverse group of creative individuals in a
research and education arena that has the support and guidance of industry. In this way
focus is maintained on key barrier issues which limit the progress of industry. It’s principal
aim will be to support a learning and innovation renaissance in science and technology
disciplines leading to potential new products, ideas, and projects. 

The goals of a Canadian Agora program should:
Establish new partnerships amongst innovative minds, university research and industry.
Transfer technology to industry that will increase its competitiveness in the global
marketplace.
Create new breakthroughs and hence, new industries in the emerging convergence of
physics and biology needed for changing global needs of the third millennium.
Enable study and dialogue around world class theory, implications for science and
technology and applications.
Reward ongoing efforts of development of new applications and ideas.
Strengthen the growing awareness of moral and ethical issues in the development of
new science.
Encourage and enable professionals who participate in projects and/or develop
technology products to be fairly compensated in relation to their contribution.
Provide a professional support network of a cross-disciplinary nature.
Advise on priorities and key learning areas of continuing engineering and scientific
education.
Promote meetings which are conducive to an idea exchange.
Be the "voice" for Canadian engineers, scientists, and others to advise on issues of
importance.

Evolution of the Strategic Plan 
The strategic plan for developing this industrial base is to offer industries:
an infrastructure capable of adapting to a new paradigm in learning (learning
encompasses artificial intelligence)
opportunities to participate and co-develop innovative technology
a new approach in the dissemination of knowledge
ready access to innovative minds, early stage research and development
the ability to explore new concepts of sharing wealth

Phase 1
First, when the Agora is created, it is important to establish an industrial base that will
provide the structure for industrial collaboration. Four market sectors will be targeted for
Agora membership: 

(1) medical materials, devices and systems companies, 
(2) biotechnology companies, 
(3) imaging and opto-electronics companies, and 
(4) environmental systems companies. 

During this phase, domains of core research will be specified and organized amongst
Agora members. In addition to these research domains, corporate research labs will
identify possible spins on product development. This should also create opportunities for
universities to become involved in research activities usually done by the corporate labs. 

Therefore, activities in this phase of the strategic plan will include:
identifying outlines for research projects with industry, 
acquiring Agora resources and materials necessary to support research projects, 
establish linkages with scientists from around the world, and 

The Agora program will initially open the door for small businesses/innovative minds to
global research and development and to speed the conversion of their research findings
into commercial products. Along with establishing an industrial base, the Agora will
identify areas of applied research which will lead to the definition of project outlines. 

Phase 2
Having established a base of industrial support for the Agora it may be necessary to
introduce commercialization processes, which will provide a new discipline and structure
for initiating projects, demonstrating the value added collaboration between the Agora and
industry. Early collaboration ensures that the Agora pursues fertile technical areas, defines
required performance expectations, and develops a sense of industry ownership of the new
technology. Ideas and concepts are screened, which includes a preliminary market study.
Having passed minimum acceptable criteria, viable projects are then defined and
supported.

Projects, as well as participants will be determined by way of periodic competitions. The
competition enables the Agora to select innovative small companies (under 20 employees)
or individuals, along with universities and industry, the opportunity to test high-risk
theories and develop innovative technologies. Each year, new areas that require innovative
solutions to their technological problems will be identified. 

In addition to the knowledge gained in each project, an Agora award should be a powerful
leveraging tool to attract other sources of funding. Participation in an Agora project
should significantly enhance a small company's credibility and position in the global
community. For the larger industrial members, it adds to their creativity.

Based upon the successes of the projects undertaken to this point, an educational program
will be setup for new participants to follow as well as for the promotion of the Agora in
new parts of the world. The educational program can be multidimensional, ranging from
practical demonstrations of new technology to network conferencing. The main purpose
of establishing a format for education is to: (1) expand the paradigm of new learning, (2)
promote the Agora, 3.) provide opportunities for creative/scientific teams to meet and
network 4.) merge leading edge theory with industrial project opportunities.

Proposed Activities: 

Meetings, dialogues, networking, cross-disciplinary collaboration, project identification, resource linkages, identification of potential project partners, identify potential funding sources, conferences.

Proposed Activities of the Agora:
To promote meetings and idea exchange.
To enable study and dialogue around world class theory, implications for science and technology and applications
To provide a new focus in conceptual thinking and development of creativity and innovation in science and technology
To provide educational development in needed areas.
To provide fertile ground for the development of new applications and ideas.
To provide a growing awareness of moral and ethical issues in the development of new science.
To provide a voice for engineers, scientists, and others to advise on issues of importance.
To enable professionals who develop products and projects to be fairly compensated in relation to its’ value.
To provide a professional support network of a cross-disciplinary nature
To advise on priorities and key learning areas of continuing engineering and scientific education                                    

Arupa Tesolin is founder of Intuita, a Canadian learning company that offers corporate innovation workshops and general business training via your desktop through Intuita’s On-Line Learning Institute. Arupa is an International Correspondent for Training & Management Magazine, published nationally in India.  She is the creator of "The Intuita 3-MINUTE SOLUTIONSTM" for intuitive intelligence, innovation, visioning, and stress, a recognized author of numerous international articles on intuition and innovation in business, a trainer, speaker and consultant. Contact her at 905.271.7272, www.intuita.com or email.