Assets in the innovation-based economic development model include the human, intellectual, financial, physical and institutional capital resident in a region. The asset base incorporates many common criteria for corporate location decisions, such as availability of skilled labor, the quality of transportation infrastructure, cost of doing business, and proximity to customers. Assets also include many other factors that are not as widely measured, but are important to innovation. These include research and development investment, technology transfer, and entrepreneurship support programs.
The major types of assets that should be included in the mapping exercise are listed below. Select from the links below to view a detailed explanation of metrics and sources.
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