Sherbrooke Innopole: building an innovation city

The City of Sherbrooke, in Québec, Canada, is privileged in having two of its science parks as members of the IASP. Capitalizing on these two assets, Sherbrooke Innopole has developed a global economic development strategy where clusters development represents the heart of the said strategy, leading to a shift where science parks are now competing with other areas of the city that include the entire community. The choice of the name Innopole (City of Innovation) perfectly illustrates the mandate given to the Sherbrooke Innopole team: creating a fertile community for innovative entrepreneurship by developing a strategy that addresses the Florida Effect issue while maintaining the necessary shift towards innovation: the rise of a science city. The three main elements of our development strategy are: \n\n- The creation of an environment catalyst of economic growth;  The development of four Key Sectors (clusters); - The achievement of a world-renowned branding. By using a clustering development strategy, the science city concept brings together the advantages of STPs and of a« work, live and play » approach.