Announcements

Richard Florida becomes TheAtlantic.com's Newest Correspondent

May 4
April 20

Creativity Killed the Recession blog features Dr. Kevin Stolarick in a 4-part series.

Who's Your City, Canada?

April 14

The Canadian edition of Who’s Your City? How the Creative Economy is Making Where to Live the Most Important Decision of your Life is now available in bookstores and online at Indigo.ca and Amazon.ca.

Who’s Your City, Canada? Find out with our Place Finder.

MPI to offer course on Creativity & Business in Fall 2009

March 25

How can companies and other organizations tap into and enhance the creative potential of their employees? To explore this question and others, the Martin Prosperity Institute is pleased to announce a new Fall 2009 course called Creativity & Business in collaboration with Queen’s University and the University of Waterloo. The interdisciplinary course will draw on insights from many fields – management, economics, geography, urban planning, sociology, philosophy, and the arts – to explore the multi-faceted relationship between creativity and business. It will focus on the following key elements:

  • Talent & Skills
  • Tolerance & Diversity
  • Technology & Innovation
  • Amenities, Benefits & Workspace
  • Prosperity & the Multiple Bottom Line
  • Managing Creativity in Challenging Times

Instructors will be Kevin Stolarick, Betsy Donald, and Tara Vinodrai. Richard Florida will participate in several class discussions. Students will attend most classes at their registered school, but some weeks the class will travel, both to its partner campuses and to visit businesses that do an exceptional job of harnessing creativity. A fee will be assessed to cover group travel costs.

This is a seminar-style course and space is extremely limited. Students must be eligible to register for graduate courses at either the University of Toronto, Queen’s University or the University of Waterloo. If you’re interested in taking the class, please send a two-paragraph note describing your academic background and reasons for interest in the course to info@martinprosperity.org by July 31, 2009. This deadline may be different at our partner schools – please contact your school’s instructor for details.

Syllabi for related courses offered by the MPI in the past (PDFs): Winter 2008 | Fall 2008

MPI experts to participate in TVO’s AgendaCamp Waterloo on the Innovation Economy

March 24

Research Director Kevin Stolarick and Research Associates Patrick Adler, Scott Pennington and Ronnie Sanders are participating in the Waterloo edition of TVOntario’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin‘s AgendaCamp series. Expert guests and concerned citizens will debate the issues facing Ontario’s innovation economy on Sunday, March 29 from 9:30am to 4:30pm at the Davis Centre, 200 University Avenue West, University of Waterloo.

Director Richard Florida will be a guest on the televised component of AgendaCamp along with Research in Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie, broadcasting live on Monday, March 30 at 8 pm on TVO.

Learn more about how to attend in person or join in online via the AgendaCamp website and contribute to the TV program’s schedule on the AgendaCamp wiki’s open source TV production page.

Call for Post-Doctoral Fellowship applications

February 23

The Martin Prosperity Institute welcomes interested scholars to apply for its upcoming one-year Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship, commencing September 2009. One or more positions are available.

Applicants should have relevant research experience and hold, or obtain shortly, a PhD in business, economics, geography or a related field. Positions will be filled based on candidate qualifications and research interests. Preference will be given to outstanding candidates whose research interests best complement the Institute’s current research.

This position will be filled for a one-year term (either academic or calendar is negotiable) and holds the possibility of renewal for one additional year. Applications must be received by May 31, 2009.

Detailed information for applicants (PDF)

MPI Post-Doctoral Fellow to present at International Population Conference

February 20

MPI Post-Doctoral Fellow Karen King will be presenting her paper entitled “Technology, talent and tolerance and internal migration: Evidence from the 2001 Census of Canada” at the 26th International Population Conference 26th International Population Conference in Marrakech, Morocco to be held from 27 September to 2 October 2009.

Martin Prosperity Institute releases report on Ontario in the Creative Age

February 5

In the 2008 Ontario budget, the Ontario Government asked Roger Martin, Dean of the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and Richard Florida, Director of the Rotman School’s Martin Prosperity Institute to “undertake a study of the changing composition of Ontario’s economy and workforce, examine historical changes and projected future trends affecting Ontario, and provide recommendations to the Province for ensuring that Ontario’s economy and people remain globally competitive and prosperous.” The first report in this program of research has now been released. Read Ontario in the Creative Age

Toronto's DiverseCity fellowship seeks emerging city builders

January 5

The DiverseCity project to build a more diverse leadership in the Greater Toronto Area is inviting applications to its nine-month Fellows program. The initiative aims to turn those with a track record of leadership in work, volunteer, academic or community life into leaders at building a better, stronger Toronto region.

Bulletin on employment trends in different categories of jobs

December 10

As part of our new Insights series of bulletins, we’ve released a brief summary of how economic turbulence affects different categories of jobs: Economic Pain Not Spread Equally. This issue is part of our research project for the government of Ontario, Ontario in the Creative Age.

MPI releases Report on Cultural Funding in Toronto

November 20

Research Director Kevin Stolarick presented the report, entitled Funding to Arts and Cultural Organizations by the City of Toronto, 1990-2008, to the City of Toronto’s Economic Development Committee today. The study, co-authored by research assistant Andrew Bell and Dr. Stolarick, benchmarks Toronto’s level of cultural funding. It also notes that the city can leverage its current cultural capital by building on its inclusive nature and existing brand strengths.

MPI experts appear on TVOntario's The Agenda

October 19

Research Director Kevin Stolarick and Executive Director James Milway are participating in the Windsor edition of The Agenda‘s AgendaCamp series. Host Steve Paikin, expert guests, and concerned citizens are workshopping the issues facing Ontario’s manufacturing economy.

Participants are using tools like Flickr, Twitter, and YouTube to build an interactive wiki about Ontario’s economy. Watch the live broadcast on Monday, October 20th at 8 pm on TVO and live streaming on tvo.org.

Upcoming lecture by expert on American voting patterns

October 7

On October 21, the MPI and the Centre for the Study of the United States present a free lecture by Andrew Gelman on “Why Americans Vote the Way They Do”.

New paper on the Creative Class and China

October 6

Creative China? The University, Human Capital and the Creative Class in Chinese Regional Development is co-authored by Richard Florida, Charlotta Mellander, and Haifeng Qian.

MPI Director rebuts Globe & Mail column

October 1

On his Creative Class Exchange blog, Richard Florida responds to criticism from columnist Neil Reynolds.

MPI’s Kevin Stolarick to appear at conference for LGBT students

September 25

The 2nd annual Out on Bay Street Conference & Career Fair is organized by students of Ontario universities to bring the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) business leaders of tomorrow together with corporate Canada. On Friday, October 3, MPI Research Director Kevin Stolarick will participate in a panel discussion on the topic “It’s OK to be Out on Bay Street”. On Saturday, October 4, Kevin will lead a workshop on The Impacts of Gay/Lesbian Populations on Regional Prosperity.

October conference on modelling the urban economy

September 12

MPI announces the City as System conference, taking place October 9 -11 in Toronto. Details

MPI wins 3-year research grant to study "creative food" economy

August 25

MPI affiliate Betsy Donald of Queen’s University and MPI directors Richard Florida and Kevin Stolarick have won a prestigious Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Business, Finance and Management research grant. Their research will explore the “creative food” economy – specialty, organic, and ethnic foods – and how cultural shifts and changes in consumer demand affect the social dynamics and economic development of urban centres.

Also collaborating on the project are Drs. Alison Blay-Palmer of Wilfred Laurier University and Yolande Chan, Director, Monieson Centre, Queen’s School of Business. The research grant is for $87,000 and runs for 3 years, 2008-2011. Further details are available in this research summary.

This research is related to the MPI’s Creative Industries and the Creative Economy project.

MPI to offer Rotman MBA course in Winter 2009 term

August 15

The Creative Regional Strategies course will provide a background in traditional economic development thinking, as well as the theory and practice of economic development in today’s “supply-side” Creative Economy. Course fact sheet

MPI to offer joint course with Queen's University in Fall 2008 term

August 1

The Creative Economies course will draw on literature from geography, management, and urban planning to explore current theoretical and policy debates on aspects of the creative economy that challenge thinking around ideas of culture, technology, talent, class, diversity, production, manufacturing, services, and land use, among others. While international in scope, special attention will be paid to Ontario examples with designated field trips to creative firms and places in the region. Draft course outline

Marisol D’Andrea joins the MPI

July 28

The MPI welcomes Marisol D’Andrea to the position of Assistant to the Director. She brings extensive communications experience to the MPI and will be responsible for managing Richard Florida’s calendar, planning events, and handling media relations. In her spare time, Marisol enjoys painting with acrylics.

MPI publishes new paper on regional development

July 21

Inside the Black Box of Regional Development – Human Capital, the Creative Class and Tolerance, a joint paper by Richard Florida, Charlotta Mellander and Kevin Stolarick, has been published in the Journal of Economic Geography.

Dr. Karen King and Dr. Katherine Richardson join the MPI

July 10

The Martin Prosperity Institute is excited to welcome our first postdoctoral researchers, Dr. Katherine Richardson and Dr. Karen King. Dr. Richardson joins us from the University of British Columbia where she completed her PhD in Urban Economics. Her research specializes in the migratory patterns of the creative class. Dr. King joins us from McMaster University, where she completed her PhD in Geography. Before attending McMaster, Dr. King received her MA in Economics from the University of Toronto. Her research interests include migration, immigration and aging.

MPI launches new website

July 9

We have expanded our presence on the web from the Rotman site to the stand-alone website you are viewing right now. Expect frequent updates and improvements to this site. It is a key part of our strategy for sharing our work with the world. If you notice any technical problems, we encourage you to tell us.

Scott Pennington joins the MPI

July 7

Scott Pennington has joined the Institute after finishing his M.Sc.Pl. at the University of Toronto’s Department of Geography and Planning. Scott’s research focuses on the role of innovation and entrepreneurship in regional economic development.

Creative Economy conference begins

June 24

The Experience the Creative Economy conference kicks off at the MPI headquarters in Toronto’s MaRS Centre. The conference brings together twenty-two leading researchers of the creative economy for three days of discussion, debate, and networking.

Jason Rentfrow in town

May 31

The psychologist and contributor to Who’s Your City is in Toronto to attend the Thinking about Thinking conference and meet with MPI staff members.

Way to go Kim!

May 22

MPI Executive Assistant Kimberly Ryan completes the Ottawa Half Marathon in a time of 2 hours and 7 minutes.

James Milway joins the MPI

May 20

James Milway is appointed the Executive Director of the Martin Prosperity Institute. Jim brings more than thirty years of business and public policy experience to the Institute. He will continue to serve as Executive Director of the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity, an independent think tank with a mandate to measure and monitor Ontario and Canada’s competitiveness and prosperity.

David Smith to run The Ontario Project

May 12

The MPI’s newest staff member, David R. Smith, has been hired to manage the year-long Ontario in the Creative Age project.

MPI to study Future Prosperity of Ontario

March 26

In the 2008 Ontario budget, the Martin Prosperity Institute has been tasked with producing a report on the future prosperity of the province. The project, dubbed Ontario in the Creative Age, is set to deliver a final report in February 2009.

Toronto Mayor Unveils plan for Prosperity

January 16

Mayor of Toronto David Miller and members of the Mayor’s Economic Competitiveness Advisory Committee today unveiled the Agenda for Prosperity, a report that presents an achievable vision for growing the city’s long-term prosperity.

MPI releases "Economic Pain Not Spread Equally"

December 31

Our new issue of Insights, Economic Pain Not Spread Equally, examines how changes in unemployment affect different categories of jobs. The research is part of our Ontario in the Creative Age project for the province of Ontario.

Upcoming Events

Experience the Creative Economy 2009

June 23-25, 2009

Experience the Creative Economy 2009 is designed to promote the exchange of ideas and methods, giving feedback to participants on their current research areas through group discussion. Researchers will explore the creative economy at a multi-dimensional level, focusing on theory, empirical methods, and practical applications.

Download the conference announcement

Download the conference programme

2009 Creative Places & Spaces Conference

Creative Places + Spaces: The Collaborative City

Dates: October 28-30, 2009
Location: Toronto
Topic: The Collaborative City

Past events

MPI in the Media

Business Week

June 9, 2009

Why Certain Cities Attract Gen Ys
by Richard Florida

Richard Florida becomes TheAtlantic.com's Newest Correspondent

May 4, 2009

Zawya

April 29, 2009

Global City’s inaugural Middle East edition ends on successful note

Ottawa Tech Watch

April 29, 2009

Ottawa a “hot spring” of innovation

MaRS Blog

April 28, 2009

Ontario competes, but has room to grow

Breakfast Television Toronto

April 28, 2009

Who’s Your City!

The Vancouver Sun

April 27, 2009

Time for Vancouver to get aboard Obama’s Cascadia Express

The Record

April 25, 2009

Region suffers from ‘brain drain’

The Financial Times

April 25, 2009

Diamond in the rust

Florida Weekly

April 23, 2009

Creative minds will gather at EDC’s next Project Innovation program

Winnipeg Free Press

April 23, 2009

Chamber touts our strengths

National Public Radio (NPR)

April 22, 2009

Scholar: It’s Time For The Post-Automotive Era

The Bracebridge Examiner

April 22, 2009

Arts council receives $40,000 grant for arts-in-education program

Las Vegas Review Journal

April 21, 2009

Economic downturn called opportunity to modernize

The New York Times

April 21, 2009

Minority Rules: Sex Ratios and Suffrage

The Times Online

April 20, 2009

Move house and join your favourite cluster

April 20, 2009

Creativity Killed the Recession blog features Dr. Kevin Stolarick in a 4-part series.

The Times Online

April 19, 2009

Mapped out: Britain’s personality clusters

The Daily Gleaner

April 17, 2009

Another laurel for Fredericton

The Guelph Mercury

April 17, 2009

Urban guru ranks Guelph among top 10 in Canada

Ottawa Business Journal

April 16, 2009

Ottawa-Gatineau tops in list of favourite cities to live

The Ottawa Citizen

April 15, 2009

Ottawa: It’s Canada’s Most Creative Place

The Ottawa Citizen

April 15, 2009

Canada must seize the advantage

Media Mosaique

April 15, 2009

Ils sont plus scolarisés que les Canadiens de souche

The Globe and Mail

April 13, 2009

Will stimulus debts spur an effective fix?

The Globe and Mail

April 10, 2009

The creative compact

Canadian Business Online

March 30, 2009

Urban Living: Home, sweet home by Chet Wesley

National Post

March 10, 2009

National Post columnist Jonathan Kay calls Richard Florida “the world’s most influential living urban theorist”.

MPI's Marisol D'Andrea interviewed by University of Toronto's The Bulletin

March 10, 2009

In recognition of International Women’s Day, The Bulletin interviews Marisol on Achieving Gender Equity, and features her paintings.

Las Vegas Sun

March 6, 2009

Planning guru Richard Florida holds out some hope for Vegas

CBC's The Hour

March 4, 2009

Richard Florida on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos.

CBC Sunday

March 1, 2009

The Atlantic

March 1, 2009

How the Crash Will Reshape America, by Richard Florida.

Le Soleil

February 22, 2009

CBC News

February 20, 2009

Chatham Daily News

February 7, 2009

The Record

February 7, 2009

Stratford Beacon Herald

February 7, 2009

Work smarter, not harder by Laura Cudworth

London Free Press

February 7, 2009

Opinion Point of View: To be economic leader, we have to get to work by Paul Berton

Toronto Star

February 7, 2009

Toronto Star

February 7, 2009

Globe and Mail

February 6, 2009

Help Begins at Home by Paulette Bourgeois

Globe and Mail

February 6, 2009

Factories and farms by John Meyer

Ottawa Citizen

February 6, 2009

Toronto Sun

February 6, 2009

Toronto Star

February 6, 2009

Toronto Star

February 6, 2009

Hamilton Spectator

February 5, 2009

Toronto Star

February 5, 2009

Globe and Mail

February 5, 2009

Globe and Mail

February 5, 2009

Globe and Mail

February 5, 2009

Toronto Star

February 5, 2009

‘Creative’ economy touted for Ontario by Sandro Contenta and Robert Benzie

London Free Press

February 5, 2009

Presenting the Ontario in the Creative Age report to Michael Bryant, Ontario Minister of Economic Development

February 5, 2009

Video of the presentation of The Ontario in the Creative Age report to Minister of Economic Development, Michael Bryant, with Dr. Richard Florida and Dean Roger Martin. Recorded at the Economic Club of Toronto.

Le Blogue de Chantal Hébert

February 5, 2009

Toronto Star

February 4, 2009

Report urges ‘creativity-oriented economy’ for Ontario by Sandro Contenta

Toronto Sun

February 4, 2009

Invest in Creativity: Report by Antonella Artuso

CBC Radio One's Metro Morning

January 7, 2009

Toronto in the future – Matt Galloway speaks with Richard Florida

BBC Radio

January 4, 2009

Changing Places – Peter Day speaks with Richard Florida

Globe and Mail

December 27, 2008

New York Times

December 26, 2008

Toronto Star

December 20, 2008

Toronto Star

December 14, 2008

Financial Times

December 13, 2008

Live, work, shop by Tracey Taylor

Globe & Mail

November 24, 2008

Where a recession will hurt the most by Richard Florida and James Milway

Forbes.com

November 5, 2008

Globe and Mail

November 1, 2008

Barrie Advance.com

October 29, 2008

The Gazette

October 24, 2008

The Sudbury Star

October 14, 2008

ZDnet Blogs

October 13, 2008

The Mercury News

October 13, 2008

Tribune

October 8, 2008

The Globe and Mail

October 4, 2008

The Telegraph Journal

October 2, 2008

Terre Haute Tribune-Star

August 22, 2008

National Post

August 2, 2008

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

July 1, 2008

New Brunswick Telegraph Journal

June 26, 2008

Victoria Times Colonist

June 24, 2008

The Chronicle Herald (Halifax)

June 9, 2008

Cities that act attract young people by Peter Moorhouse & Cheryl Stewart

Vancouver Sun

June 6, 2008

The Oregonian

June 5, 2008

The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington)

June 5, 2008

Ottawa Citizen

June 3, 2008

Calgary Herald

May 13, 2008

Pittsburgh City Paper

May 8, 2008

The Hamilton Spectator

May 2, 2008

The Age (Australia)

April 19, 2008

Soul and the City by Larissa Dubecki

National Post

April 12, 2008

Who’s His Lady? by Shinan Govani

The Wall Street Journal

April 12, 2008

The Rise of the Mega-Region by Richard Florida

Moncton Telegraph Journal

April 11, 2008

Toronto Eye Weekly

April 9, 2008

Richard Florida by Marc Weisblott

Pittsburgh Post Gazette

April 6, 2008

Creative Politics by Richard Florida

Vancouver Sun

April 5, 2008

Washington Post

April 3, 2008

National Post

April 1, 2008

G is for Guru by Jim Sutherland

CBC Radio 1's Here and Now

April 1, 2008

Philadelphia Enquirer

March 30, 2008

The Boston Globe

March 30, 2008

The Hamilton Spectator

March 29, 2008

The Hollywood Reporter

March 25, 2008

Rocky Mountain News

March 22, 2008

Newsweek

March 21, 2008

Financial Times

March 19, 2008

New Brunswick Telegraph Journal

March 19, 2008

globe and mail.com

March 14, 2008

Novae Res Urbis

March 7, 2008

U.S. News and World Report

March 6, 2008

Choosing a Place to Live by Bret Schulte

The Times of India

March 3, 2008

Harvard Business Review

March 1, 2008

Kingston Life

March 1, 2008

Business Edge

February 11, 2008

Toronto Life

February 1, 2008

Business Facilities

February 1, 2008

Ottawa Citizen

February 1, 2008

Raw Thought Power by Ken Gray

Financial Post

January 30, 2008

Toronto Star

January 29, 2008

Somewhere Beyond the Rainbow by San Grewel, Staff Reporter

The Varsity

January 29, 2008

Toronto Star

January 27, 2008

Creating Better McJobs gives food for thought by John Spears, City Hall Bureau

The Bulletin, University of Toronto

January 15, 2008

University of Toronto Magazine

January 1, 2008

Urban Legend by Alec Scott