Sally Ng: Innovation must be nurtured and developed

New Brunswicks high-tech sector has had many success stories in the last decade but if the province is to create another Radian6 or Q1Labs, then several steps must be taken, according to one start-up adviser.

Sally Ng, the executive director of Planet Hatch in Fredericton, said the province must learn to embrace the digital future, celebrate past successes and learn to leverage, and not duplicate, efforts from around the province.

"Innovation doesnt happen because someone tells you to 'innovate,'" Ng said in a special op-ed written for CBC News.

Its nurtured and developed. Policy can definitely help leverage it, but people need to want it.

Ng pointed to some of the tech industrys most celebrated cases, such as Radian6 and Q1Labs.

She said in 2011, the sale of those two companies alone accounted for $1 billion in acquisitions.

Planet Hatch, an organization that tries to help start-up companies get off the ground, has been in business for one year. Ng said within the companys first year with 11 start-up companies, they have raised more than $1.4 million in private-sector funding.

She said other New Brunswick organizations, such as Propel ICT, have created more than 250 jobs from 2011-2013 among more than 30 new companies.

The election campaign has focused on job creation, primarily in traditional industries.

The Progressive Conservatives have focused their campaign around the development of a shale gas industry in the province.

Brian Gallant's Liberals have used a $900-million infrastructure proposal as a key piece of their proposal to create jobs.

The NDP has long promised to scrap the Department of Economic Development and said it would create a New Jobs Tax Credit.

Creating an innovative environment

Ng said the provincial government could help create an environment that would allow innovative ideas to flourish.

She said the province needs to embrace the digital world. She said steps could be taken to streamline services and push more forms online. But it is also about ensuring citizens are ready for this new economy.

"What if every kid could code? We need to prepare our kids to be ready for the future," she said.

"Coding will be just as important as math in less than 10 years. Lets start early and help kids learn now."

The start-up adviser said the provinces financial situation means it is crucial that work is not being duplicated.

"Lets face it, our province is broke. Moving forward, instead of creating the same thing in every corner of the province, lets build on what already exists and strive to improve it," she said.

"If we continue to have two to three people working for a supporting organizations, we end up duplicating and also diluting the resources by not having a central hub."

As steps are taken to ensure services are not being replicated around the province, Ng said there also has to be the realization that New Brunswick communities are not competing against each other for jobs or services.

"We need to band together and raise the tide together. Were not competing with each other, were competing with the world," she said.