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G7 Charlevoix Summit

Annex C:
G7 Innovation Ministers' Statement on Stimulating Innovation

G7 Innovation Ministers
Montreal, Canada, March 28, 2018
[Français]

The G7 Ministers of Innovation met in Montréal, Québec on March 27-28, 2018 to further our dialogue and cooperation on approaches to spur innovation and elevate the growth trajectory of our nations. This is our opportunity to deepen collaboration, learn from each other's experiences, and exchange examples of innovation initiatives, case studies, and best practices. To this end, we have identified four interconnected and mutually reinforcing themes to stimulate innovation:

Skills and Talent: The Common Trait of Innovation

Fostering innovation and entrepreneurship requires an emphasis on skills development and training for the labour force of tomorrow. This requires a new mindset of continuous learning which starts in school but also includes continual up-skilling and re-skilling to ensure that our workforce is ready to fill present skills gaps and is able to grow into the jobs of tomorrow.

G7 members shared the following innovation initiatives, case studies, and best practices:

The above demonstrates that G7 countries recognize that education and workforce development must follow the changing needs of industry.

Technologies and Breakthroughs: The Inflection Point of Transformative Capabilities

Scientific discovery and technological breakthroughs are the primary sources for expanding the frontiers of human knowledge and for responding in innovative and practical ways to the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. We need to highlight the importance of transformative technologies to elevate the competitiveness of established and emerging firms, industries, and clusters.

G7 members shared the following innovation initiatives, case studies, and best practices:

G7 countries understand that risk taking can lead to benefits that accrue to all and that assistance should be given to those willing to do the work to turn ideas into the next generation of transformative innovation.

Growing Innovative Companies: A Conduit to Better Jobs

Today's companies are competing in a global marketplace even if they don't realize it. They need tools, supports, and predictable business environments to enable them to invest and rapidly adopt new technologies to remain competitive and grow.

G7 members shared the following innovation initiatives, case studies, and best practices:

G7 countries recognize that SME growth drives prosperity and that the integration of transformative technologies is required across all businesses to maintain competitiveness.

Ease of Doing Business: To Foster Entrepreneurship

Effective policies for innovation rely on a sound business environment that encourages investment in technology and R&D and embolden innovative firms to experiment with new ideas, technologies, and business models without the fear of being stigmatized when experiments don't succeed. It also requires streamlining many of the hurdles that entrepreneurs must navigate in order to free themselves to focus on their goals.

G7 members shared the following innovation initiatives, case studies, and best practices:

Streamlining interactions between businesses and governments to ease burdens is a goal we all share and are taking positive steps to ensure that launching and growing businesses is simplified.

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Source: Official website of the 2018 Canadian G7 Presidency


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