Waterloo ranks among North America's most innovative

New data show that Waterloo ON is one of the most innovative regions in North America. Analysis of R&D spending and US patents granted show that Waterloo had an R&D to GDP ratio of 2.7% in 2005, compared to the Canadian average of 2.0%, 2.4% in Ontario and 2.6% in the US. Private sector R&D accounted for $347 million or 1.7% of GDP. The region also scored high for patents granted, with 631 per million residents, far higher than Ontario (181) and Canada (148). On a North American level, Waterloo was surpassed by only a few innovative states: California (725), Massachusetts (682) and Minnesota (656). Waterloo-based Research in Motion Ltd is the single largest source of regional patents. The analysis was conducted by Community Benchmarks of Waterloo on behalf of Canada's Technology Triangle Inc….