SUPPORT FOR DOMINICA
Dominica continues to need support, and you can help.
On September 18th, Dominica was devastated by Hurricane Maria, which hit the island nation as a Category 5 storm. Maria destroyed most of Dominica's buildings, and stripped the Nature Island of its lush rainforests. Two weeks later, the situation on the ground remains difficult. Some parts of Dominica remain uncommunicated, and most of the island is without electricity and running water. The government of Dominica is working around the clock to secure food for its citizens, and to restore basic infrastructure. You can help relief efforts by donating to: 1.) the official donation account of the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica; or 2.) one of several  crowdfunding campaigns on gofundme.com such as the one established by the Dominica American Relief  and Development Association, Inc. (DARDA.org)

Let's all pull together to help our regional neighbours in their time of need.

Click here to Donate to the Government's official donation account 
Click here to Donate to DARDA

Why Every Country, and Especially The Caribbean Needs A Digital Economy Policy


With the world becoming more and more connected, there is a need for a higher percentage of Caribbean firms to take advantage of the transformative digital economy, brought about by this hyper-connectivity. To do so, more firms in the region need to innovate in order to reap the benefits of a globalized, connected world economy.



LEVERAGING THE CREATIVE ECONOMY IN THE CARIBBEAN

The recently concluded Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) held in Barbados, showcased the rich diversity of the Caribbean cultural experience. From folklore to drama, visual and performing arts, the Caribbean boasts a wealth of creative talent. Governments around the region have begun to focus on the cultural and creative industries as the next step in economic development, given global saturation, diversification and at times underperformance of traditional sectors like manufacturing and tourism.


Matteo Grazzi, a Specialist in the Competitiveness and Innovation Division in the Inter-American Development Bank, the link between creativity and innovation and the need for public policy to create an environment for the creative economy to flourish in the Caribbean.

The Orange Economy in Latin American & Caribbean Countries - Public Policies for a Creative Region

Matteo Grazzi, a Specialist in the Competitiveness and Innovation Division in the Inter-American Development Bank, discusses the link between creativity and innovation and the need for public policy to create an environment for the creative economy to flourish in the Caribbean. The full publication on promoting the creative industries in Caribbean can be viewed  here.


WHAT'S HAPPENING...
CALL FOR CLUSTER PROJECTS
Feedback opportunity for your cluster Project Concept Note (PCN) 
from independent consultants!
If you want to receive feedback on the strengths of your proposal before it ' s too late, indicate your interest by email to competecaribbean@iadb.org . A call will be scheduled for you based on the consultant ' s availabilities and you will receive the personal email to send your draft PCN the day before your appointment (at the latest). 

Please note:  Your PCN can be in draft format using bullet points when you send it to the consultant. The consultant will guide you as needed. The more advanced it is however, the more valuable the feedback might be.

This feedback process will not be used by the Investment Panel to select the cluster(s) for funding. The purpose is to increase the overall quality of PCN submitted.

If you are not available for the scheduled call, you must inform  competecaribbean@iadb.org  48hrs in advance to reschedule. If you miss this deadline, you will not receive feedback.

After the call and review of the draft PCN, the consultant will email you a feedback form filled 
with his personal opinion based on his expertise in clustering and understanding of your cluster project.  

Good Luck!
Want to know more about clusters and cluster initiatives? 

FEATURED REPORT:
Robotlution: A new IDB publication on the automation of employment and how it will impact productivity.

Will robotization destroy or displace jobs or will it create new, more sustainable ones? Can technological change play a part in reducing inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean? 

These are some of the key questions that 40 international experts responded to in " Robotlution. The Future of Work in Latin American Integration 4.0 ," a publication that analyzes the automation of work and its impact on the region's production matrix and export model. 
 
Read the full report
OPPORTUNITIES
Seeking Innovative Companies!
Deadline: October 15, 2017


Follow this link to apply for participation in a mentorship and support project that will provide your firm with the opportunity to pitch to a panel of hand-picked investors in your respective industry that can support you in scaling up your innovative venture.
 

More Information on Eligibility: See link above.
 
Aimed at fostering innovation and competitiveness in the Caribbean, the IDB's Technical Cooperation "Regional Entrepreneurial Assets Commercialization Hub (REACH)" under RG-T2536 seeks to assist Caribbean companies in commercializing their intellectual assets. Tambourine Innovation Ventures was competitively selected to execute the project component related to providing mentorship, support, and scale- up to innovative ventures in the creation of viable businesses based on technology commercialization. UWI is the executing agency of the overall REACH program under the auspices and supervision of IDB.
 
Towards that objective TIV is soliciting proposals from high value, competitive ventures to constitute a portfolio ("pipeline") of projects. Our selection criteria are flexible and sector agnostic and the typical parameters such as risk profile, potential returns, investment needs and time frames to achieve positive cash flow will be used. TIV has begun the process of identifying candidate ventures to participate in the project.
 
We look forward to hearing from you! Any questions please contact:
 

Dr. Atul Wad -  atul@tivinc.com
Ravi Gupta -  ravi@tivinc.com
Dr. Lisa Collins -  lisa.collins@post.harvard.edu


Programme Specialist, Head of Section, Science, Culture and Communication (SCC)
The role of the Section Science, Culture and Communication is to develop and maintain international norms and standards, including classifications, and indicator methodologies in the fields of science, culture and communication to ensure the quality of cross-nationally comparable science, culture and communication data collected and disseminated by the Institute.