In The Nature of Economies, the renowned urbanist Jane Jacobs emphasizes that both ecosystems and economies share many universal qualities and consequently recommends biomimicry as a technique for urban economic optimization. Biomimicry, the gleaning of design inspirations from nature, has been championed by many, but most notably by Janine Benyus of the Biomimicry Institute. While frequently utilized by new inventions and technologies, it is also very relevant for systems design, and it appears to be a key factor behind the evolution towards “innovation ecosystems” theory.
The recent whitepaper and book of venture capitalist and innovation consultant Victor W. Hwang analyzes Silicon Valley as an ecosystem in order to identify systemic attributes that facilitate intense levels of innovation. If those attributes exist in a place, then that place can be termed an innovation ecosystem, or “Rainforest” as Hwang conveniently prefers.
Contrasting with earlier theorists’ focus on system organization and structure, Hwang suggests that innovation is not a known product that can be farmed, but instead is more like a weed that springs up in the presence of creative chaos. To foster innovation, districts should “run operations like a rainforest, not controlling the specific processes but instead helping to set the right environmental variables that foster the unpredictable creation of new weeds. While plants are harvested most efficiently on farms, weeds sprout best in Rainforests." So what are those key variables that make Rainforests work? “Diversity of talents, trust across social barriers, motivations that rise above short-term rationality, and social norms that promote rapid, promiscuous collaboration and experimentation among individuals. This is the culture of the Rainforest."
Hwang’s examination of these key variables relates primarily to culture and this results in a set of prescribed behavioral norms or “rainforest rules” for fostering innovation. While this is helpful, it fails to recognize the latent potential of the built environment to help optimize those key variables that lead to invention. Corporations that recognize this potential and choose to locate in optimal urban environments will hold a competitive advantage in a new economy increasingly dependent on innovation.