Life on MaRS

The nature of clusters and their impact on innovation is well documented. Proximity of minds and resources breeding collaboration and all that good stuff. A living microcosm of the concept is providing convincing testament everyday at MaRS Discovery District in Toronto. Under one very architecturally impressive roof, MaRS houses a business incubator with fledgling companies (mostly biomed and tech), venture capital firms, and other organizations and resources to nurture the growth of its organizations. (How's that "its" reverend?)

A key part of MaRS is the Collaboration Centre. It's got all of the A/V bells and whistles, but it's the whole notion of the Centre that's most noteworthy. The fact that the minds that got together to create this meca of entrepreneurialism deemed that a well outfitted place for people to meet at the expense of extremely valuable real estate was a necessity is an encouraging thought.

In addition to running a traditional venue/hospitality business, as a part of their mandate, the folks at the Collaboration Centre host events driven by the purpose to create opportunities for their tenants. Networking, education, and other such opportunities. So not only do they use this space as a revenue generator, but they orchestrate gatherings to leverage the power of collaboration to the benefit of MaRS' greater purpose.

How seriously do you consider collaboration opportunities as a part of your business or personal development plans?