As Robertson (2005) shows, governments like Canada’s have followed OECD encouragements
to develop policies that promote the capacity to learn, to use tacit (know-how)
knowledge to transform codified knowledge, and how to use and innovate with technology.
The focus has been on defining knowledge for knowledge capitalism, determining the
critical conditions for the production of knowledge and particularly innovation, and
increasing capacity in technology to enable that process. As Wolfe points out, ‘‘universities
fulfill at least two essential roles in the knowledge-based economy—the performance of
research and the training of highly qualified personnel’’ (Wolfe 2005, p. 169). This
discourse was clearly evident in Canada’s Innovation Strategy, premised on the belief that,