According to this survey NZ cities aren’t innovative

London, New York and Tokyo top the 2017 Innovation Cities index. Auckland limps in at a feeble 89. Wellington rates at 108.

The index is released by someone called 2thinknow. No, I’ve never heard of it either. It describes itself as a “global innovation agency”, whatever  that is supposed to mean.

According to 2thinknow the index scores 500 cities using 162 indicators for measuring conditions conducive to creating innovation in a city.

We don't have a nexus in New Zealand

It says the top 50 cities, which includes Sydney and Melbourne, are nexus cities. 2thinknow is based in Melbourne, so there could be a conflict of interest here.

The report's authors days Auckland and Wellington sit in the second, hub, band. Below that are node cities. 

Yes. You’ve guessed it’s all quite meaningless and shouldn’t be taken seriously.

London calling

There are some strange ideas here. The report authors write that London has:

"... a strong view of innovation and focus on observation of democracy, in embracing the results of ‘Brexit’ – showcasing the importance of an orderly acceptance of the results of democratic process, and a new British ‘stiff upper lip’ resilience to unprecedented change.”

We'll see how well that goes. Few observers are as positive about Brexit as 2thinknow.

According to 2thinknow:

"...cities with higher rates of innovation will experience higher economic output, and be perceived as the best destinations to invest in commercial product, service or social innovation without a specific industry focus."

That's quite possibly true and it sounds intuitively correct. Yet often breakthrough innovation comes from left-field. It's hard to nail that down with a few numbers and Excel tables.