David Brooks wrote a New York Times column last December about facets of an innovation agenda for economic reform.

Check out the seventh item: encourage regional innovation clusters.

Said Brooks, “Innovation doesn’t happen at the national level. It happens within hot spots — places where hordes of entrepreneurs gather to compete, meet face to face, pollinate ideas. Regional authorities can’t innovate themselves, but they can encourage those who do to cluster.”

It’s interesting to think about this, and other aspects of Brooks’ agenda, in the context of K-12’s innovation zones.

Image: MSNBC