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Startup Canada, a grassroots non-profit network committed to promoting a vibrant entrepreneurial culture, today unveiled a three-part national Action Plan to drive economic development, job creation and innovation from coast to coast.

The plan is intended to make Canada one of the world’s top entrepreneurial economies, in which job creation and economic growth spring from innovative entrepreneurs powered by supportive local communities and financial networks.

Nine (yes 9!) FounderFuel accelerator alumini startups are headed to the Valley soon to spend 3 months --with free office space-- at either RocketSpace  in San Francisco or Plug and Play Center in Sunnyvale. Ian Jeffrey and his team at Montreal-based FounderFuel worked this out with the Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA), which is part of Canada's Trade Commisioner Service. The deal is that FounderFuel will get to send up to three teams per cohort --but since FounderFuel has already graduated 3 classes, they get to send 3 each from those ones, too. Two of those startups have already made their arrangments: Appifier will be going to RocketSpace in the new year and NoteSolution will be headed to Plug and Play.

WEtech Alliance, a tech accelerator based in Windsor-Essex, has joined the Canadian Digital Media Network (CDMN).

As a member of CDMN, WEtech Alliance will gain exposure for itself and its client companies in domestic and international markets. WEtech will also benefit from having access to services that allow the facility and its clients to leverage regional programming and best practices of other network members.

SparkLabs, a new accelerator based in Seoul, has announced the six startups participating in its first class. From big data to edtech to online gaming, the startups are a diverse group. Some have already raised Series A funding while others need a bit of a boost to get started.

SparkLabs’ 3-month program is geared towards startups in the internet, online gaming, mobile, ecommerce and digital media sectors. Participating startups will get a $25,000 investment and up to $150,000 in additional perks.

This is the final week to apply for the second cohort of Communitech’s HYPERDRIVE program.

Only ten startups will be chosen for the program, which begins with a 3-month “sprint” in Waterloo, followed by a week in New York City to meet with funders, partners and potential customers, as well as $100,000 of in-kind support. HYPERDRIVE also provides access to a network of entrepreneurs, executives-in-residence, angel investors, and VCs for up to 24 months.

Canadian startups in the life sciences, health, IT or green technology sectors, that are looking to secure strategic partnerships, new customers and funding opportunities in the U.S. should consider applying for the Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA) in Boston.

Nick Sturge, who heads the SETsquared incubator at Bristol University, has won the UK Business Incubation (UKBI) organization's "Outstanding Contribution to Business Incubation" award. Sturge has led SETsquared since 2006. The incubator has so far supported 150 companies which have raised more than £75million. The incubator ranks high in the UK startup scene: it won the Best Established Business Incubator  award in 2008. There are currently 60 businesses operating out of the incubator.

Startup Canada has named British Columbia’s Women’s Enterprise Centre as its 2012 Canadian Mentorship Challenge winner. The mentorship challenge was created by Startup Canada to encourage Canadian entrepreneurs and enterprise organizations to help mentor 10,000 Canadians during Global Entrepreneurship Week. The goal was to showcase the value of mentorship in a big way. By all measures, it was a major success with big and small entrepreneurship organizations participating across the country.

It seems there are two kinds of incubators/accelerators out there: those with a broad focus and those with a very narrow focus.

Indiana’s RunUp Labs falls into the second category. The travel technology accelerator helps startups “refine their ideas and focus on applications that enhance and improve the travel experience.”

Here's how they explain it on their website:

A new accelerator has opened its doors in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Blue Startups is the brainchild of video game designer and publisher Henk Rogers (the man who introduced Tetris to the world).

The accelerator, which will officially launch next year, is looking for Internet, software, mobile, gaming and e-commerce companies for its inaugural cohort.

American Underground has opened up a second location in Durham, North Carolina

The new 22,000 sq. ft. building at 201 W. Main Street, to be called Underground @ Main Street, is expected to open in April. It’s just a few blocks from American Underground’s original address in the American Tobacco Historic District (ATHD), called appropriately enough The Underground @ American Tobacco Campus.

Thanks to E.A. Bertram for letting us know about this interactive map for the startup scene in Montreal. We thought our readers would like it, too: http://startupguide.ca/ . She says that every city needs something like this and we agree.

The UK's Birmingham Science Park (BSP) is celebrating its 30th birthday today. [UPDATE: click here to see photos of the big party]. When you consider that 30 years is several lifetimes in tech years, it's truly an accomplishment worth celebrating. What's remarkable is how BSP has stayed close to its high tech and entrepreneurial roots while it grew to be one of the country's leading science parks. Today there will be a huge 'neon-themed' party at BSP with over 350 people attending. To mark this event, The Accelerator Gazette conducted a series of interviews with people in the BSP community. We spoke with Tech-ni-Plant (one of the first tenants), wallFour (one of the newest), and Dr. David Hardman, BSP's Chief Executive Officer. Here's what they had to say about life at BSP.

Fantastic news for Wisconsin’s gener8tor.

Private investors have committed more than $2.5 million to the seven startups in the accelerator’s inaugural class, who graduated back in August.

GrowLab, the Vancouver-based startup accelerator, has announced the five startups participating in its Winter 2012 cohort.

For the next four months, GrowLab’s founders and Executive Director will be mentoring and leveraging their extensive professional network to lead the cohort through an intensive acceleration program.