In the August 2, 2004 Issue:

Copyright State Science & Technology Institute 2004. Redistribution to all others interested in tech-based economic development is strongly encouraged — please cite the State Science & Technology Institute whenever portions are reproduced or redirected.

Subscription to the SSTI Weekly Digest is free. If you are reading a forwarded copy of this issue and would like to receive your own copy each week directly, please subscribe at http://www.ssti.org/Digest/digform.htm. Requests to unsubscribe also may be completed at http://www.ssti.org/Digest/digform.htm.

Special Digest Issue Offers A Sneak Peek at SSTI's 8th Annual Conference
One word sums up today's efforts to build tech-based economies: challenging. A restructuring manufacturing base, revolutionary scientific breakthroughs, China and Inda heralding a truly global economy, and tight budgets have left many states and communities simply reacting to change or waiting for better times.

Building Tech-based Economies: Preparing for Tomorrow's Challenges, SSTI's 8th Annual Conference, is designed to help policymakers and practitioners meet these challenges head on. On October 14-15 and with pre-conference workshops on October 13, the nation's most widely respected forum for policymakers and practitioners to work and learn together will convene in Philadelphia. This year's conference promises to be even better than ever for the tech-based economic development (TBED) community. Here are a few examples of why:

We realize, though, that the premiere TBED event of 2004 needs just one more thing to make it perfect: you. Please plan now to join us, your colleagues, old and new friends, in Philadelphia this October. You can register for the conference by going to: http://www.ssti.org/conference04.htm [expired]

return to the top of the page

Full-color Conference Brochure Available for Download
In the coming weeks, many Digest readers will receive the 24-page full color brochure in the mail. If you can't wait until then or want to make sure you get a copy, a PDF version is available for download on our conference website: http://www.ssti.org/conference04.htm [expired]

Feel free to pass the link, PDF or brochure along to all in your state, region or university, that you think may be interested in attending.

return to the top of the page

Agenda Released for Premiere TBED Event of the Year
Slate of 30 breakout sessions SSTI's largest offering yet
The agenda is packed. Packed with great breakout session topics and engaging presenters. With as many as 30 breakout sessions, this year's conference offers something for everyone. The session titles are provided below. Brief descriptions of each topic are presented in the brochure and will be available our conference website:

return to the top of the page

Advanced Sessions, Women's Forum and Best Practices Roundtables Among Conference Innovations
The larger conference structure allows us to experiment with some of the sessions, adding elements to improve the event's value for most participants.

Ready to move up to the next skill level? Try our series of Advanced Sessions
If you've been in the field a while and have attended SSTI's annual conferences in the past, you may be excited to see we've designed eight breakout sessions to address advanced subject matter within the given topics. The presentations and discussions of those topics identified as Advanced in the descriptions will be tailored specifically to participants already comfortable with the terms and issues that tend to arise.

Please note all conference registrants are welcome to attend any of the 30 breakout sessions offered on Thursday and Friday.

Roundtable for Women in TBED
Juggling your travel schedule, the legislative session, your kid’s swim team practice and your aging parents? Have you ever wanted to talk about the challenges you face, but the details are too politically sensitive to share with your neighborhood friends? Do women in TBED have challenges our male colleagues don’t? If so, is there a role for SSTI, perhaps as an informal (or formal) support network of peers? Come share, visit and plan with other TBED women in this roundtable for Women in TBED.

The SSTI Best Practice Series: Three Special Sessions
The most effective long-term programs and policies adapt to changing times, changing needs, and changing challenges. Are your efforts at risk of unknowingly following a path others already have found leads nowhere?

It's hard to believe, but most states have had one sort of tech-based economic development strategy or another in place for 15-20 years. That also means the field now has a cadre of seasoned TBED professionals around the country who have watched, learned and led the evolution of programs and policies to improve their efficiency and impact.

To capture this collective memory of lessons learned, SSTI is preparing a series of guides on best practices for core elements of tech-based economic development — drawing from extensive interviews with more than 50 of the nation's leading practitioners. In three sessions, we'll present our preliminary finding and gather additional input on shaping these guides.

return to the top of the page

Opening Reception Exciting First for SSTI Conference
To get your experience at SSTI's annual conference off on the right foot, the City of Philadelphia proudly invites you to enjoy a private evening at its most beautiful and interesting new cultural center — the National Constitution Center. The evocative museum is the first devoted to one of the most important and innovative documents in world history — the U.S. Constitution.

Whether you're unwinding after one of the four pre-conference options or just arriving in the City of Brotherly Love, the Opening Reception affords a wonderful, relaxed environment to reconnect with colleagues and network with other conference attendees, speakers, as well as Philadelphia's government, academic, and corporate leaders.

The Opening Reception will be held on Oct. 13, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., providing a stimulating setting to open the premier event for the field. Shuttle transportation for conference participants will be available to and from the National Constitution Center and the conference site, the Loews Philadelphia Hotel.

return to the top of the page

Maximize Your Professional Development Dollars with Pre-conference Options
On October 13, SSTI will offer four exciting options as pre-conference activities: three day-long sessions on topics that will help you prepare for tomorrow's challenges and a tour of one of the world's foremost science parks. The sessions are:

Marketing Success: Telling the TBED Story
Successful tech-based economic development organizations (TBED) have three things in common: they do good work, they know they're doing good work through program evaluation and impact assessments, and they make people aware of the good work they’re doing.

This stimulating, day-long workshop goes in-depth into the best way to communicate your success. We’ll consider how to define your audiences, determine what your message is, and then tailor your message to clients, constituents and key decision makers.

Sharing their experiences and offering advice on what to do and pitfalls to avoid, our panels of national leaders have expertise in all aspects of tech-based economic development marketing, including developing a tech image for your community, building support for investing in science and technology in your legislature, and promoting your TBED program.

University City Science Center: An Insider's Tour
SSTI is pleased to offer a behind-the-scenes tour of the first and one of the largest urban science and technology parks in the world — Philadelphia's University City Science Center. In the 40 years since its founding, the Science Center has become an important engine of economic growth for the entire Greater Philadelphia Region and beyond, having helped build over 350 new technology and life science companies.

The half-day tour will allow you access to some of the most technologically-advanced office and lab space in the world, including fully-equipped wet labs and a technology incubator. You will learn best practices on developing a science and technology park as well as a technology incubator from some of the world's leading authorities. They will share their expertise on how to plan for and respond to the ever-changing demands of small and medium-sized technology companies in all industries, from life sciences to nanotechnology.

Don't miss this eye-opening journey into a world-renowned science and technology park that fuses talent, capital and opportunity, providing the environment needed to commercialize promising new technology and innovations.

Transportation will be provided to and from the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, site of SSTI's 8th annual conference.

Developing Angel Organizations: A Practical Guide
Access to capital sources is an essential element for building a tech-based economy and growing thriving businesses. Policymakers and practitioners in many regions worry about how their tech firms will finance growth.

In the meantime, angel investors quietly are providing significant financing of entrepreneurial companies. Experts estimate that, on a cumulative basis, angel investments have been double that of venture capital over the last 30 years. Further, angels are financing start-up and early-stage businesses, filling a void left by VCs. Angels recognize opportunity exists even in a risk-averse market and are putting up their money as proof.

Angels can be found or nurtured anywhere. Or can they? How does a tech start-up find a good angel? How does an angel find a good start-up? How do angels find each other for financing larger opportunities?

Increasingly savvy regions and states have been working with accredited investors to encourage the creation and success of angel investor organizations to help companies tap into angel investments. The number of angel organizations has tripled since 1995. These groups of angel investors are looking for deal flow and can make larger investments by combining their resources. Just as the weather varies across the country, so, too, do the philosophy, the motivations, and the depth of the pockets of its angels. What’s the best way to develop a strong angel investor community in your region?

Presented by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Angel Capital Association, this full-day workshop will focus on the development of angel organizations, including a step-by-step process for determining whether or not your community can support an angel organization and, if it can, the type and structure that is right for the involved investors and your community.

An Introduction to Tech-based Economic Development
Gaining a good understanding of tech-based economic development — the approaches, vital elements, effective strategies, successful programs, proven policies, and important lessons learned from failures — will make your efforts in the field more rewarding.

This full-day interactive workshop is tailored to those professionals new to tech-based economic development. Attendance is always limited to a small group to ensure each participant benefits from the personalized session — walking away afterward with a firm foundation for SSTI's full conference and for their tech-based economic development responsibilities back home.

Engaging, educational and enjoyable, you will discover proven programs and policies for creating technology companies, financing high-tech firms, commercializing technology, and developing productive university-industry partnerships. Attend the session to find out what your peers and colleagues in successful communities and states are doing to build tech-based economies.

return to the top of the page

Bring the Whole Team for Optimal Impact
SSTI annual conferences don't come in a box. We don't publish proceedings or post conference materials. Each year's event is designed as an intensive learning experience; it's about the question and answer, the give and take, the push and pull, the dialogue as much as the individual presentations. You have to be present to win, if learning and growing is winning. We think it is.

We're happy to say we know of multimillion-dollar state science & tech initiatives that have been launched as a direct result of the ideas, the enthusiasm, and the energy that past conferees took home after attending SSTI annual conferences. The key was the dynamic nature of the experience.

Really want to make a difference for your tech-based economic development portfolio? Try to arrange for multiple people to attend from your organization, your board, and your legislative body. Having more than one person attend also means your organization gains better coverage of the entire event. Don't forget to bring the new folks along to get them well grounded for their jobs. Plan a strategic debriefing after the event to incorporate the lessons learned into your programs and policies as efficiently as possible.

Remember, too, that SSTI sponsors and affiliates receive discounted prices on every registration. For more information, visit: http://www.ssti.org/sponsors.htm

return to the top of the page

Airfare War Timely for Making Travel Plans
We couldn't have planned it better! Just as we roll out the materials for Building Tech-based Economies, the airlines launch an airfare war that has dramatically reduced the fares for most folks to fly into Philadelphia. Already one of the most well-served metropolitan areas for air accessibility, Philadelphia has flights arriving from and going to more than 100 domestic and international destinations each day. The price reductions won't last forever SO MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS SOON.

Rail option best yet for SSTI event.
In the heart of the East Coast population corridor, Philadelphia also is one of the most rail-friendly cities in the country. Frequent and fast AMTRAK service makes the city an easy and affordable hop from Baltimore, Washington, New York, Boston and Pittsburgh. Visit http://www.amtrak.com for more information.

return to the top of the page

SSTI Annual Conference Qualifies for CEcD Credit
Need yet another reason why this conference fits your training needs? SSTI’s 8th Annual Conference is recognized by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) as a professional development event that counts toward the recertification of Certified Economic Developers (CEcDs).

CEcDs greatly enhance their skills and marketability by attending the nation’s most comprehensive and intensive learning opportunity for building tech-based economies — SSTI's annual conference!

return to the top of the page

Don't Get Closed Out of the SSTI's 8th Annual Conference
Seattle 2003 Sold Out. Register Early to Ensure a Seat in Philadelphia
We heard from some of you last year about your disappointment and disbelief that you couldn't attend our annual conference in Seattle because it was sold out. It happens with SSTI conferences because our first concern is the quality of the event for our participants.

We feel it's tough to have productive discussions continue and build from breakout session to session or to count on running into the same new friends when you are one of a 1,000 or even 500 registrants. So we limit attendance.

Crowds have their places, like at a college football game, but not where you are trying to learn better ways to build a tech-based economy for your community. Take a minute and register now before it's too late: https://www.ssti.org/Conf04/registration.htm [expired]

return to the top of the page

State Science & Technology Institute
5015 Pine Creek Drive
Westerville, OH  43081
Phone: (614) 901-1690
Fax: (614) 901-1696

© 2004 State Science and Technology Institute. All rights reserved.