SSTI Webinars are a great way to keep up on the major issues and initiatives impacting technology-based economic development. The live interactive webinars provide a convenient and cost-effective platform to learn about new approaches and tools that can help you in your work. This informative and educational webinar series is hosted by SSTI staff, thought leaders and colleagues from around the country with relevant experience and knowledge.
WHAT TO EXPECT
- In-depth examinations of current state and regional approaches to financing startup companies, crowdfunding and commercializing university research, among others;
- Strategies for successful economic transformation through intelligent, strategic investments in tech-based economic development; and,
- Stimulating dialogue and thought-provoking exchange among your peers from across the country.
June Webinar:
Staying Ahead of the Crowd: Crowdfunding Strategies for TodayThursday, June 20, 2013, 3:00 PM ET
While others are waiting on the sideline for the Securities and Exchange Commission to release equity-based crowdfunding regulations, several states and regions already have tapped into the potential of the crowd to support potential high-growth startups. With access to crowdfunding, entrepreneurs are able to gain access to new streams of capital and gauge market demand. Our panel will discuss the results of these early experiments in crowdfunding, share some of the lessons they have learned and explore what states and regions can do right now to unleash the potential of this powerful new tool.
Date: Thursday, June 20
Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM ET
Location: Online — Gather your
colleagues around the conference table or log on from your comfy
couch at home
Cost: $49 member, $69 non-members
Registration Deadline: Thursday, June 20 12:00 PM ET
Spots fill up quickly! Members can attend a minimum of one webinar for FREE. Contact Noelle at sheets@ssti.org to receive your promo code or become a member.
Audio:
Participants will need to dial into 1-866-740-1260.Web:
Most participants will be able to quickly attend conferences by using ReadyTalk's Flash-based participant application, which requires no download. For the best conference experience, we recommend participants use Flash 9.0.115 or higher. Participants who do not have a compatible version of Flash and cannot install it can join the conference with ReadyTalk's alternative application, which requires Java 1.3.1 or higher.Refund Policy:
Refunds minus a $5.00 processing fee will be given upon written request to sheets@ssti.org if made by the deadline.June Partner Webinar:
Streamline Your Grant & Awards Process: Collect, Organize & Evaluate Applications OnlineRich Fialkoff, vice president of Fluidware, will be speaking about strategies that organizations can employ to significantly increase their productivity, streamline their processes and reduce costs when collecting and reviewing grants applications online with ReviewRoom. ReviewRoom provides a simple, powerful and centralized application management solution, making it easy to manage the entire application process lifecycle. With ReviewRoom, organizations can collect applications, store submission materials, automate repetitive tasks, engage applicants and provide a secure portal for review and evaluation, all in one place. It is the perfect solution for any organization that manages grants or any other application process. ReviewRoom is offering a 10% SSTI Member discount to new clients on their system designed to help organizations collect, manage, store and evaluate online applications and submissions.
Date: Tuesday, June 18
Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM ET
Location: Online — Gather your colleagues
around the conference table or log on from your comfy couch at
home
Cost: No-cost. The webinar is provided by
ReviewRoom.
Registration Deadline: Tuesday, June 8 12:00 PM ET
July Webinars:
Tapping the Innovation Potential of Small Colleges and UniversitiesMajor research universities are an invaluable asset in building thriving high-tech regions, but institutions of all sizes can play a key role in local innovation economies. Our July webinar will feature two successful regional networks connecting smaller colleges and universities to maximize their contribution to the high-tech economy. These networks are promoting inter-institutional collaboration, while also providing entrepreneurs with easy access to research services and commercializable technologies.
Presenters:
- Barb Eccles, Manager, Technology Transfer at Lakehead University
- Jill Edwards, Executive Director, Innovation Transfer Network
Date: Thursday, July 18
Time: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM ET
Location: Online — Gather your
colleagues around the conference table or log on from your comfy
couch at home
Cost: $49 member, $69 non-members
Registration Deadline: Thursday, July 18 12:00 PM ET
Members can attend a minimum of one webinar for FREE. Contact Noelle at sheets@ssti.org to receive your promo code or become a member.
Past Webinars:
Fostering Resilient Energy Clusters
In the face of plummeting conventional energy prices and the rapid acceleration of domestic conventional energy production, government funding for renewable energy development is being slashed across the board and shrinking investment pools. This trend highlights the persistent gaps in regional talent and investment in cities and states that have influenced home-grown energy companies across the country either to stay in their home markets or relocate to Silicon Valley. Daniel Goldfarb, partner at Greenstart, will moderate the discussion. As a partner and the lead on finding new investments at Greenstart, Goldfarb reviews hundreds of companies every year and his writing on renewable energy has been published in the New York Times and the National Journal, among other outlets. Goldfarb will speak to three prime areas of concern for Economic Development professionals related to fostering resilient renewable energy sector clusters in the coming funding fallout: growing / attracting venture capital, providing multiple stages of investment, and providing development services. He will be joined by former clients that chose to stay in their home market to highlight the best practices for cities and regions that want to retain renewable energy sector growth.
Innovative Approaches to Commercializing University Research
When talk turns to harnessing universities as economic engines, policymakers and politicians talk blithely about the need to commercialize university research as if it will just happen magically. So how do you move from the concept to the reality? This month's Inspiring Thought webinar on the third Thursday at 3:00 p.m. EST, February 21, focuses on two programs that have taken innovative approaches to bringing research to the marketplace.
Re-Defining Roles in Innovation Ecosystems
The Great Recession, fiscal austerity, and renewed private interest in regional issues should cause all practitioners and policymakers to pause and ask: what are the new public and private roles in state and regional economic development? Connecticut's approach to that question provides the starting point for a provocative discussion to rethink how we encourage regional innovation – including who has responsibility for what.
Helping Companies Expand: Sources of Late Stage Capital
Most TBED capital programs focus on early stage companies and the "valley of death", but firms also need infusions of capital as they expand toward profitability. Many sources of later stage capital exist, such as bond financing, but are often underutilized by the high-tech companies and the TBED community.
In this webinar, we'll delve into the world of later stage financing, including development finance institutions, banks and federal programs targeted toward manufactures. We will also examine strategies to encourage institutions to lend to cutting-edge companies with capital needs and business structures that do not fit the typical model.
Making Patent Licensing More Affordable: America Invents Act
Pro Bono Programs
It is critical that businesses and inventors are not held back
from growing their business and creating jobs simply because they
do not have the resources to maneuver the patent system.
This webinar will discuss how the Office of Innovation
Development under the U.S. Department of Commerce is working with
local and state IP law associations and nonprofit organizations to
connect inventors and businesses with qualified patent
attorneys. Since the passage of the America Invents Act
last year, three of these programs have been implemented and at
least thirteen additional programs are in planning
stages. Learn more about how your organization can get
involved in these programs and bring patents within reach to
inventors and businesses in your region.
A Statewide Approach to University/Business Engagement
Academia's role in the economy is rapidly changing. Stepping up engagement with businesses and recognizing the importance of being responsive to their needs will create partnerships that improve business productivity and enhance teaching and research at universities.
This webinar will delve into the practices of the nation's first statewide university-business engagement network, the Michigan Corporate Relations Network (MCRN), to find out how this "concierge" approach works to encourage ties between academia and industry. MCRN is a collaboration of six Michigan research universities that serves as a statewide resource for businesses to access student recruiting, joint research projects, faculty consulting, and more. You'll also hear from one of the partnering universities on their experience working with industry and gain valuable input on how business-university engagements can produce winning partnerships.
America's Manufacturing Renaissance:
Creative Strategies to Support Manufacturing Growth in Your
Region
Approximately 334,000 well-paying manufacturing jobs have been
created since 2010 leading to what many experts are calling
"America's Manufacturing
Renaissance." This online event, features two unique
initiatives that are preserving manufacturing jobs by
showing the benefits of remaining local and building regional
supply chains.
Beyond the Hype: Potential Roles of Crowdfunding in TBED Policy & Practice
There is a lot of buzz around crowdfunding since President Obama
signed the JOBS Act in April, some of it as sensational as a
Facebook IPO. In fact, a national crowfunding association already has formed, even though crowd-based equity investment remains
illegal until SEC regulations are in place in 2013!
Because industry roadmaps provide strategic guidance for economic development efforts to accelerate innovation and commercial activity, they can be a dynamic tool for setting priorities, allocating resources, aligning stakeholders and focusing efforts. This webinar will provide a behind-the-scenes look at how one region is using a proven, consensus-driven methodology for developing industry-driven roadmaps that will help to capture significant economic growth within seven years. Representatives from NorTech will discuss how they used the InSeven℠ roadmap process to develop a shared regional vision and define specific opportunities and action plans based on leveraging existing regional assets.
Clean, Green and Local: Why States Are Taking the Lead in Cleantech
Though many states have implemented programs to boost the use of clean energy technologies, only a handful have fully leveraged the potential of energy policy to support their state's innovation system. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation's (ITIF) Matthew Stepp, Mark Muro of the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings and Lewis Milford of the Clean Energy Group will explore ways that the TBED community can better leverage cleantech policy and programs to spur greater innovation, economic development and industry expansion. We will also take a look at the role that states and regions play in the clean energy economy and how some have used clean energy funds to support research, tech commercialization and the creation of new companies.
High-Growth Companies: Identifying and Learning from
Them
Less than 1 percent of companies in PA are creating 74 percent of
the net new jobs, according to a new report. The Team PA Foundation
intends to harness the power of these high-growth firms (higros)
through a new pilot program in Pittsburgh. In the first installment
of our SSTI's new monthly webinar series, Team
PA will provide an insider's look at their new
high-growth pilot program, a program intended to learn from the
region's higros and potentially incorporate
their best practices into economic development policy. You also
will have the opportunity to learn about the characteristics of
higros and what separates them from other businesses.
Spin-offs get all the attention, but infusing new technologies into existing companies results in significant economic impact. There are a lot of steps from idea stage to commercialization, and many obstacles that can get in the way. The session will explore the roles of various intermediaries and partners, including an MEP center, universities, Centers of Excellence, companies, and other components of the innovation ecosystem. The discussion also will include specific impacts realized with companies, including new products and increased sales.