Addressing The Most Pressing Questions in Economic Development

According to a survey of SSTI members, the three most pressing needs for state and local TBED organizations in this economy are: how do we capitalize on the federal government's renewed commitment to growth through innovation and research? How do we encourage faster commercialization and more entrepreneurship among our local businesses? How do we more fully engage our universities in building our economic recovery and innovation-based future?

In our upcoming 14th Annual Conference, to be held Sept 14-16 in Pittsburgh, SSTI has developed three tracks at focused exclusively on helping you answer those vital questions. With a blend of engaging plenary and intensive breakout sessions, the Federal, Commercialization & Entrepreneurship and Universities tracks will provide you with the knowledge and tools necessary to successfully navigate the road ahead. We'll highlight a few examples from each below, but encourage you to review the full conference brochure to see all of the options available in the three tracks: http://ssticonference.org.

Federal: The Obama administration has brought new opportunities and new vision for the future of innovation in the country. In these sessions at SSTI's Annual Conference, talking with the federal agencies and other experts will enable you to capitalize on the increasing federal opportunities and provide insight into the administration's vision. If you want to strengthen your understanding of federal opportunities and forge closer relationships with key federal agencies for supporting state and local TBED initiative, consider attending:

• The Energy Imperative: Maximizing Green TBED Opportunities (a preconference workshop w/DOE)
• A New Partnership: A New EDA
• A Decade for Change: Universities' Roles in Innovation (NSF and OSTP)
• SBA and TBED: New Developments, New Direction

• The Federal Innovation Agenda and Your TBED Strategy

Commercialization & Entrepreneurship: We'll explore new approaches and benefit from different perspectives on developing a thriving innovation-oriented, high-growth entrepreneurial community in your region. These sessions will focus on direct lessons from successful and proven TBED programs, regional innovation clustering, and more! With the panels of experts assembled by SSTI, you will discover and discuss new insights into commercialization and entrepreneurship. For example, the conference will offer sessions on:

• Distributed, Non-University Models for Commercializing New Technologies
• Technology Entrepreneurship: Direct Contact Required
• Sustaining Entrepreneur-in-Residence & Mentoring Programs

Universities: Our research-intensive and regional universities and community colleges must play bigger roles in maintaining and sustaining U.S. competitiveness — one researcher, one technology, one region and one worker at a time. SSTI's 2010 conference will help you take the steps necessary to build a strong relationship within and within our academic community. Consider sessions like:

• Economic Transformation through University-Business Partnerships
• Power Roundtable: Insider Advice (a preconference session)
• A Decade for Change: Universities— Roles in Innovation

Remember this is only half of the tracks and less than half of the three-day conference offerings! Visit http://ssticonference.org/ for more details and to register today!