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SSTI would like to visit your city and bring 350 of our closest friends! Bids for the 2013 conference are due January 14. To request a conference information packet and discuss this exciting opportunity contact Noelle at sheets@ssti.org or 614-901-1690.

Yes, it could happen. SSTI's 17th Annual Conference in 2013will be the first conference since NASVF members became SSTI members expanding SSTI to include more than 350 organizational members nationally. It is our hope that this conference inspires more collaboration, creativity and economic success around the nation. Your organization could host SSTI's 17th Annual Conference during the fall of 2013. The nation's greatest thinkers and practitioners for building tech-based economies could descend on YOUR city to build momentum for and place a spotlight on the work you are doing. Please contact Noelle Sheets, director of membership services, at or 614-901-1690 to request a conference information packet and discuss this exciting opportunity today! Letters of intent are due Jan. 14.

Online registration for SSTI's 16th Annual Conference in Atlanta ends Friday, October 26, at 5:00 PM EDT. But even if you miss the deadline, you can still attend by registering on-site. On-site registration will open at 8:00 AM on Monday, October 29, in the Grand Foyer of the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center. Let your colleagues in the Southeast know they can still join us in Atlanta! See our registration page for fee details...

Register by Monday, Oct. 15 to Save $100! SSTI has extended early registration for our 16th Annual Conference in Atlanta until Monday, October 15! Register now to save at least $100 per registration! Join the more than 250 people who already have signed up for the conference!

At the upcoming SSTI Annual Conference in Atlanta, SSTI staff will present on the role foundations have played in support of Venture Development Organizations (VDOs), accelerators, and other regional economic development organizations. Through research and interviews with various foundations, SSTI staff have identified nearly 200 examples of foundation grants to organizations that support a regional innovation system. Some of the major providers include the Kauffman Foundation, Benedum Foundation, Knight Foundation, McCune Foundation, Mellon Foundation, and the Cleveland Foundation. The grant amounts have considerable range, from $5,000 to $10 million, with an average grant over $350,000 but a median of $138,000. Many of the grants are more modest in scale, with 35 of the grants less than $25,000.

At SSTI's 16th Annual Conference, you will have the opportunity to explore comprehensive, flexible programs and innovative, "lean" models to support and cultivate faculty entrepreneurs. Join National Science Foundation's Rathindra "Babu" DasGupta, the University of North Carolina's Judith Cone and Marnie LaVigne from the University at Buffalo as they discuss what universities need to do to create a class of Faculty CEOs. Learn more about this session...

There are only six days left before early registration ends on Monday, October 8. Register today and save at least $100 per registration. This year we are offering two full days of conference activities including 16 breakout sessions, four session tracks, three workshops and two networking receptions. Find out more at: ssticonference.org.

During a lively discussion session — Recent Federal Efforts: What's Happened, What's Working and What Should Change — SSTI will bring together the members of the economic development community to review what the federal government has done, how it has worked for the tech-based economic development community, and what changes should be made to improve the federal programs. Whether it's multi-agency initiatives such as the i6 Challenge Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge or single agency activity at the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the Small Business Administration, the federal government's involvement in encouraging economic growth through science, technology and innovation has escalated in recent years. This session will give you the opportunity to share your thoughts on their successes, failures and what they can do better. Learn more about this session by visiting the conference website.

The old adage "change is inevitable" rings especially true for economic development practitioners who must not only adapt to changes, but anticipate them and employ the best methods to capitalize on new opportunities. SSTI's conference session, Re-Orienting Your Organization for Today's Economy, pulls together three organizations at the local, state and federal level to examine how they have re-oriented their work to reflect the changing economy and the needs of their clients. Perhaps no other state has undergone such a rapid transformation in the TBED field as Michigan in the last couple of years. Like many states with newly elected governors at the start of 2011, Michigan has been working to retool its approach to economic development through economic gardening and a focus on regionalism. During the session, Michael A. Finney, President & CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, will talk about how the state implemented its new regional strategy and report on early successes resulting from big investments, such as the $8 billion, multi-year Pure Michigan Business Connect initiative. From a federal viewpoint, Aimee Dobrzeniecki, Deputy Director of NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership, will share how the organization has moved away from an approach strictly focused on cutting costs to one that emphasizes the revenue side to help manufacturers improve their products and processes to better compete. Tying the session together, Brian McGowan, President & CEO of Invest Atlanta, will talk about the issue on all levels through his experiences working with the federal Economic Development Administration, the state of California and now Invest Atlanta, a local economic development authority that administers programs and initiatives to accelerate job creation. Register now for SSTI's Conference and learn more about how this session topics and others can guide you in your practice: http://www.ssticonference.org/.

SSTI will be holding a congressional briefing from 1:00-2:30 p.m. on September 12 in Washington, DC, featuring seven of its members. The briefing, "Lessons from the Field on a Path to Sustained Economic Growth and Job Creation," will provide an overview of state, regional and university tech-based economic development efforts and highlight work being done by Ben Franklin Technology Partners, BioSTL, Center for Innovative Technology, Georgia Research Alliance, JumpStart, Michigan Economic Development Corp, and NorTech. Being held at 122 Cannon House Office Building, the briefing is part of SSTI's expanded education activities launched last October. If you're interested in attending this free event, please contact Shawn Daugherty via email at sdaugherty@sheridangroupdc.com or at 202.628.7770.