Building the Foundation for Recovery

In last week's edition of the the Digest, we highlighted the three most pressing needs for state and local TBED organizations: Federal, Commercialization & Entrepreneurship and Universities. This special section of the Digest will focus on the Capital, "How To" and Strategy & Alliance Building tracks and how they can navigate your region towards prosperity. In our upcoming 14th Annual Conference, to be held Sept 14-16 in Pittsburgh, SSTI will have numerous opportunities to gain insight into the issues challenging regional innovation strategies during the past year.

With a blend of engaging plenary and intensive breakout sessions, SSTI's Annual Conference will afford you numerous opportunities to build a foundation for recovery. In many cases by attending one session, you will gain detailed insight into several successful strategies and/or learn "how to" build a region that will grow and prosper. We will highlight examples from each of the three tracks below, but encourage you to review the full conference brochure to see all of the options available through the conference: http://ssticonference.org.

Capital: The Great Recession and its aftershocks have the nation's equity investment industry in a state of flux, but one thing is certain: maximizing the impact of local sources of seed and early stage capital — both public and private — are more important than ever. SSTI's Annual Conference offers experts providing proven models for increasing the amount and the impact of local sources of capital. They also will provide you the knowledge to navigate the seemingly treacherous national equities market. If lack of smart money is holding your region back you should attend these sessions:

• Achieving Excellence in TBED
• Maximizing Equity Capital's Impact in Your Community
• Straight Talk: Early Stage Capital, the Great Recession and What's Next

"How To": These sessions will provide you the knowledge and tools necessary "to get it done." Countless models and proven courses of actions will be described in the sessions listed under the "How To" track. With the wealth of knowledge our experts provide, it is near impossible for you to leave the conference without gaining insight into an area of concern for your region. We believe that you will leave these sessions with renewed energy, fresh ideas and increased personal resolve to address the challenges of improving your area's economy. If you have wondered how to do something in economic development you should consider attending these sessions:

• Financing TBED: Alternative Models and Sustainability
• Distributed, Non-University Models for Commercializing New Technologies
• Technology Entrepreneurship: Direct Contact Required
• Regional Industry Clusters: Building Innovation-Based Entrepreneurship from the "Bottom-up"

Strategy & Alliance Building: Tough times call for tough, new strategies! SSTI's Annual Conference will provide the necessary tools and insight for developing strategies in times of fiscal stress and political transition. The preconference, plenary and breakout sessions listed under this track offer a comprehensive array of expertise unavailable at any other individual professional development event for the field. You will learn about topics ranging from:

• Developing an Innovation Strategy: The Inside Story
• The View from Legislators
• The Federal Innovation Agenda and Your TBED Strategy
• Trends in TBED: What's the Road Ahead

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! This is one conference your state, regional or university economic development agenda cannot afford to have you miss!