Measuring TBED Impact and Evaluation

When budgets tighten for state and local governments, as they have in nearly every corner of the country, legislatures and political leaders look for areas to reduce spending. Having a strong documented record of the positive impact of your technology-based economic development efforts and investments can help protect vital programs from the axe.

And, regardless of the fiscal environment, regular assessment and program evaluation also are good practices for honing your activities to maximize their benefits and payoffs.

But how do you start? What measures really matter? And how do you use the data once gathered?

SSTI's sixth annual conference, Building Tech-based Economies: From Policy to Practice, includes several sessions to help address the critical need for accurate and impartial program impact assessments that can stand up to political opponents or axe-wielding budget analysts. A few session highlights include:

• Measuring and Monitoring the Knowledge Economy — Dr. Ken Poole, Executive Director of widely respected ACCRA, will lead this intensive, 3.5-hour workshop to provide insights on how to answer the following questions: How can we best describe the new Knowledge Economy and what are the best ways to make this case? What are the challenges to measuring the Knowledge Economy? How do we best monitor change and measure growth with a data system geared toward the traditional industrial economy? What are appropriate sources of data, given our limited budgets for this type of analysis? What are their advantages and disadvantages? If we need to make our point to policy makers with short attention spans, what is the best way to do so? (independent preconference workshop on October 1, 1:30-5:00 $125 fee)
• Measuring Success in Tech-based Economic Development — Glossy annual reports and well written press releases may help convey successful technology-based economic development, but truly measuring impact to determine an initiative's effectiveness, address accountability concerns, and foster program improvement is another matter. We've asked three of the more engaging experts on the subject to discuss the various approaches to measuring TBED success. Presenters: Dr. Maxine Lunn, former Vice President, Technology Programs, Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology; and Dr. Gary Evans, Chief Executive Officer, Angle Technology LLC, Charlottesville, VA. Ms. Catherine Renault, Senior Research Associate, Office of Economic Development, University of North Carolina will moderate the session. (Wednesday, October 2 – 8:45-10:00 a.m)
• How Do We Advance Evaluation of Tech-based Economic Development?: A Roundtable Discussion — this 75-minute roundtable discussion will draw on lessons learned from the Measuring Success session above and Ms. Renault's innovative evaluation study for Maine, as well as the personal experiences of other roundtable participants. (Wednesday, October 2 – 10:30-11:45 a.m.)

More information on SSTI's 6th annual conference is available at: http://www.ssti.org/conference02.htm [expired]