Transforming Regional Economies. Oct. 31-Nov. 2. Oklahoma City

SSTI is pleased to give regular Digest readers the first peek at the four intensive pre-conference workshops, which will precede SSTI's 10th annual conference on Nov. 1-2. Registration may be completed online at: https://www.ssti.org/Conf06/registration.htm.

 

Turning Innovations into Enterprises: A Practitioner's Guide to Technology Commercialization

A name and face familiar to many SSTI members, Dr. Randy Goldsmith, president of the Mississippi Technology Alliance, brings his internationally popular technology commercialization workshop to this years SSTI pre-conference in a half-day format especially designed for TBED professionals. The Goldsmith Technology Commercialization Model has been adopted by NASA and by economic development organizations in the United Kingdom, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky and elsewhere.



Through this interactive workshop, Dr. Goldsmith will introduce you to assessment tools, a step-by-step process and financing resources that can help your clients achieve their business objectives. You will identify key milestones, ask critical questions, estimate costs, and determine an entrepreneur's strengths and weaknesses. Based on his extensive technology commercialization experience in the private, public and university sectors, Dr. Goldsmith will share proven strategies and practical tools to help your regions entrepreneurs turn technology innovations into successful enterprises.



Dr. Goldsmith served as assistant vice president for technology transfer and economic development at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, and as president and CEO of the San Antonio Technology Accelerator Initiative. He was founding CEO of Oklahoma's technology commercialization center, which he helped design. There, his team was successful in assisting 60 new companies secure more than $280 million of investment capital over a three-year period. Dr. Goldsmith also spent several years as director of the University of Houston Clear Lakes Technology Center, a subcontractor to NASA's Johnson Space Center.



Transforming a Regional Economy: Moving Forward Together

How does a medium-sized city in a small state accomplish big things? How was a down-at-the-heels tract of urban landscape transformed into a 27-acre research park featuring a seven-building complex with 600,000 sq. ft. of Class A wet lab space and a 97 percent occupancy rate? How did the city convince its citizens to support one of the largest capital improvement projects in the country one that has already yielded more than $2.4 billion in public and private investment? This full-day session will provide answers and insights from the key players in the initiatives that have radically transformed the face of the community.



In the morning, participants will travel to the Presbyterian Health Foundation Research Park. The complex's master plan calls for the construction of 10 buildings, raising the total research and office space to more than 1 million sq. ft. Working in cooperation with federal, state and local agencies, the park is a collaborative alliance including businesses, government and higher education. It is strategically located near the Oklahoma Health Center to create a synergism of research science and commercialization. Through interactive sessions with the city and states bioscience leadership, participants will learn the inside story of how vision, leveraging resources, and a spirit of collaboration resulted in one of the most important economic drivers in central Oklahoma.



Following lunch at the Research Park, participants will depart for a tour of Oklahoma City's MAPS projects. Guided by former Oklahoma City mayor Kirk Humphries, the tour will highlight the new and upgraded sports, recreation, entertainment, cultural and convention facilities funded through MAPS. The projects began in 1993, when voters approved the MAPS sales tax, and were completed in 2004. Oklahoma City is the first city in the country to undertake a public facility enhancement project of this size. All projects are now complete and paid off.



As a result of MAPS, downtown Oklahoma City has seen more than $2.5 billion in new public and private development. The initial investment has spurred millions of dollars in additional development, filling in voids and redeveloping underutilized land as housing, mixed use offices, and arts and entertainment facilities. MAPS was the catalyst for dramatically changing public perception and improving quality of life in downtown, which has developed into a vibrant 24/7 community with places to live, work and play.



TBED Program Evaluation: An Introduction

One of the hallmarks of effective TBED programs is that they evaluate what they do. But to do evaluation properly, you must consider why you are evaluating, what you are evaluating, and how best to do it. What tools and methods will generate the most appropriate and reliable metrics? What metrics are viable indicators of positive performance, and how should they be presented in order to have the most meaning for key stakeholders? 



In this half-day session, we'll examine those basic but critical questions and consider approaches that some of the leading programs have used to evaluate their effectiveness and impact. Cathy Renault, program manager of technology-based economic development with RTI International in Research Triangle Park, N.C., will lead participants in this discussion of performance metrics fundamentals a good course for those new to TBED and a good refresher for anyone on how to successfully deal with a perennial challenge of TBED program management.



Introduction to Tech-based Economic Development

Gaining a good understanding of tech-based economic development (TBED) the approaches, vital elements, effective strategies, successful programs, proven policies, and important lessons learned from failures will make your efforts in the field more rewarding.



This full-day interactive workshop is tailored to those professionals new to tech-based economic development. Attendance is always limited to a small group to ensure each participant benefits from the personalized session walking away with a firm foundation for SSTI's full conference and for their TBED responsibilities back home.



In a format that is engaging, educational and enjoyable, you will discover proven programs and policies for creating technology companies, financing high-tech firms, commercializing technology, and developing productive university-industry partnerships. Attend the session to find out what your peers and colleagues in successful communities and states are doing to build tech-based economies.



One reason the workshop sells out year after year is that it is led by two of the top names in our field: SSTI President and CEO Dan Berglund and Marsha Schachtel, senior fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies at Johns Hopkins University. If you're new to the field, there is no better way to prepare for the caliber of discussion and content at SSTI's 10th Annual Conference than to attend this full-day, highly interactive workshop examining the fundamental elements of successful tech-based economic development.