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Establishing A Regional Innovation Zone. Prepared 10-JUL-14 by: The Alberta Council of Technologies Society. Proposal. E stablish the NW quadrant of the Edmonton Capital Region as an Innovation Zone The NW Quadrant includes: City of St. Albert - Town of Stony Plain
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Establishing A Regional Innovation Zone Prepared 10-JUL-14 by: The Alberta Council of Technologies Society
Proposal • Establish the NW quadrant of the Edmonton Capital Region as an Innovation Zone • The NW Quadrant includes: • City of St. Albert - Town of Stony Plain • Town of Devon - City of Spruce Grove • Parkland County - Sturgeon County (Villenue) • Alexander First Nations
What is the NW Innovation Zone? The NW location features: • A common interest/need to increase their business/ industrial base for generating jobs/revenue/taxes – sustainability • Excluded from development of Alberta’s oil sands, gas & petroleum industry • Environmental sensitivities and public priorities • Source of the Region’s water (North Saskatchewan), weather (prevailing NW winds – “The Alberta Clipper”), and wattage (Keephills and Wabamun) • Collaborative municipal/county economic development Is there More?
What is the NW Innovation Zone? Innovative infrastructure: • Focus. Innovation and knowledge-based industry. E.g. : data analytics, fusion energy, cleanTech, maglev • Sourcing. Small business development, dedicated funding for industry development and business incubation • Merging. Culture and Science, Arts and Technology - a “Creative Economy” • Local. A well-educated, family-oriented population base as a source of leadership in learning, small-business and innovation! Is there More?
How ABCtech Can Help! • Vision. Diversifying Alberta’s economy through the commercialization of emerging technologies • Experienced. “Community building” with networks of interest and expertise in technologies and their commercialization: • Policy Influence. Consulting re fusion energy, maglev, small business, innovation & enterprise, rural communications, access to capital, public procurement, public policy • Public Education. Event management re cell therapies, fusion energy, cleanTech, electrifying transportation, data analytics • Communications. Newsletters, ABCtech Media (audio, video, print) Productions, websites Collaborative. 20 established Networks and 15,000 email relationships sustained through AGM/BBQ, co-hosting of events and policy projects
What’s needed? • Agreement. Municipalities/Counties Agreement to collaborate in economic development. Form Alliance. • P3 Funding. Provincial/municipal partners and corporate and institutional sponsors. Short and long term grants. • Understanding. A spring workshop on development of the NW Innovation Zone. Steering Committee. • Sourcing. Regional: Northern Alberta Business Incubator, Community Futures, Sumex, AccCapital, and Provincial: Maglev, Alberta/Canada Fusion Energy Program, Alberta CleanTech Industry Alliance, Analytics Industry Advisory • Engagement. ABCtech as Project Secretariat for launch. Our 2015 Tenth Year Anniversary theme “Convergence & Creativity”.