OCRI has been supportive of and involved with the economic refresh activity by City staff although not directly involved with the steering committee. The organization fulfills a leading role in economic development for the region including the entrepreneurship centre, global marketing (investment and trade activities in Ottawa and abroad) and regional innovation activities in addition to other OCRI activities for members.

Leading the way for Ottawa, OCRI fully supports the bolstering of key economic development activities in the region. Investment has decreased over the past few years and fallen far behind investment by other cities and regions. More investment will result in a more diversified local economy with strong international success.

Key economic development initiatives include the creation of strong ecosystems in the areas of: international trade and investment, entrepreneurship, and clusters (including cleantech, life sciences, wireless/mobile applications and digital media). (See our KBI white paper response for more detail.)

Talent is a key focus area for Ottawa. While we have high quality, local talent with many students graduating every year from our universities and colleges, we need to increase STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) participation to meet the demands. Strategies must be implemented to attract, engage and retain talent in Ottawa. Leadership and early entrepreneurship education are also key focus areas. (See our Talent white paper response for more detail.)

OCRI is a leader in providing a full range of commercialization and investment resources to companies across knowledge-based industries to accelerate their growth in the global marketplace. This includes support for startup company creation through Entrepreneur’s Edge, Lead-to-Win, Exploriem and other programs. OCRI works to bring capital to the region through investment in high potential emerging technology leaders in Ottawa.

OCRI programs and services touch many business people and youth in our community. Because of the broad range of services, it is difficult to fully understand the value that OCRI brings to the community. OCRI partners with the City of Ottawa to deliver a number of services to the community which I have outlined below. Key OCRI services that support Ottawa’s economic development include:

Entrepreneurship Centre

• Helps entrepreneurs make informed business decisions while starting or growing their businesses (seminars and workshops on management, legal and accounting)
• Youth focus via programs like Ottawa Innovation Challenge, Junior Achievement, Canada Youth Business Foundation, Summer Company and others;
• Operates resource centre at City Hall, kiosks in Orleans, Barrhaven and Kanata.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation

• Delivers Entrepreneur’s Edge series for entrepreneurship training;
• Delivers TalentBridge which engages entrepreneurial engineering students in work terms that develop marketing, sales and business management skills and connects students with supportive mentors from the local knowledge-based sector.

Global Marketing

• Provides assistance for export-oriented businesses seeking to market products and services internationally;
• Provides support for in-bound and out-bound trade missions with emphasis on Asia, Europe, U.S. and Latin America;
• Active founding member of the Ontario Technology Corridor (Ottawa, Toronto, Waterloo, London and Niagara) which was established for joint marketing abroad;
• Supports Ottawa’s established and emerging knowledge-based clusters (Photonics, Wireless, Software, eBusiness, Contact Centres, Life Sciences, Cleantech, Security and Digital Media.)

Investment and Commercialization

• Provides business advisory services, business acceleration, market intelligence and mentoring to build the next wave of knowledge-based companies;
• Hosts the annual Ontario Venture Summit (OVS) to showcase companies to qualified investors;
• Actively supports community-based initiatives including: Lead to Win, Exploriem, TiE, and The Ottawa Network.

Community Leadership

• OCRI hosts and chairs the Innovation Leadership Team;
• OCRI chairs the Ottawa Technology Round Table for industry, academic and research institutions, and federal, provincial and city governments;
• OCRI CEO is a member of the Tourism Leadership Team;
• OCRI contributes to the Digital Strategy Round Tables at Industry Canada.

OCRI is a diverse and dynamic organization that aims to be responsive to the needs of our local business community. If you are interested in learning more about OCRI and the many ways that our programs, services and individuals contribute to the economic well being of the city visit our website www.ocri.ca, stop by the Entrepreneurship Centre at Ottawa City Hall or get in touch with one of our program managers.

©2010 ocriblogs.com. All Rights Reserved.

Summer Company is an exciting opportunity for enterprising students, 15 to 29 years old, to start and run their own summer businesses. Now in its ninth year, the province-wide program will help over 500 young entrepreneurs launch and manage successful summer businesses across Ontario. Participation in Ottawa increased by more than 75 per cent last year and the program continues to get more and more popular each year. Summer Company, delivered through OCRI’s Entrepreneurship Centre, is an initiative of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade designed to help young entrepreneurs develop, plan and execute a successful business venture.

As a Summer Company entrepreneur, students will receive hands-on business coaching and mentoring from business leaders in the community. It could be the start of something big!

Participants are eligible for up to $3,000 to ease start-up expenses including $1,500 awarded upon the successful completion of the program and return to school. Students are selected based on the quality of their business plan and their personal commitment to their vision. In addition to the funding, these young entrepreneurs will receive strategic business assistance as well as one-on-one support and advice from mentors as part of the Summer Company Program. Carefully selected mentors work closely with each student and share their unique insight and expertise. This year’s list of mentors includes a banker, accountant, lawyer, sales professional, marketer, strategist, etiquette advisor, former summer company participant, and successful local entrepreneur.

Click here for more information about the Summer Company Program or contact Diana Martinez, Youth Business Advisory at OCRI’s Entrepreneurship Centre by phone at 613 580 2424 ext 22704 or via email at dmartinez@ocri.ca.

©2010 ocriblogs.com. All Rights Reserved.

Ottawa has experienced a series of economic tremors since the mid 90’s. The reduction of our government employment during the years that created a zero deficit for Canada, the technology downturn of this century that permanently altered the global supply chains and the recent global financial crisis that was made worse in our region by the bankruptcy of our major technology anchor, Nortel.

One lesson that is repeatedly taught over time, I guess not enough study history, is that you survive change by embracing it. Fighting a new global economic order will only mean, that when you finally adjust, the transition is more painful. For Ottawa, the swing to low cost production in the technology sector resulted in record job losses for our region. 

On this trip, we visited two companies, Breconridge and Huawei. Breconridge is Ottawa-based and our largest advanced manufacturing company. It has its headquarters in Ottawa, but here in Shenzhen it employs over 500 people in its Chinese operation. In Ottawa, the company does its engineering, new product manufacturing development and its high value manufacturing. In Shenzhen, it does its high volume manufacturing. It remains competitive by moving its manufacturing asset to the most cost efficient global location.

Huawei is Shenzhen-based, with 50,000 employees in the region and 95,000 worldwide. It has 17 R&D facilities around the world, and yet in September of 2008, it began building a R&D capability in the Ottawa area. The official opening of its facility is next week. So why open a facility in Ottawa when you already have 95,000 employees. I can only speculate, but in a single world, talent.

Huawei is a new company, with just over a decade history. The Ottawa region has been building ICT companies for over five decades, with an exceptional track record in innovation, large scale integration, software/hardware integration and market adaptation. As Huawei moves farther up the integration chain, Ottawa represents a major talent pool.

These two companies and their operations in Shenzhen and Ottawa illustrate the direction of sustainable economic development. We are in a world of global supply chains and you have to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses to compete in those supply chains. Breconridge is competing by executing its low end manufacturing in Shenzhen and Huawei is competing by utilizing the telecommunications R&D capability in Ottawa. Both cities and both companies are winners.

These company visits in Shenzhen have also brought home to me the practical side of other global trends. In my former company, Lansdowne Technologies, we did proposals for many large government projects. These often involved teams from many countries (and time zones) and tight deadlines. We often joked about bringing in the cots and throwing the pizza under the door as we worked 16 hour days to meet deadlines.

Our visit to both Breconridge and Huawei put a different meaning to bringing in the cots and tossing the pizza under the door. A global reality is that cities are now our economic driver and will be into the future. The jobs are there and the cities will only get larger.

I see China as a practical country. If the jobs are in the city, that is where people will go to find them. We had a free ranging discussion with Alec Hart the General Manager of Breconridge’s Asia operation. We received a briefing on the facility in Shenzhen, its manufacturing capability, its integration into Breconridge’s operations, its types of clients, the usual. Then we noticed on the site plan that there were two dormitories, several canteens and some sport fields. I recall in my first trip to China in 1995 that the factory we visited had a farm out back which produced the vegetables for the lunch that the company provided all employees.

Things do change. Shenzhen was a fishing village of 30,000 people 30 years ago. Today, it is a modern, even by Western standards, city of over 15 million. Alec tells us that the average age of his employees is 28 and few were either born or live in Shenzhen. The jobs are in the city, but the families are back home. Most employees live on the factory grounds, sending the bulk of their wages home to the family. Wages are relatively standard, so competition for labour is more based on the housing and living conditions provided. I was surprised to learn that Breconridge serves four meals a day. A major recruiting tool is your employees telling their friends that you have great living quarters!

I keep seeing China as a practical country. You could debate the direction of change, but it is happening so fast that any conclusions would be far surpassed by reality.

©2010 ocriblogs.com. All Rights Reserved.

The approach the City chooses  to economic development is key to all of our success.  The consensus now is that we can no longer simply default to expansion of the Federal Public Service as our engine of prosperity.  Your voice in this discussion is important.  I would like to encourage you to participate as well by logging on to OPINIONOTTAWA.CA where you will be able to review position papers on subjects including the role of knowledge-based industries, talent and more and comment on them in the discussion forum.

Please take the time to make your opinion heard as an actively involved member of our community and business leader.  Ottawa has a great economic future filled with potential across so many industries. 

Let’s do what we can to ensure that the City has significant and sincere input that they can use to define an approach to economic development that reflects the realities of our great city!

©2010 ocriblogs.com. All Rights Reserved.

In the city’s first broadband plan, access to the internet and addressing the digital divide were key issues to overcome in order to become successful in the new global economy.  Programs such as Smart Capital and National Capital FreeNet helped to establish Ottawa as the most connected city in the world.  Not only was technology and access to the technology provided to Ottawa residents, training was also available for those who needed help to develop a level of comfort with the new technology.  Smart Capital was funded by the federal and provincial governments to push forward Ottawa’s broadband connectivity plan. A variety of programs provided the framework for Smart Capital including: Digital Ottawa, Altogether Ottawa, FreeNet, E-Government, Smart Libraries, E-College, E-Democracy and Smart Sites. Today, a number of those programs no longer exist due to the fact that their mission was completed but some continue to serve the community to this day. Their range of services has evolved and changed to reflect the current needs and interests of the local community. 

In addition to technology-based inclusion, Ottawa is a firm believer in providing today’s students and our future leaders with the proper tools they need in order to learn effectively while in school. For that reason, we support learning and skill development for students at all levels through partnerships with the community, government and businesses to develop the talent Ottawa needs to support a globally competitive knowledge-based sector. Some of the community’s most valuable programs in this regard include OttawaReads – a literacy program, JUMP Math – numeracy program, Winning Innovations in Schools (WINS) – joint projects with local cleantech and life science companies for high school students, the High School Technology Program – hands on tech and programming experiences and the School Breakfast Program which provides a nutritious breakfast to 11,000 children in 145 schools each day.   

Did you know? The Ottawa Public Library (OPL) provides services free of charge to increase digital inclusion and the everyday use of technology. The Library works with many local, provincial and national partners to extend and enrich service. Free Internet access has been available at the Ottawa Public Library since 1996 and free high-speed Internet access has been available at all 33 branches of the Ottawa Public Library (OPL) since 2001.  High-speed wireless Internet access was first piloted at the Ottawa Public Library in 2007 and was installed in every branch of the OPL in 2008.  The Ottawa Public Library has 373 public access workstation that provide high speed internet access and a variety of software applications. Wheelchair-accessible computer workstations are available at all wheelchair accessible libraries. All courses at the Ottawa Public Library are offered free of charge. In 2008, 947,499 people used a public Internet access workstation at the OPL. In 2008, the Ottawa Public Library held 376 computer training sessions aimed at teaching older adults and newcomers how to use a personal computer, 1,512 people attended these sessions.

OCRI Entrepreneurship Centre Satellite Kiosks - As entrepreneurial activity spread across the vast Ottawa region it became evident that the one stop shopping approach taken by OCRI’s Entrepreneurship Centre was not adequate for the growing demand for its services. The concept of satellite offices was explored and pilot tested in Orleans with great success. Subsequently, two additional satellite kiosks in Kanata and Barrhaven have been opened.  The impact on the community has been significant while helping minimize costs for staff, travel and overhead and maximizing the use of digital technology to provide easy access services and business advice to constituents.  In 2009 alone, over 1000 people attended networking events hosted at the kiosk centres.

Ottawa Carleton District School Board – Special Education Allocation of laptops to students with Learning Difficulties. Each year, hundreds of laptops are loaned out to students with special needs through this ministry led initiative.  Hundreds of students, teachers and families benefit from this digital inclusion initiative. In the last five months, technical training has been provided to over 600 teachers, on a wide variety of subjects:  wikis, Google Apps, Photoshop Elements, Gizmos, ComicLife, Podcasting, PhotoStory. This year, the school board is introducing a new Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) training for elementary teachers. 

These are just a few of the great examples in Ottawa of programs and initiatives that really do make a difference. By bridging the gap between education and employment and providing access to technology Ottawa is definitely an intelligent city and Canada’s creative economy capital!

More grandstanding to come….

©2010 ocriblogs.com. All Rights Reserved.

Thanks to the great people at the City who knew where to get the most current and relevant information re: connectivity and city initiatives and all the other companies in town who are charging ahead with innovative partnerships and programs that help create skilled talent and strive to see them employed in knowledge-based jobs we were able to put together a really impressive proposal.

So, now we’re Top7, awaiting the arrival of representatives from the selection committee for a two day tour of our great city before the final announcement of the Intelligent Community of the Year in New York City in May. 

Just in case you don’t know how many super projects are on the go here’s a rundown of the projects we chose to highlight – there were many more that didn’t make the cut (we were limited to 25 pages)… Ottawa’s Rural Broadband Project, Abbott Point of Care’s Microelectronics Apprenticeship Program, Algonquin’s Game Development Program, Carleton’s VSIM lab, Digital Inclusion programs at the Ottawa Public Libraries, OCRI’s Entrepreneurship Centre satellite kiosks,  Special Education Allocation of laptops to students with Learning Difficulties at Ottawa Carleton District School Board, Lead to Win, City of Ottawa’s 3-1-1 Contact Centre, BizPal, Algonquin’s Virtual College, TalentBridge, High School Technology Program, Passport to Prosperity, Focus on IT (FIT), Wesley Clover’s Affiliate Program and Winning Innovative Networks for Schools (WINS). Like ICF said in their summary, there are almost too many programs in place to list them all!   If your favourite project wasn’t on the list – let me know so we can consider it for the next time.

Regardless of the outcome of the May announcement we should all be really proud! 

©2010 ocriblogs.com. All Rights Reserved.

TAKE ACTION
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn; develop strategic partnerships; increase your community profile; examine potential commercialization links; and network with the best and brightest in Eastern Ontario.

RESERVE YOUR EXHIBIT SPACE TODAY!
Showcase your opportunities, technologies and latest innovations to potential customers and investors. Join Donald J. Trump and other industry and business leaders for this exclusive business development tradeshow. http://www.ocri.ca/showcase/

Exhibitors will include leading businesses throughout the region across all industry sectors including economic development organizations and associations from cities, towns and counties across Eastern Ontario.

To purchase tickets to hear Donald J. Trump and other high profile speakers, please visit www.easternontarioshowcase.com.

©2010 ocriblogs.com. All Rights Reserved.

For as long as I can remember, I have always had keen interests in an eclectic mix of areas from fashion to construction, event planning to medicine. If I liked it, I just appended it to the growing pile of things that I had an interest in.  As a young child I was exposed to a variety of things that may have been contributing factors. For instance my mother’s sewing, my father’s home renovation projects, family socializing and talks with my family about stable career choices. These exposures in combination with being the eldest child provided ample opportunities for me to ‘get my feet wet’ and try new things. I am happy that I took my formative years to develop my skill set, but I can vouch that it wasn’t always an asset, especially where choosing a degree was concerned.

In my latter years of high school I was convinced that I would complete my undergrad in biomedical engineering and then consider medical school. Obviously that isn’t what materialized, but I did try out the engineering world for a little while. Little did I know what a crazy situation I’d be in when I realized after two years that it wasn’t the right avenue for me to pursue. I had worked so hard to get there, then I was faced with having to choose a new path, but which one do I choose? Career stability was a factor that obviously had to be weighed into the equation, but I really was in a fix as I was unable to choose just one area to develop a career. I felt I was sacrificing a passion in one area for the sake of a career in another. In the end, all worked out well as my bachelor of information technology, focused on interactive multimedia and design, perfectly melds my largest and primary interests of: technology, creativity and business.

Now with graduation just under a year away thoughts of my first full-time job keep popping up. Which area do I go into? How long should I stay in that field? Some inspiring videos, included below, by Stanford University professors Carol Bartz and Randy Komisar have proved that my eclectic mix may be beneficial in the career world. Professor Bartz discusses how setting a foundation is key in the early years of your career. The formation of your career should be shaped like a pyramid over time. It should start off broad and with time refined to your ideal profession. Which makes logical sense since by the time you settle into your niche, you would have tested the other avenues to be sure you are going where you want to go. As she mentions in the video, if you keep trying to climb the vertical, corporate ladder as you get closer to the top you’re bound to fall because you have no foundation. All that is holding you up are two stakes in the ground. Professor Komisar further supports this argument by detailing the journey through his career and how he is so well equipped now because of the extensive knowledge he gained from all of the positions he has held over the years. Although it may seem glamorous to run up the corporate ladder as soon as you land your first job you have about 40+ years of your life to work, so what’s the rush?

Pyramids, Not Ladders – Carol Bartz

The History of a Virtual CEO – Randy Komisar

©2010 ocriblogs.com. All Rights Reserved.

Initiative is universal and intrinsic, it is something that can’t really be fulfilled unless it truly comes from within. So if we all have it, why don’t we all take advantage of it?

Why is it that some  of us need that ‘someone else’ to push us and/or keep us motivated while others will attempt to conquer the world on a whim, without consulting anyone. What is it that makes some of us so sure of ourselves that what we are setting out to do will work out? Then one can think that initiative isn’t just one-sided, but a multi-layered; a concept that is truly fulfilled with a special combination of attributes.

Take for instance Kunal Gupta, an Ottawa resident and University of Waterloo student. In his tender, early twenties he has made bountiful accomplishments, but what strikes me the most was his initiative to create: Impact. Impact Entrepreneurship is a student-run, non-profit group that has brought together students with entrepreneurial interests and spirit. Through networking, unique conferences and initiatives this group of people have made a mark in the entrepreneurial world, simply because of Kunal’s initiative to start a group like this. I had the pleasure of meeting Kunal once, in my early days of Impact. At the time I never realized how remarkable he was, his simple and relaxed vibe could have fooled anyone. Now that I have been involved with Impact for a couple of years, and am embarking on my own personal projects I would love to have the opportunity to meet with him and discuss what really made him go ahead and start Impact. Surely he didn’t think it would become Canada’s largest, student-run, non-profit organization in just a few short years. What inspired him? What made him think it was an idea that would ‘fly’? How did he go about starting it? Was he confident enough in his endeavor that he didn’t need to consult anyone? What were his doubts? What did he need to learn? With all these questions, it’s only natural to then ponder that initiative isn’t just made up of ‘coming up with an idea and running with it’. It takes determination and motivation to keep it going, it takes confidence to believe in your idea. It takes marketing and strategy to sell your idea to others, it takes customer relations to win people over, it takes networking and people skills to build a repertoire revolving around your concept. Now initiative doesn’t sound so simple, does it?

The funny thing about initiative is that even if you don’t have all the pieces of the puzzle, you can always learn. In my personal opinion I think the principal components of initiative are:

• Having the intrinsic motivation to get off your butt and start it
• Having determination to fulfill it
• Believing in your idea, 100% whole-heartedly because if you don’t believe in it how are you going to win over the others?

Since we all have a bit of initiative in us, and the entire world is not made up of angry people with the right attitude and a hunger for delivering the idea, anyone can take the initiative to do anything. Where there is a will, there IS a way.

With his own mobile solutions company, Polar Mobile, Kunal Gupta I’m sure is more than just your typical ‘busy bee’ to answer my simple questions, but it really would be interesting to find out about his initiative, first hand.

©2010 ocriblogs.com. All Rights Reserved.

When I was in elementary school we used to have “library class” once a week.  At first it was when the librarian would read us a story and as we grew older it was when we would be taught mundane skills that we only realized were important later on:  how to use an index, find a book in the catalogue, read an atlas…..etc.  Now I wonder with online searches, digital catalogues, and GPS’s if the newer generation still learns this in library class.  Is there even a library class anymore?   (I’m already sounding like that older generation I promised I would never be who preaches “in our day, we were taught to…)”  

The point is, stealing two terms I thought were right on from the TEB Fuel Industries event with Warren Tomlin and Mike Burns, there are the digital immigrants and the digital natives.

My father was worked in computers since the 70’s .  I remember the first time I accompanied him to an IBM store when I was five.  Think cartoon animation when hearts would pop out of the characters eyes – the focus of my father’s adoration being the new line of BM PCs of 1988.  So long story short, I’ve had a computer in my household since I was five.  But I still know how to use a phone book (great example at TEB was a tween who doesn’t know how to use the yellow pages.  Why would she, she’s been using the online yellow pages all her life).  I’m used to paying for knowledge, and books and movies and music (well the music not really – work with me here).  I am a digital immigrant.

I think those born with the internet in their house at the age of five are the digital natives.  Different set of skills, different set of needs, different learning curves, and different attention spans.  And a new sense of how much things should cost.

There is a really interesting presentation, Disruptive by Design (note that transistor example – a great story of entrepreneurship and risk and taking a leap of faith) given by Chris Anderson, editor -in-chief of Wired Magazine about the changing economy.  Historical business models show inflation increasing the price products.  The current disruptions and sense of entitlement that the internet has brought us has turned that model on its head.  Now we want things to be free.  If you don’t offer it for free, another business will.  It’s not just social media like facebook and twitter that are facing this problem: financial services, games, real estate listings, music, movies, tv shows, newspapers, expert advice whether it be from doctors or beauticians. 

Freeconomics.  Now the trick is to it satisfy the masses and still make a profit.  That will be interesting to watch out for.

©2010 ocriblogs.com. All Rights Reserved.