Understanding Tomorrow's Industries Today: The Landscape of The Future
June 5-7│ Indianapolis, IN
Register before Friday, April 15 and save $100 with our early registration rates!

http://www.iedconline.org/TomorrowsIndustries/index.html

Attend the International Economic Development Council's 2011 Spring Conference, held June 5-7, in Indianapolis, IN, and learn how to build capacity to grow and nurture tomorrow's industries.

Research and development efforts can produce market innovations that generate new firms and stimulate job growth. To grow emerging industries, your workforce needs to be trained to work with the new technology. Entrepreneurs are a major resource in the development and expansion of industry clusters. Local financial resources are essential to the creation of new firms and industrial growth within your community. A series of sessions at this conference will give you the strategies and tools that lead to the growth and support of new firms and industries in your community.

SESSIONS OF INTEREST INCLUDE:

Growing Entrepreneurs to Support Emerging Clusters
Sunday, June 5
3:45 – 5:15 pm
Communities can assist entrepreneurs with the provision of specialized tools and resources to foster growth while providing entrepreneurs connections to the local business community. Focused entrepreneurial support efforts can seed cluster development and fuel the evolution and growth of existing clusters. The session will examine strategies and tools to develop entrepreneur support programs.

Supporting the Innovation Lifecycle
Monday, June 6
10:45 am – 12:15 pm
Around the globe, companies, governments, and universities are investing significant funds into research and development. Companies with a committed investment in R&D tend to outperform firms without such investment. Communities that can partner with R&D generators can also retain companies, jobs and talent locally while exporting goods and increasing the tax base. The session will examine trends in research and development and how communities can support efforts through innovative partnerships.

Growing Talent for Tomorrow's Industries
Monday, June 6
2:15 – 3:45 pm
If most the future's jobs do not exist today, how do we build the talent? As new industries emerge, workers will need new sets of skills and tools. Economic shifts from the agricultural to industrial to knowledge age demand new skill sets and workforce training. The session will explore the lessons learned from the emergence of the past's new industries and their skill requirements, and provide guidance on how to prepare for industries not yet in existence.

Show Me the Money: Financing Future Business Prospects
Tuesday, June 7
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
New technologies and strategies do not come cheap. In a time when public budgets are constrained, financially supporting business prospects can be challenging. The session will explore innovative financing techniques and sources to support the next generation of firms in your community.

OUR EXPERT SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

Carol Kraus Lauffer
Partner
Business Cluster Development
Palo Alto, CA

George R. Newkome, PhD
President & CEO
University of Akron Research Foundation
Vice President for Research & Dean, Graduate School
The University of Akron
Akron, OH

John P. Ware
Executive Director
The Future of Work
Berkley, CA

http://www.iedconline.org/TomorrowsIndustries/index.html