How do cities and regions begin creating an innovation economy? What are the essential elements and how are they assembled to create an ecosystem that drives continuing innovation in the private, public and institutional sectors? In this Webinar, you will hear from two communities on different continents about how they have fostered innovation that generates prosperity.

2011 Intelligent Community of the Year Eindhoven and 2016 Top7 Intelligent Community Surrey are presented during the program.

Click here to watch the webinar:

Speakers

The Webinar featured the following speaker from Eindhoven:

Gaby Rasters, Strategic Advisor, City of Eindhoven
Gaby Rasters is a strategic advisor on the subject of Smart Society, Open Data and Innovation. She works for the strategy department of the municipality of Eindhoven en has been involved in many disruptive projects. Her main focus is on new forms of collaboration between many stakeholders in the city of Eindhoven.

And the following speakers from Surrey:

Bruce Hayne, Councilor, City of Surrey
Elected to Surrey City Council in 2011 and as a resident and business owner since 1993, Bruce Hayne brings an entrepreneurial approach to the City of Surrey and is committed to establishing Surrey as a premier investment location with a vibrant urban economy. On the City Council, Bruce chairs the Investment and Innovation Committee which oversees the City’s Economic Development strategies including Innovation Boulevard (Medical Technologies) and the Clean Tech sector. The committee also spearheads the City’s Smart City strategies and Open Data initiatives. He is also a former President of the Surrey Board of Trade and current Chair of the Parks Recreation and Sport Tourism Committee which is responsible for overseeing over two hundred parks and award-winning recreation facilities in the city.

Stephen Wu, Manager, Economic Development
Stephen Wu is a high-performing business strategy professional with experience turning high technology investment candidates into world class economic development opportunities for remote, rural and urban communities by establishing strategic partnerships and masterfully crafting investment attraction strategies. Within his first 10 months working as the City of Surrey's Economic Investment Strategist, he successfully attracted over $1 million in high profile capital investments for the City and over $50 million in investments over the past 2 years.

Mike McGreer, Economic Development Analyst
Working for the City of Surrey’s Investment & Intergovernmental Relations Department, Mike drives the development of a thriving, innovative and resilient economy in Surrey. Mike developed the City’s first Economic Diversification Strategy, which articulates the long-term vision for Surrey’s economy and its approach to growing five key sectors. In addition to sector development he produces economic information, communications materials and events that promote the City’s business message and connects entrepreneurs.

And the following speaker from the Intelligent Community Forum:

Robert Bell, Co-Founder
Robert Bell is co-founder of the Intelligent Community Forum, where he heads its research, analysis and content development activities. He directs the multi-stage analysis of communities for the annual Intelligent Community Awards program and authors the in-depth profiles of the Top Seven Intelligent Communities that are core to ICF's mission. Robert developed and leads the Intelligent Community Master Class and Community Accelerator programs, as well as ICF's advisory services for communities, and is a frequent speaker at municipal and telecom events.