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Home My WebLink AboutCommunitech - 2009 Operating Budget Reductions - Original Submission - Dec.18-08COMMUNIECH Carl Zehr, Mayor, and Members of Council City of Kitchener PO Box 1118, 200 King St. West Kitchener, Ontario N2G 4G7 December 18, 2008 Dear Mayor Zehr and Members of Council: I'm writing to update you on the progress that Communitech has made over the course of 2008, thanks to the $30,000 investment of the City of Kitchener in building the local technology industry. Last year, I presented Council an overview of Communitech's areas of emphasis for 2008, based on the needs expressed to us by technology companies. We were asked to support companies in the following ways: 1. Building Networks -keep connecting and improving the quality of relationships, and helping tech companies to attract talent 2. Industry education -facilitate mentorships and innovative learning opportunities on topics relevant to start-ups and SMEs 3. Government programs -evaluate what was available and help companies to decipher, secure access and maximize benefit from select government programs 4. Money- develop a lobby platform that speaks specifically to the needs of SMEs that need to g row now 5. Branding -fortify Waterloo Region's place on the map for talent and investment attraction 6. Cluster Building -support and strengthen the critical mass of the local digital media sector To meet these needs, we asked for the support of our municipal partners to strengthen the programming in our six key areas of strategic focus: Recruitment Commercialization Engagement Peer2Peer groups Youth outreach Advocacy These activities share a strong focus with several of the City's economic development objectives, including diversifying the urban economy, supporting manufacturing competitiveness, attracting and retaining talent, and building a dynamic downtown. As 2008 draws to a close, I am pleased to share the attached highlights of our results with you, and to thank you for the investments of the City of Kitchener in this community's technology industry. Looking ahead to 2009, Communitech will continue its work on behalf of the City of Kitchener and the local tech sector. A renewed investment in Communitech will allow us to continue our work on talent recruitment initiatives on behalf of the community's tech leaders, and with other area partners to brand this community as a strong technology cluster. We have plans to expand the reach of the Business & Education Partnership, with the goal of reaching more than 20,000 of our community's young people each year. And we will sharpen our focus on supporting SMEs, helping them to overcome barriers to growth in difficult economic times. A singular area of focus in 2009 will be to deliver funding for the Digital Media Convergence Centre in downtown Kitchener. This is a key part of the City of Kitchener's economic development cluster strategy. Communitech has already raised $20 million in financial commitments toward establishing the Digital Media Convergence Centre in downtown Kitchener. Communitech is seeking a further $16 million in provincial and federal public-sector support for the DMCC, and continues to engage national leaders in the private sector -building relationships with the likes of IMAX, Side Effects Software, and Intel Canada. Kitchener's digital media cluster is critical to diversifying the urban economy, and to supporting manufacturing competitiveness through R&D, process innovation and visual prototyping. The DMCC will also be a key magnet for talent, strengthening existing Kitchener companies, and building new companies on the leading edge of Canada's information & communications technology sector. Digital media is an immense global market with a high projected rate of growth - it will be a $2.2 trillion global industry over next five years. We hope that the City of Kitchener will renew its $30,000 annual investment in building the local technology industry as a strong instrument of economic prosperity and job creation for the local community. I welcome the opportunity to speak to the January 12, 2009 meeting of Council about this proposal. Should you have any questions about Communitech's programs or activities on behalf of the City of Kitchener, please don't hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, lain Klugman, President and CEO CC: Carla Ladd, Chief Administrative Officer, City of Kitchener Encl. Communitech 2 Communitech Results 2008 The local tech industry is now valued at $13 billion, with more than $300 million in dealflow raised over the last 14 months. There are more than 2,000 tech sector jobs available in local companies, and this trend continues, despite current economic uncertainties. The tech sector has enjoyed 7% employment growth over the last five years. More than 525 technology companies call the area home, and these companies conduct more than $300 million in private sector R&D annually. Programming in six key areas helps Communitech achieve multiple objectives on behalf of the technology industry and its local municipal partners. Below are highlights of the year's results, which were achieved by successfully leveraging the $30,000 investment of the City of Kitchener to bring in matching contributions from other municipal partners, other levels of government, and from the private sector. City objectives Creating, Attracting, Retaining & Developing Talent Program area & Results delivered company needs Recruitment Leveraged investments from government and • Branding companies x$70,000) to launch initiatives worth • Building more than $200,000. Networks Advertisin and media strate throu hout g gy g Ontario to attract tech professionals • Ex-pat Canadian recruitment events in Silicon Valley • Email invitations and information to various New Canadian programs, such as COSTI • Recruitment events in Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, Markham, Mississauga and Burlington, with attendance ranging from 75-140 people per event; also on-campus events at local universities and college • Developed ahigh-quality "relocation guide", designed to provide potential candidates an overview of Waterloo Region (cost of living, housing options, lifestyle information, the sense of diversity of industry, etc.) • 1,000 new profiles created on the waterlootechjobs website in 2008 • Close to 200 companies take part in recruitment events and initiatives Diversifying the Urban Economy Supporting Commercialization Coordinated $12M funding application to • Building establish Digital Media Convergence Centre in Networks downtown Kitchener • Money Hired 2 more Executives-in-Residence to Communitech 3 Manufacturing Government Competitiveness Programs • Cluster building provide free business coaching services to startups -more than 4,000 contact hours with companies in 2008 EIR team worked with more than 150 companies i n 2008 Participated in Michelin Development Corporation's efforts to fund new companies in the community Helped startups raise more than $11 M in angel financing Supported Conestoga College's application to the Manufacturing Centres of Excellence program of NSERC Support R&D efforts of advanced manufacturing and other tech companies Part of MaRS Business Mentorship & Entrepreneurship Program Home of the Ontario Investment Accelerator Fund agent in Waterloo Region Joined Microsoft Biz Spark program to help support early stage companies Orchestrated 30 one-on-one meetings for start- ups with RIM, Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft and Sun during strategic partnering day $1 K pitch contest during Entrepreneur Week Hosted first ever Founders and Fenders Dinner in Kitchener Coordinating access to government grant programs for local tech firms Creating, Engagement • 8,000 area professionals (tech and non-tech Attracting, Industry took part in Communitech events last year - Retaining & Education CEOs, COOs, CIOs, HR professionals, Sales & Developing Building Marketing professionals from multiple industries, Talent Networks entrepreneurs, and students • Learning series workshops targeted areas in need of development: business strategy, talent recruitment, marketing and sales • 3238 connections made at Entrepreneur Week • World-leading speakers at Communitech events, including Chris Anderson, editor of Wired and Jeff Taylor, founder of monster.com Creating, Peer2Peer Groups More than 20 monthly meetings for tech Attracting, Building professionals to learn from one another -largest Retaining & Networks peer learning network in North America Developing Industry Launched new groups for User Experience Talent Education Design, Agile/Lean, Sustainable Development, and Senior HR Communitech 4 Creating, Youth outreach Reached close to 20,000 elementary and Attracting, Industry secondary students and worked with all 21 area Retaining & Education high schools through co-programming with the Developing Business & Education Partnership of Waterloo Talent Region • Successful "Science Superheroes" lecture series for teachers and guidance counselors demonstrated the value of careers in science/tech/engineering/ math -featured Christie Digital, RIM and COM DEV • Put 170 volunteer speakers in local classrooms over last 12 months Building a Advocacy Coordinated $12M funding application to Dynamic Branding establish Digital Media Convergence Centre in Downtown Money downtown Kitchener -built financial support • Government amongst local technology companies to establish Diversifying the programs DMCC in downtown Kitchener Urban Economy Cluster building Raised $75,000 from Province to support entrepreneurship inwaterloo Region • Achieved national attention for local tech - Canadian Business, Globe & Mail, La Presse • Tech Directory identified 525 tech companies valued at$13B in revenue • Advocacy around government programs & support - CECR, SR&ED, co-op employer tax credit Communitech 5