Connecting High-Tech Growth and Community Well-Being
A project of the Nonprofit Executive Roundtable and Center for Women in Government & Civil Society
 On September 19, 2007 the Nonprofit Executive Roundtable held the first ever Tech Valley Civic
Forum, bringing together leaders from business, government, nonprofit and education to build the foundation for --
and commitment to -- an inclusive planning process based on the over-arching vision of successful collaboration.
From the inception of the project, convened by the fifteen CEOs of the Nonprofit Executive Roundtable and chaired by
Center for Women in Government & Civil Society Executive Director, Judith Saidel, this vision was at the forefront
of Forum planning and attracted such co-sponsors as the Center for Economic Growth, Bender Family Foundation,
UAlbany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, Times Union, and the Albany-Colonie Regional
Chamber of Commerce.
View the
Guiding Principles, Goals, Process & Outcomes presentation
The forum was organized into four task forces, which are:
- Tech Valley Community Outreach
The principal work of this Task Force is, in the words of a Forum participant,
to "tell the Tech Valley story" at the community level and highlight the
opportunities that the new economy offers in venues throughout the region. Community
events will be held in high schools in the four counties of the Capital Region and will
include interactive information exchanges developed for parents, students, employees, and
job seekers. The Task Force is collaborating with other Task forces on these public events
that will be preceded by media efforts in the community to create awareness of and interest
in the gatherings.
- New Economy and P-16 Education
This Task Force is planning to pilot on a small scale a new Business-Education Collaborative
that will bring together business persons, college technology faculty, and high school
guidance counselors, science supervisors, or other administrators. Drawing on the Capital
Leadership program models hosted by various Chambers of Commerce, the Collaborative will
forge connections between the business and education sectors to address what many see as a
gap between 21st century jobs and workforce readiness for those jobs.
- Metrics for Success
This group is creating a Community Progress Report with key indicators of the quality or life
and community well-being in the Capital Region. The Report will focus on the human side of
economic development and include indicators reflecting key social, environmental and economics
factors affecting the community’s well-being and long term sustainability. The Report will:
- Gather and examine information in order to focus attention on critical needs,
encourage discussion of solutions, and to keep track of progress toward achieving
sustainability.
- Create a basis for tracking positive and negative trends
- Allow for an on-going analysis of the state of the region; and
- Assist community leaders in making decisions that effect outcomes in the community
- Tech Valley Workforce Network
Workforce development in Tech Valley will be maximized by linking employer and employees
through skills. This will be achieved through:
- Highlighting job opportunities in middle skill level positions
- Providing a broad range of education and training programs, available and accessible
to non-baccalaureate seeking students and re-entry or incumbent workers
- Including local companies with existing jobs in targeted growth sectors as partners
in developing worker capacity.
View a printable list of our members
Download the premier issue of
Forum E-Clips
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Founded in
1978, the Center for Women in Government & Civil Society is
part of the Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs
and Policy, University at Albany, State University of New
York.
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