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| Dear E100: |
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| Those who have known me for years already know my Boston roots. Thanks to all of you, our E100 Network – with some new additions – will span 70+ countries…and growing. Again, thanks to many of you, I've had the privilege of visiting 38…and counting. |
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| The last two years, I have been toiling another land – revisiting the local innovation environment of Boston, our Commonwealth and nation. As whirlwind – and kaleidoscopic – as has been the travel of the last two decades, getting reacquainted with our local leadership has left me breathless - something to share! |
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| WSIE 2012 |
| You should already have received an EXCLUSIVE invitation to participate in the upcoming World Summit on Innovation and Entrepreneurship [WSIE]. Already, we already have 15 confirmed responses from 10 Countries. |
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| So, take a look at the WSIE site which is regularly updated and let us know if you can join us in Boston for this unique opportunity! Remember, the 1st 30 E100 receive FREE registration. So, you might want to Register…Now! |
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| Why Boston? |
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| Boston represents a compact, convenient, attractive geographic hub. It is known globally for its institutions of higher education, venture capital funding and economic development prowess across all stakeholders in the innovation eco-system. |
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- Boston is the #1 World Innovation City [Think2Know]
- Boston is the #1 Digital City in America [National League of Cities]
- Boston Convention Center is the #1 in the country
- Massachusetts leads the nation (5 years in a row)…ranks #1 in measures for the Innovation Economy – ITIF New Economy Study "Massachusetts is in a league all its own."
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| But there are (at least) 3 compelling reports that are worthy of your review: |
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- Atlantic Century II produced by ITIF which indicates that although the US ranks 43rd out of 44 countries, Massachusetts – if it were a country – leads the world [See pgs. 13-14]
- An International Strategy for Massachusetts produced by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative
- City of Ideas: Reinventing Boston's Innovation Economy produced by The Boston Foundation
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| So, how do we make all this real to others – the people, the culture, and the events? |
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| Boston Innovation Tour |
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| It was E100 Fellow Dr. Piero Formica, Dean of the International Entrepreneurship Academy and new E100 Maurizio Sarmenghi, Director of COFIMP – a management development group, who afforded me an opportunity to host 50 executives from Northern Italy and funded by CONFINDUSTRIA. Such a joy to have a chance to investigate and then showcase – what lies behind the global success story that has been Boston. |
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| What transpired were months of preparation – a foundation for WSIE 2012 and perhaps (1) a model that could be adapted for any country visiting the region and/or (2) a template for developing a virtual knowledge tour in innovation regions globally. We intend to grow both opportunities… |
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| For starters, you can take your own Virtual Tour of the Boston Innovation expertise: |
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1st: Take a look at the Welcome Italy to Boston slides where you can find the learning objectives, the innovation elevator pitch, Boston as an innovation destination and what was featured each day of the one-week tour. |
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2nd: Scan the Boston Innovation Tour Agenda to see the sequence of events, the format variety, the scope of local leadership and variety of innovation facets from academia, industry – small, medium and large scale enterprises, consulate leadership, and organizations integral to collaboration – locally and abroad. |
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3rd: The Tour Design was a unique blend of case stories with CEO Case Studies & 10 Modules featuring: MIT; Boston Innovation District; Harvard University; Kendall Square; Babson College/Olin College of Engineering; IBM/Consulates; Legal Sea Foods Quality Control Center; MOITI; Collaboration Gene; and the Best of Boston. |
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4th: Over 65 local experts participated as Boston Innovation Guides. You can explore their bio sketches and the organizations they represent. It is a representative sample of the 'diversity density' – the major innovation strength of the region. |
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5th: Probably best of all is the Innovation Tour Video prepared by the students. Here you can see Boston through their eyes – the strength and wonder of the innovation community. Highlights include unusual views of University visits, media shots and even the trip to Patriots Place – a glimpse of American football. |
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| The FUSION of September |
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| Now, we have a rare opportunity to coalesce interests – the delegates who comprise the World Summit on Innovation and Entrepreneurship from 50 countries, the E100 innovation expertise across 70 countries and the local Boston innovation leadership represented in our tour guides. |
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| This may be one of the timeliest opportunities to help unfreeze this global economic stagnation. It's been a difficult few years; but these are the times when innovation is most demanded; and now on a global scale. |
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| ‘Innovating our Future…Together’ |
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Always in your Network,
Debra |
