Some time has passed and the news of the Christchurch earthquake has dropped from media attention in North America, but the suffering continues. The death toll is now pegged at 166 with 10,000 homes destroyed. The latest reports suggest that fully one third of the buildings require demolition. The can-do attitude of the Kiwi was apparent in their approach to the disaster from the first minutes. In this tragic time, it was heart-warming to see the response and level of international support, including Canada and especially Australia. 

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Although described as a nerd by someone close to me, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to visit Hobbiton while travelling across the North Island. Portions of the The Hobbit movie, precursor to the Lord of the Rings, is being filmed there later this year.  The investment in unbelievably “real” backdrops for filming on location helps to explain why New Zealand is able to attract so much attention from the movie industry. The amazing scenery and diversity in relatively short distances is a contributor as well.

While in Auckland, I had the opportunity to meet with Andy Hamilton, CEO of the ICEHOUSE, a local business incubator. They occupy a complete floor of an old warehouse in the Parnell textile district. The incubator is configured as completely open concept, with everyone, including Andy, working in open desks around the outside of the space and glass walled meeting rooms in the center of the floor space. The ICEHOUSE was formed in 2001 and is a partnership between University of Aukland, Bank of New Zealand, Boston Consulting Group, Ernst & Young, HP, Microsoft and Telecom NZ.

The ICEHOUSE has two main lines of business: ICE Accelerator, ICE Network and ICE Bridge. ICE Accelerator is the incubator, which provides a modest office space along with full support (IT, communications, reception etc.) plus access to in-house consulting partners covering areas of HR, strategy, marcomms etc. Of the 25 active clients at any one time, 15 are located within the incubator and the others have graduated to their own premises. The companies pay $1,000 per month to be clients and an additional $1,500 per month to be housed in the incubator.

ICE Bridge is a collaborative learning environment for owner-managers with a focus on tools to move their business forward. These companies are typically profitable and ready to undertake expansion opportunities. ICE Network is described as the ICEHOUSE extended family including entrepreneurs, owner-managers, speakers, partners and alumni. In addition, the ICE Angels have been operating for the past seven years and have selected 17 companies for investment ($26 million) and active mentorship. They are typically young, innovative New Zealand companies ready to build a global enterprise.

ICEHOUSE was named one of the Top 10 technology incubators in the world by Forbes magazine in 2010 following the Vero Excellence in Business Support award in 2009.

The Auckland area has about 200 of the 600 startup companies across New Zealand. With a population of 1.5 million in the greater Auckland area this is comparable to Ottawa-Gatineau region in size and strength. There are definitely some interesting ideas that can be garnered from the visit. Providing a strong nexus of people, knowledge, expertise and best practices has a significant impact on both the quantity of new companies produced and hopefully their success rate. It will be interesting to follow ICEHOUSE progression over the next five to 10 years. I’ve invited Andy to visit Ottawa to see what we have going here and to continue the learning process.

Thanks for all the comments for my first two blogs. Now that I have a few blogs under my belt, I hope to sit down every month to organize some of my thoughts into what I hope you’ll find interesting and informative posts. I look forward to sharing some ideas comparing and contrasting wine production with technological innovation next month.

Claude

We have engaged a team of grad students from Algonquin College’s Marketing and Business Intelligence Research program to help conduct a confidential survey.  The responses that you provide will help us understand the needs and expectations of our members and give us some insight into what’s most important to businesses who are not members yet.

We’ll be sending the survey out via email later this week. It isn’t very long and it won’t take much time but the information we can extract from the responses will help us ensure that the programs, initiatives and offerings that OCRI extends to the community are directly aligned with your needs and expectations.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email wnoble@ocri.ca or phone 613 828 6274 ext 275. 

So help us help you and take the time to complete this survey.  To sweeten the deal, we’re happy to offer one lucky survey participant an Xbox Kinect!  

Thanks!

Walter

It is the morning after a devastating earthquake here in New Zealand.  I would like to extend my condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who were killed or injured in powerful earth quake that struck Christchurch.  My family and I are safe but it is a harsh reminder to always live life to its fullest and to not take anything for granted.

We are in Auckland (North Island) until Friday when we fly back. The quake and the many aftershocks were very close to downtown Christchurch on the South Island. At 6.3 this was lower intensity than the 7.0 in the fall but was closer to the surface and closer to the city center. Death toll sits officially 38 but is expected to be higher since about 200 people are still missing in the rubble. It hit at 12:50 pm so office buildings were full. They have just pulled out six people without injury so everyone is hopeful for the rest. We did have the chance to visit the South Island earlier in our trip when we stayed three nights in the hotel across the street from Christchurch Cathedral which has now lost its tower in the quake.

While sombered by the news of the quake we continue exploring this amazing country. 

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There have been several comments and questions since my first post and I’ll attempt to answer them here or in the third part next week. Please see my first blog about entrepreneurism and innovation.  While on vacation I couldn’t resist creating an opportunity to find out more.

Lord of the Rings hype is increasing since filming of “The Hobbit” starts next month. Peter Jackson has apparently recovered enough to get the production underway. During the visit to Queenstown, to sample some of the best Pinot Noirs in the world, I took time out to visit a few of the filming locations for Lord of the Rings and other films. Visiting some of sites via narrow roads clinging to the sides of the mountains gave me a hint about the Kiwi approach to risk and danger, more on this later.

I was asked why New Zealanders, or Kiwis, are more entrepreneurial than Canadians. While I’m still not sure that I’ve found the complete answer, there are a few items of note. First, NZ is a frontier country; second, it has been relatively recently settled by people from afar; and third, it missed the smoke and grime of the industrial revolution. The post-secondary institutions in NZ are excellent and they attract students from many countries. At this stage I’m not sure that this contributes to the innovative environment but I suspect that it does by bringing in people from different cultures, experiences and new ideas at a minimum. New Zealand spends 6.2% of GDP on education (Canada 4.9% and USA 5.5%).

Although some parts of New Zealand have been settled for more than 150 years, most areas have been settled during the past century. The total population was only 100,000 in 1850 and less than 800,000 in 1900. This gives the country, and especially the South Island, a feeling of a new frontier. In contrast, Canada had 3.5 million people in 1867 and four times the current New Zealand population back in 1950. Of course, the Canadian west was developed in a significant way over the past century and explains why some parts of NZ feel like parts of BC and Alberta. This “cowboy” mentality brings a risk taking, get-the-job-done approach to life. Just try making a living raising 20,000 less than intelligent four-legged animals at a sheep station in Central Otaga.

New Zealand, like Canada, was founded by people from other lands. First, by the South Pacific warriors, the Moari, and then by the English, Scots, Irish, Dutch, Germans and Scandinavians. Later, by the Chinese and Indians and more recently by people from around the world. This melting pot of cultures and languages brings an innovative spirit. Often the most enterprising people are those who have chosen to move their families to seek a better life in a new world. Although 91% list English as their first tongue, many different languages are spoken here.

Finally, New Zealand seems to have missed most of the industrial revolution that blighted many centres in Europe and North America. The country was predominately agrarian while we built our traditional industries in Canada. This leaves the country with a pristine environment and a wonderful place, with the highly educated and international population, to excel in this world of innovative solutions and a service-oriented economy.

I’ve set the following questions for my informal survey:

• Why do so many people own their own businesses and are there government incentives?
• Are tech businesses encouraged in any specific ways and what influences local innovation?

Stay tuned for Part 3, where I will discuss innovation in wine production before getting on to technology pursuits.

Claude

So what are these companies looking at doing?  Well, it’s everything from R&D to manufacturing.  Lucky for us we have we cover the full gamut in Ontario. Couple this with the fact that Ontario has one of the best Feed In Tariff (FIT) programs in the world and you have a recipe for investment attraction.  Out of the 21 companies we visited, three are already considering a first visit to Ontario.  Hard to believe someone is visiting Ontario for the first time….who knew??  Two of the three will likely come directly to Ottawa. And why wouldn’t they…this is the Nation’s Capital with over 1,800 advanced technology companies and whole bunch of highly skilled workers, not to mention our city ROCKS!! 

Our job at OCRI is to facilitate meetings with industry leaders, academia and, of course, the government.  This triple helix, as I call it, will give them a holistic view of city and our selling attributes.  Hopefully this is the icing on the cake that gets them to locate in our great city!

In the early 90s, a film called Six Degrees of Separation built its story around the idea that we are all separated by six degrees from everybody else on the planet.  Everyone is an open door into another world and knows the people you are looking to meet or companies you want to work with.  Everyone is connected by a trail of only six people, whether you are famous or not.  If you find the right people to make the connection with, distance vanishes and the right opportunities will come your way.

It is all about relationships. Build them and keep them strong. Working together is much easier than going it alone. The more diverse your network is the better.  Build your network within clusters or groups and your opportunities will grow.

Networking can be one of the most powerful ways to grow your business and raise your level of professionalism and visibility.  Don’t treat networking as something you do occasionally and forget about.  Networking, for a successful business professional, is a way of life.  If you’re good at it, you will do it without thinking and without being false.  Offer yourself in alliance to others, create a net of people who know you and trust your expertise, and keep building that net. That is what builds success. Passion, tenacity, and follow-through help build your business, and connections with mentors, peers, and clients keep it moving.

No two networking groups are the same – some have less than 10 people, some over 100, some have a structured, rigid agenda whilst others are just an informal gathering. Different group will have their own aims and culture. Even two groups running to the same agenda will be different depending on who is attending, determining the dynamics within the group.

What is networking? It is simply the process of expanding your contacts with people.

What is membership?  A channel to voice your opinion and support your community.

Ultimately, my job in corporate communications is to help create a connection between OCRI and you by finding a common link, shared interest, understanding your needs and communicating how OCRI can help address those needs.  I can’t pummel you with emails and expect to get a warm welcome. I can’t look the same as everyone else and expect to stand out. Jeff said that change is happening in marketing and branding like never before and the rate of that change is swift.  He also said that with change comes some chaos and risk.

Today’s customers are more sophisticated but we (marketers everywhere) still treat you like children.  Spoon feeding and especially force feeding tends to get tossed aside. People are now fine tuning their groups, friends, feeds etc. so that they only get info that really matters to them.  This is so true – last week I decided to de-friend anyone on facebook who insisted on posting glum, depressing, status updates when all I really want to hear is positive, uplifting good news.

One other thing that really resonated with me was the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon … 6 degrees of everything. We’re trying to tap into that. If you’ve been following our blogs or tweets or linkedin groups we got everything in place, the infrastracture is there, we’re good to go. We also have pretty significant following and group members but I admit, the discussion pages resemble a ghost town.  I could populate all the pages with stuff that I think is important but the vision and the real benefit of these networks is to provide you with a forum to talk. Talking about industry news, trends, ideas, opporutunities and challenges gives us insight into what really matters to you and you bet we’ll use that information – not to sell you something you don’t need but give you the chance to get valuable information that can help you and your company grow.

Change may be swift but building a relationship based on trust and respect can take time.  So, going forward you may see some weird stuff coming out of the OCRI marketing and communications department. We need to learn how to think about normal things in an abnormal way.  Every good idea has a hook. It would be super if we could twist it just enough to rise above the clutter and show you that we get it!  We know your time is precious. We understand why you are selective.  We are committed to getting connected with you. And we think we understand what we need to do.

Let us know what you think about:

- our weekly OCRI Spotlight (rather than multiple emails per event)

- our Twitter posts (industry news, OCRI updates and posting great takeaways and quotes from events) http://twitter.com/ocri

- OCRI blogs (member kudos, profiles, economic development in Ottawa)

- OCRI TV (highlights and Q&A from events and media coverage)

- our LinkedIn groups (we’ve got an OCRI Network and one group per specific industry/monthly event series)

We want to know what works and need to know what doesn’t.

CHEERS!

Greetings from the South Island of New Zealand, which lives up to its reputation as a scenic, almost magical place. We haven’t seen any Orks yet, or Hobbits for that matter, but we have encountered a friendly and inquisitive local population that always has a story to share. I hadn’t intended to work or even blog on my visit to New Zealand as a tourist. We have planned this vacation for more than two years and saved vacation days from last year in order to stretch it to a full three weeks. So far we’ve visited Christchurch, the garden city, and travelled by rail through Arthur’s Pass in the Southern Alps and then by coach down to Franz Josef, an alpine town in the rain forest at the foot of the glacier of the same name.

Over the past year, when not hosting OCRI professional development events, entertaining visiting delegations from various countries, participating in youth entrepreneurship initiatives and meeting with the various funders of our innovation programs, I have led a group called Innovation Leadership Team (ILT). ILT has been focusing on cataloguing the assets in Ottawa, defining our innovation objectives and comparing to other leading innovation centers globally. We have had multiple opportunities to see what’s happening in China, places like Z-Park with their 18,000 technology companies in one industrial park. I’m taking the opportunity while on vacation to get a sense of the New Zealand approach. To that end, I will be meeting with the CEO of the ICEHOUSE, a company incubator in Auckland later in the trip.

As I learn more about the Kiwis, as they call themselves, I discover a people that are both very enterprising and innovative but also hard working with a balanced life style. These are people who value living well but not to excess. The focus on locally produced food, beer and wine was driven I’m sure by the distance to other countries but continues today as distances become smaller. Their focus on sustainable living rivals the Scandinavian approach. Everyone, at least on the South Island, is very connected to the natural environment, how could you not be with such diverse and beautiful surroundings.

Another striking feature of life in this area of New Zealand is the average age. With a massive influx of university students and recent graduates from countries from around the world, there is a youthful flavour about the population. Add that to the fact that most people we have seen are quite fit, I’m feeling decidedly old and out of shape in comparison.

I’m planning to ask the locals the following questions:

• Why do so many people own their own business?
• Are there gov’t incentives?
• Are tech businesses encouraged in any specific way?
• What has influenced local innovation?

Stay tuned for Part 2, where I hope to be able to talk about innovation in wine production. Consumption of course is part of the experience.

Claude

Case in point… I recently met up with Loris Bondio, president of Spectra FX, a small software company, who has been an OCRI member for the last five years and asked him what value OCRI has provided him and his company.

He cited several examples. His first was while attending (as an exhibitor) the OCRI showcase in 2007. This is where he met fellow members who helped him develop a marketing plan to attract more business internationally. Secondly, with the help of OCRI, he targeted his time and effort to specific events such as our Research Days where he was introduced to people from Pfizer who later became a larger client. It took a year before he saw the financial benefit but it happened. Thirdly, I connected Loris to another colleague at OCRI who in turn connected him to one of the embassies in town where he later established a business relationship that benefited both parties and is now thriving in the UK.

These are all examples of intangible benefits of being a member of any association or organization that do not get communicated as often as they should. 

This year, I’ve made it my mission to find out from our members the type of intangible benefits they are receiving from OCRI.  If you’ve got a story to share, please contact me at wnoble@ocri.ca.  Hey I might even ask you for a testimonial to post on our website.

Below is a photo of Amika Mobile CEO, Dr. Sue Abu-Hakima & The Honourable David Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario

OCRI is Ottawa’s lead economic development agency committed to advancing the region’s globally competitive, knowledge-based institutions and industries; making connections between and among its members; and fostering strategic partnerships at home and around the world to build wealth and enhance our quality of life. 

OCRI is a non-profit, partnership organization with an annual budget from a variety of sources including:  municipal, provincial, and federal governments; membership fees; professional development programs; and private sector contributions.   Through its more than 725 members representing more than 110,000 people, OCRI helps communities in Ottawa’s knowledge-based sector take shape and come to life.  Members include large corporations, small and medium sized technology companies, research laboratories, post secondary institutions, municipal government, school boards and businesses across several industry sectors including Cleantech, Life Sciences, Digital Media, Information and Communications Technology, etc. 

As the Chair of OCRI’s Board of Directors, it is my pleasure to announce a call for nominations to the OCRI Board.  We are seeking nominations to fill two (2) vacancies on the Board.  Each position can have a term of one (1), two (2) or three (3) years.  Each elected Director is eligible for re-election up to a maximum of 6 years, to be set by the Nominating/Governance Committee.  Appointments will be announced on Thursday, May 5, 2011.

The OCRI Board of Directors serves to provide governance for the business and guidelines for the programs of the Corporation.  The Board is also responsible for establishing the strategic direction for OCRI.  At a minimum, it is anticipated that Directors of the Board will be required to commit sufficient time to participate in six (6), board meetings per year, and key OCRI functions.  New Board members will be required to attend a Board Orientation session. 

The Board seeks members from the following industry sectors: Life Sciences, Cleantech, Digital Media and ICT. The Board is seeking candidates with a history of building businesses, strong leadership in the community, prior Board experience and history as an OCRI member. 

Only OCRI members are eligible to apply.

Please send nominations in writing to OCRI Board Nominating & Governance Committee.

By Mail:   OCRI, c/o Cindy Babcock, Suite 200 – 2625 Queenview Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K2B 8K2

By Email: cbabcock@ocri.ca

By Fax:  (613) 726-3440

Nominations must be submitted with a Resume including your name, phone number and email address.  All nominations must be received by Friday, March 4, 2011.