TECNA NOTES

TECNA Highlights - February 2015

Dear Members,

February was a very busy and productive month! Of note, we launched TECNA’s new website and database. Please visit www.tecna.org to view new features including:
• Aggregated member Twitter and blog content on our Trending page• Member’s only pages with access to best practices, member survey data, past Community of Interest recordings, and more. (log in required)
• Social sharing of site content
• New members only directory with advanced search capabilities to better facilitate networking among member organizations and staff. (log in required)
• Enhanced public directory listing your association’s logo, description and twitter account

All members in our system received an email on February 26 giving them access to the member’s only pages and ability to update your information. All CEOs received a second email with instructions on logging into the system on behalf of your association to add/delete staff and make other organizational updates. Please be sure to review your staff so they have access and receive our communications.

 

Advocacy

I’d like to thank the 21 councils that participated in this year’s TechAmerica DC Fly-In. We really helped make an impact on the Hill with more than 110 hill visits!

We also signed on to the following letters of support:

02.25.2015 - TECNA and the Coalition of Small Business Innovators Strongly Support recently introduced COMPETE ACT

02.03.2015 - TECNA, TechAmerica and the Coalition of Small Business Innovators (CSBI), write in strong support of your Start-up Jobs and Innovation Act

02.02.2015 - TECNA, 26 members and TechAmerica support the introduction of the Start Up Jobs and Innovation Act

 

Research

We also had a busy month helping launch two new industry research reports:

02.11.2015 - Joint research with University of Phoenix and Apollo Group examines and identifies strategies to address shortage software development talent

02.10.2015 - Cyberstates 2015 released by CompTIA and TECNA: Employment growth in 38 states 

View the Cyberstates report and interactive map (Tech Council members are listed with each state’s data summary)

 

Best Practices

Two of our Communities of Interest met this month. Check out these recordings and resources (Member log in required):

Keeping Members and Attendees Engaged With Events

Tech Council Efforts to Workforce Development

 

CEO Retreat

The CEO Retreat is less than a month away and the most current information is on the website. CEOs have until March 3 to register for the hotel and registration.

 

Summer Conference

The planning committee is busy drafting the preliminary agenda that will be released when registration opens on March 6. Early bird hotel and event registration runs through June 3. View up to date information here.

 

Governance

Today the Nominating Committee met to review open director and officer positions. They will present a slate of candidates to the membership at the CEO Retreat. The Board is currently revising the by-laws to move up the vote from the Summer Conference so there is more time to plan for their participation at the July Board meeting.

Tino Mantella, Julie Huls and myself met to frame out an approach to identify strategic initiatives that can help secure large corporate and foundation monies to help support the work of tech councils and solidify TECNA’s financial sustainability. These will be discussed with the board and membership at the next two meetings. Stay tuned!

Best regards,

Bob

 

Bob Moore, CAE

Executive Director, TECNA

 

TECNA Highlights - January 2015

Happy New Year,

From my conversations with many members, 2015 is starting off VERY busy. The same is true at TECNA. This month we continue to get great press from the National Survey of Technology, Policy and Strategic Issues. Since the report’s release in December, we have had 147 unique placements with a potential audience of 129.4 million! If your council participated and has not yet sent out the pre-drafted release to your local media, please do so soon. We’d like to beat our exposure from last year.

On Monday February 2, we’ll open registration for the 2015 CEO Retreat. We just secured Adrian Davis to come back from the Summer Conference for an in-depth workshop on developing your organization’s value proposition. We have other exciting sessions lined-up addressing:

• 2015 technology sector economic forecast
• Events of the future
• Access to talent
• Turn key programs
• And much more

TECNA’s CEO salary survey being conducted by the Management Association closed January 30. Data will be presented in aggregate at the CEO Retreat.

In February we will launch our new TECNA website and member database. Stay on the lookout for new member log-in information. Also note that some links may be broken from previous communications, but the content will all still be accessible at www.tecna.org.

Finishing touches are being put on the Buildingand Sustaining Software Development Talent Survey that was conducted in partnership with the University of Phoenix and Apollo Education Group. A press release will launch on February 10 and full materials will be posted on our website. You’ll find several recommendations presented for tech councils, educators, legislators and industry. We will have a corresponding suggestion box to collect additional ideas you may have to help address this critical issue. We look forward to continuing the conversation.

With the new Congress in session, our U.S. advocacy efforts are picking up steam. TECNA and 25 tech councils gave support for the Startup Act 3.0. We are also currently working on letters of support to U.S. Senators on immigration reform and the Start Up Jobs and Innovation Act. Five new strategic partners signed onto our TechAmerica powered By CompTIA collaboration: California Technology Council, Howard Technology Council, Metroplex Technology Business Council, Nashville Technology Council, and the Wisconsin Technology Council.  We are now up to 21 councils partnering and have 6 in the process of re-signing! Last, but not least, we have broken records for the DC Fly-In with two-weeks left in registration. There is still time for members who are TechAmerica Alliance Partners to register and/or bring more delegates.

Advocacy efforts are also quickly moving ahead in Canadian where members are close to finalizing their 2015 advocacy priorities. Stay on the look out for those on our website in the next few weeks.

Best,

Bob Moore, CAE

Executive Director, TECNA

TECNA Highlights - November 2014

Dear Members,

With the Thanksgiving season past or upon us in Canada and the U.S. respectively, I’d like to thank all of our leaders and volunteers who help bring valuable programs and resources to the membership.

Over the last few weeks, I joined our Canadian organizations who hosted an Ottawa policy meeting to set collaborative priorities for 2015. We also wrapped up two research initiatives. The National Survey of Technology, Policy and Strategic Issues closed November 9. Results are currently being analyzed and the report and draft press materials will be distributed by the first week of December. Twenty-three of the 32 councils participating will receive custom regional reports based upon their great response rates! In partnership with the University of Phoenix, on October 30 we hosted a software skills development virtual roundtable with 12 professionals from regional tech councils. The report detailing panel insights, coupled with the quantitative survey, will be released by February.

Is your council hosting an Hour of Code event between December 8-14? If so, let Code.org and me know. This is a great way to interest students in coding and a career in technology.

If you missed the Membership Community of Interest webinar on implementing ambassador programs, check out the recording. We have two more webinars next month. Learn more about the December 3 Events and December 10 STEM/Workforce COI networking and learning opportunities.

In an effort to further explore ways to maximize our relationship and support through CompTIA, a TECNA/CompTIA Exploratory Task Force met November 10-11 to assess new opportunities to create a win-win scenario. The task force and board will continue to assess options to take TECNA to the next level through the March 2015 board meeting.

TechVoice Alliance Partners are currently reviewing an updated TechAmerica powered by CompTIA Strategic Services Agreement. In addition to the existing federal commercial policy support, TECNA members have two new ways to get engaged with state advocacy. The Nashville Technology Council is our newest Alliance Partner and we’re talking with four other councils about joining. Please let me know if you’d like more information.

As a reminder, I’ll be sending member invoices in the next few weeks and 2015 dues are payable by January 16. We are offering a new way to remit payment through an ACH withdrawal. CEOs will receive the invoice and details on how to pay by ACH.

Last but not least, having launched our new brand, we'd like all members to update their website and materials with our new logo. Download various file types of our new logo here.

Best regards,

Bob Moore, CAE

Executive Director, TECNA

TECNA Highlights - August 2014

Dear Members,

In the weeks since the Summer Conference, I’ve had a few productive trips. First, I visited beautiful Chattanooga, TN to begin planning for the 2015 CEO Retreat being hosted by the Chattanooga Technology Council. Stay tuned for exciting details about this must-attend event March 25-27.

The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) appointed me to their Small Staff Committee, which met during their annual meeting in Nashville, TN earlier this month. I look forward to being able to share new resources I discover through this volunteer experience.  While attending the ASAE meeting, I saw a very cool way to raise funds for your organization. Various sponsors supported a headshot lounge so that attendees could get a professional picture for social media and other uses. While the lounge is scalable in size, this one included three photographers, 4 make-up artists, music and a bar. Attendees were asked to make a $20-$50 donation to the foundation.

I also attended CompTIA’s ChannelCon meeting and participated in leadership development meetings for their communities. You may find several of these communities of interest to your organizations efforts. Check them out.

TECNA’s rebranding efforts continue to move along as planned. The new logo and brand kit is almost complete and being used in the early stages of the website development. Early 2015 is the anticipated launch date for the new site.

Last but not least, TECNA and about one third of our members signed on to the following advocacy letters supporting:

Internet Tax Freedom Act

Export-Import Bank

Best regards,

Bob Moore, CAE

Executive Director, TECNA

TECNA Highlights - July 2014

Dear Members,

While TECNA operates on a calendar year, the Summer Conference provides an opportunity to reflect on the year since we all last met – and a lot has happened.  First, I want to thank the staff at AQT and the Summer Conference planning committee for hosting a phenomenal event. 100% of survey respondents found the conference a valuable use of their time. If you missed it, the energy was electric.

We also took the opportunity to thank outgoing Board members Maxine Ballen (NJTC) and Joan Siefert Rose (CED) for their years of leadership and service. The membership also voted in three new board members:

• Avvey Peters, vice president, marketing and communications, Communitech;
• Brooks Raiford, vice president and CEO, North Carolina Technology Association; and
• Kathie Shields, executive director of Tech Collective. Shields will also serve as TECNA’s new secretary/treasurer.

Skip Newberry, president of the Technology Association of Oregon, will serve as a vice chair of the TECNA board. Newberry had previously been a member of the board of directors. View the updated Board roster.

Overall, TECNA’s strategic goals around best practices, industry research, advocacy, branding, and financial sustainability are all on track per this year’s annual operating plan. Of note, this year alone we have:

• Collected best (promising) practices:
  • 32 Turnkey programs collected for CEO Toolbox
  • 100+ Summer Conference presentations and resources supporting the session topics
  • 10+ STEM model programs
  • Launched four Communities of Interest (STEM, Workforce, Events and Membership)
  • Developed a speaker database
  • Increased councils participating in the National Survey of Technology, Strategic and Policy issues by 25%
  • Developed a framework for a North American State of the Industry report which will be used to enhance and expand CompTIA’s newly acquired Cyber States report (including a Cyber Canada report)
  • Conducted research to re-brand TECNA and identify workforce skills gaps
  • Welcomed six new member organizations
  • Secured the highest level of combined sponsor and partnership funding topping $120,000
  • Updated TECNA’s governance structure, bylaws and developed board and financial policy manuals to better govern the organization forward

These and other initiatives could not have been accomplished without the support of 17 workgroups and committees involving 51 leaders (13% of membership). Thank you to all TECNA leaders and volunteers!

As we look ahead, TECNA’s rebranding, new website and CRM are scheduled to launch by year’s end.

Best,

Bob Moore, CAE 

Executive Director, TECNA

TECNA Highlights - March 2014

Dear TECNA,

Next week, March 26-28, the North Carolina Technology Association and Council for Entrepreneurial Development will serve as hosts for 30 executives registered to attend our CEO Retreat. I’ll report out highlights in next month’s update including the results of a virtual turn key toolbox that is being developed for our member CEOs.

Looking ahead to our next program, please remember to register for the TECNA Summer Conference. May 15 is the deadline for hotel registration and our early bird registration savings.

Over the next few months our Communities of Interest (COI) will have several engagement opportunities. Check out information about the STEM, Workforce, Membership, and Events COIs for updates and to sign up to participate in future calls. The Membership COI will host a best practice webinar on April 15.

Work is well underway to move forward a few of our 2014 priorities. Eleven RFPs were received to support TECNA’s rebranding and web redesign projects. Over the next few weeks the vendor(s) will be selected and timelines developed to meet our launch dates.  If you have an interest to volunteer with our branding and web redesign efforts, please email me. 

We are also currently collecting letters of interest from vendors interested in supporting our State of the Industry Report to assess the impact of the North American technology industry (specifically the U.S. and Canada) across a number of indicators at both the national and state/provincial level. A formal RFP will be launched in April to collect final bid information.

I’d like to thank all members who provided feedback on the proposed North American Awards Gala. At this time, we did not have the commitment level to move forward with the gala as proposed. The Task Force will reconvene this spring to explore alternative approaches for future consideration.

Over the last few weeks I’ve also had the privilege of meeting with several TECNA member organizations. From February 26-28 I traveled to Ottawa for a Canadian Policy Forum with participation from five TECNA member organizations including BCTIA, Communitech, ICTAM, Tech Southeast, and AQT. I also joined the Austin Technology Council with their participation in South By Southwest’s Interactive Festival.

Last but not least, TECNA is excited to welcome our newest member, the Yukon Information Technology and Industry Society. Welcome aboard!

Best Regards,

Bob Moore, CAE

TECNA, Executive Director

TECNA Highlights - February 2014

Dear TECNA,

We just finished a very successful TechVoice Fly-In. With the support of our partners at CompTIA, we were able to represent 26 states, learn about current policy issues, and meet with more than 100 US legislators. The TechVoice and TECNA Twitter feeds have some highlights as does the TechVoice Blog.

Our attention now turns to TECNA’s next learning and engagement opportunities. The registration deadline for the CEO Retreat is March 21. And the Summer Conference website and registration recently launched. Please note that the hotel block is released on May 15 – please book your lodging before this date. This is also the deadline for our early bird registration. Member CEO registration is free for both events.

Be sure to read this month’s TECNA Digest article about the US Tech Vets program that helps veterans transition to the civilian workforce all while providing your member companies access to the website to post jobs and search for veteran talent at no charge. Learn more about this member value opportunity on February 25.

Last but not least, please help me welcome the South Florida Technology Alliance who recently became our newest member of TECNA!

Best,

Bob Moore, CAE

Executive Director, TECNA

TECNA 2012 Annual Conference

 

The TECNA 2012 Summer Conference is designed for tech council leadership – as a true peer to peer exchange, with valuable information and thought-provoking discussion on best practices and collaborative dialogue. Join us Wednesday, August 8, 2012 - Friday, August 10, 2012 in Seattle, Washington. For more information and to register click here.

Is the “America Invents Act” good for small and medium sized businesses or does it raise greater hurdles for innovation?

On April 14, 2011, the House Judiciary Committee approved H.R. 1249, the “America Invents Act,” by a vote of 32-3. The Bill has already passed in the Senate and is expected to be considered by the entire House either late May or in June.

This is a hot topic for tech councils and their member companies - There will be winners & losers as a result of this. Feel free to add your comments below, and sign up for an informative, interactive session with the U.S. Patent and Trade Office on the status of patent reform legislation in the United States Congress and what it means for the tech SMB.

Several members of the USPTO staff will share pertinent aspects of the legislation as it relates to small and medium sized businesses and entertain questions that you may have.

Free Webinar
Register Online: http://bit.ly/mTyPxC
U.S. Patent Reform and the Tech Small & Medium Sized Businesses
Date & Time Thursday, May 19, 2011, 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM

We are pleased to have –

Janet Gongola
Associate Solicitor, Office of the Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property Law and Solicitor, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, United States Department of Commerce

Rob Clarke
Deputy Director, Unit 1, Office of Patent Legal Administration, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, United States Department of Commerce

Dana Robert Colarulli
Director of the Office of Governmental Affairs, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, United States Department of Commerce

Brought to you by TechVoice, a partnership between CompTIA and the Technology Councils of North America (TECNA)

TECNA will be in DC for TechAmerica's Technology & Government Dinner June 15, 2011

TECNA members will converge in DC on June 15, 2011 for a policy meeting early in the day, and go to the dinner in the evening. For more info about TECNA programming in DC that day, contact, Paige Rasid [email protected]  

That evening, TechAmerica Foundation will host its Ninth Annual Technology and Government Dinner. As in past years,TECNA (Technology Council of North America)  members  have attended the sold-out event to hear keynote addresses from top industry leader executives.   The dinner is the premier Washington, DC technology networking event bringing hundreds of tech industry, congressional, and government leaders together at one venue to celebrate the partnership between industry and government.  Full info, click here 

Registration for the Technology & Government Dinner and American Technology Awards, As of 5/10, registration is now open. Fees are:

$350 – Industry: $350
$200 – Non-profit & Academia