Iain Klugman and I spent the week in Montreal, Quebec with the Technology Councils of North America. It’s an organization we have long admired – which is why NorthGuide was proud to sponsor the annual TECNA Innovation Awards for the second year in a row.

TECNA’s annual summer conference brings together 60+ regional technology council and innovation hub leaders from across Canada and the US to talk about tech-based economic development, growing regional economies, advocating for business friendly public policy and running effective, sustainable business support organizations. Participants explored member retention techniques, learned about their reptilian brains and the power of “Iter-active leadership” during Marisa Murray’s high energy session, and traded strategies for new revenue generation and curating unforgettable events.

Here are our five big takeaways for ecosystem building organizations from this year’s event:

1 - Make yourself indispensable. Tino Mantella – himself a former TECNA board chair and long-standing tech council leader, delivered the opening keynote. His question for the audience was: “It’s 2030. If you’re gone, will you be missed?” Tino’s advice about building an organization that people trust, whose services they need, and whose existence they will defend comes down to building relationships with members and clients one handshake, one email introduction, and one networking event at a time.

2 - Celebrate the wins. TECNA launched its Innovation Awards program seven years ago, to recognize the hard work and commitment of tech councils and their team members. Recognizing excellence in everything from marketing & communications, to talent and workforce development, and advancing diversity, equity & inclusion, the annual awards are a testament to the hard work that goes on behind the scenes in these community-based organizations. Special recognition in the form of the TECNA Spirit Award went this year to Nicole Martel of the Quebec Technology Association and Steve Zylstra of the Arizona Tech Council. They’ve each spent more than two decades building community through tech based economic development and ecosystem leadership.

3 - Ecosystem builders are the front line. Whether helping member companies navigate trade uncertainty, AI disruption, or connecting effectively with capital providers and enterprise customers, tech councils and ecosystem organizations have a front row seat to the opportunities and challenges of the companies they serve. Tech councils are a critical source of intel and insight for enterprise firms, startups, policymakers, capital providers and the media.

4 - Public policy advocacy matters more than ever. Even for the smallest organization, paying attention to business friendly public policy is critical to supporting members and clients. Participants were encouraged to start small – by monitoring issues, building relationships with their local and statewide elected representatives, and finding a peer group or community of practice to share intel and approaches to advancing smart policy ideas. TECNA convenes a monthly community of practice for Canadian and US councils to share their insights and expertise.

5 - Partnerships are the lifeblood of ecosystem organizations. No single tech council can create impact without leveraging the expertise of willing partners. This year’s conference shed light on a range of smart partnership opportunities to help tech councils improve their day-to-day operations from organizations like Netsuite, Apprenti, Awesome People Leaders, Ramp and Robert Half. We also heard about novel partnerships that councils are developing with higher education partners to drive enrolment and workforce development in their own local markets.

Amongst all the action, I was also able to share a NorthGuide workshop on Measuring and Communicating Organizational Impact. Participants put our “5 Dimensions of Impact” framework to work and shared their strategies for effective measurement and communications.

Thanks to the organizers at TECNA for inviting NorthGuide to be part of another great summer conference. And congratulations once again to all of the TECNA Innovation Award winners!