… perhaps more appropriately “don’t want to hear you”.

Imagine a comfortable risk averse and stay the course type bureaucrat with his/her hands over their ears chanting la la la la. The more times change, the more bureaucracies struggle to stay the same. Both the City of Ottawa and Ontario’s Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRIO) are going through the motions of having an economic development program reviews. Both are “supposedly” having public consultations and provide contact information to get involved. However, I sincerely question how motivated they are to open the process to people that does not share their sedentary views. I have sent request to; Ian Duff Manager of Economic Development City of Ottawa (ian.duff@ottawa.ca) and Brian Love from MRIO, contact person for the Ontario Commercialization Network (OCN) (brian.love@ontario.ca). Neither has returned my requests and after a couple of weeks the probability of a response is extremely low.

TheCodeFactory Mission:

TheCodeFactory fosters the development of business ideas from concept to execution by providing a collaborative environment for entrepreneurs and innovators to access services, share business experiences and connect. Entrepreneurs are also supported through fiscal and policy advocacy.

Based on my discussions with area entrepreneurs I believe there are some opportunities to advocate for both fiscal and policy changes regarding entrepreneurship and start-ups in Ottawa and Ontario. The bureaucratic wall before me actually makes me more determined than ever to be heard. I plan to attend the next economic development committee meeting here in Ottawa;

Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee
Meeting Date: Tuesday 18 November 2008
Meeting Location: Champlain Room
Meeting Time: 10:00

If you have thoughts or concerns please feel free to post a comment or send me an email offline at ian [at] thecodefactory (dot) ca. I also encourage Ottawa entrepreneurs to get involved in the city budget process and OCN review.

Ian Graham

Filed under: Entrepreneurship, Start-up, The Code Factory by Ian
No Comments »