NPA proposes creation of Mayor’s Innovation Council to support Vancouver tech startups

Dec 19 2017, 8:44 pm

An NPA government will establish a Mayor’s Innovation Council to attract technology investment to Vancouver, building on its plan to make Vancouver a global leader in digital technology, the party’s mayoral candidate Kirk LaPointe announced today at Vancouver’s tech hub HQ, Launch Academy.

The Innovation Council will advise City Hall and Council on how best to attract investment to the city, as well as how to use technology to create the most open government in the country.

The Mayor’s Innovation Council builds on initiatives already announced by the NPA to support Vancouver’s technology sector, including:

  • Working with federal and provincial governments and local venture capital firms to ensure Vancouver’s share of the $400-million federal Venture Capital Action Plan is managed in the city.
  • Positioning the city as a first customer for local start-ups and one that would expedite trials for global technologies needing a city partner.
  • Reorienting the Vancouver Economic Commission towards attracting investors and businesses.
  • Using new technology to deliver on its open government and transparency platform.

“The City of Vancouver must do all it can to attract investment to our tech sector,” said LaPointe. For instance, he said, the CEO of China’s Alibaba Group is mulling opening a North American office in Vancouver. “An NPA Council will fight to make that happen.”

Advising LaPointe and an NPA government on establishing the Mayor’s Innovation Council will be Leonard Brody, founder and former CEO of social-news website NowPublic and current president of Clarity Digital Group, which oversees some of the world’s largest online news properties. He’s also a co-founder of lead Canadian accelerator Grow Lab, which recently merged with to become HIGHLINE.

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“Leonard has built world-leading technology companies from the ground up, and has been a pioneer in fostering digital democracy through technology like NowPublic. I am excited by the prospect of working with him to establish the Mayor’s Innovation Council.”

Membership in the Mayor’s Innovation Council will be established through an open nomination process, and its advice will be public and transparent.

DH Vancouver StaffDH Vancouver Staff

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