The PDC interview came up with 3 critical areas that impact software professionals: 1) Education 2) Political Engagement 3) Taxes & Fees

The goal of the meeting will be to break into small groups, read some of the written ideas from the online interview and brainstorm ways for the PDC to address these issues.

Each of the 3 groups will share with the larger group with the goal of reaching consensus around a few ideas for the PDC to pursue.

We'll then go out to the larger community with a second online interview to make sure that we're giving the PDC advice that reflects the entire region.

NOTE: Please RSVP using the link below.

Recently the Portland Development Commission conducted a web-based interview to explore ways to increase the competitive advantages of our software industry. We would like to invite you to a meeting to discuss the results of this interview.

When: Wednesday, May 26th from 4:30 to 6:30 Where: Wieden + Kennedy (224 Northwest 13th Avenue, Portland OR 97209-2977)

The web-based interview revealed 4 critical areas that are impacting the success of our region's software professionals.

• Education
• Investment
• Political Engagement
• Taxes & Fees

The goal of the meeting will be to vet the ideas shared in this dialog and brainstorm other ways for the PDC to help address these issues.

Based on the results of this meeting, we will go out to the larger community with a second web-based interview to make sure that we're giving the PDC advice that reflects the entire region.

To register for the meeting: http://pdc.cmail1.com/t/y/l/bfml/oiujrttuj/y

This is our second community gathering in the process of identifying the elements the City needs to develop in order to have a thriving software cluster in the Portland region.

Our first survey in April helped identify the critical areas the city needed to focus on in order to build the cluster.

Our second survey in July drilled down into some specific ways to address these areas. At this meeting we will share the results of the July survey: • User group support • Creating a directory of local software companies and coders • Mentoring matching • Software company financing

Software is one of only four clusters that the Portland Development Commission is focusing on, so your input on this topic will have a large impact on what ultimately becomes our region's future for software success.

Mayor Adams, the Software Association of Oregon and the Portland Development Commission cordially invites you to participate in the development of a key software cluster strategy for the Oregon/SW Washington region. By attending this informative meeting you will play an instrumental part in the process with other top business community leaders.

More:

The deal is: you show up, you get to help direct the resources dedicated to software industry development from the Portland Development Commission, the Mayor’s office and the Software Association of Oregon. That’s pretty much it. The people who go to this meeting are the folks who will be directing the future of the PDC’s “Portland Software Mandate”, which is part of that whole industry “cluster” initiative that targets active outware, advanced manufacturing, clean tech and software. More broadly, this is part of the 5-year plan to guide Portland’s economic growth.

Anyway, you really should attend this meeting next Thursday. If you can’t attend, see if you can get someone you know or a friend to attend on your behalf. We’d want to pack city hall.

That’s right — we’re meeting in the City Council Chambers. It’ll be great. Please attend! It starts at 4:30pm and goes to 6:30pm. And, if you show up we can lead you over to a sweet afterparty. Seriously. It’s gonna be awesome.

The initiatives being discussed are:

• Creating a Knowledge Network to support local user groups – group convened by Warren Harrison of PSU
• Developing a business mentorship network – group convened by SAO’s Matt Nees
• Enhancing a financing network – group convened by Gerald Baugh of the PDC

PDX11 SOFTWARE MENTORING PROGRAM General Network Meeting

Monday, June 6, 2011 3:30 – 5:00 p.m

Meeting Agenda

• Establish Timekeeper and Minutes Roles

• Establish Collective Meeting Goal

• Develop Parking Lot

• PDX11 Overview – What’s been going on in the networks

 Knowledge Network brief update  Finance Network brief update  Public Unveil / Progress Check

• Subcommittee Status Checks

 Program Management  Outreach – Executive Programs  Outreach – Mentor Programs  Software Selection

• Review any Unaddressed Parking Lot Items

• Define next steps, date for next meeting

Goal: Community development of a website to help Portland's growing tech community find Mentors and share knowledge.

Inspired by Calagator and ePDX.org.

This is our kickoff and initial hackathon. We hope to have a basic mentor/mentee matching website working by the end of the day.

The Portland Development Commission will be providing food & drinks!

All skill levels welcome, and also people who are passionate about technical mentoring and knowledge sharing.

Join the Google group to share ideas and coordinate development: http://groups.google.com/group/pdx11-mentor-development

Also, there's a pilot program so Mentors and Mentees can start connecting right now: http://goo.gl/s7QlX

Thank you to Puppet Labs for hosting this event!

Please join us for the public launch of the City of Portland Early Adopter Program.  This initiative seeks to better connect  local Portland companies that can provide smart tech solutions with city bureaus needing improvements in operations, maintenance and capital projects.  The public sector is a viable testing ground for innovations developed by the private sector, in particular those produced by early stage entrepreneurs.  As the go-to resource for public and private interaction on cooperative projects, the Early Adopter Program will foster better information exchange and more efficient decision making between city departments and local industry.

At this event, you will:

Learn about City Bureaus and the innovation challenges that your company may help solve Meet with city staff and discuss specific problem statements in a roundtable format Introduce and promote your company   Discover how the Early Adopter program can be a resource for your company

We will be sending more information before the event on specific problem statements that bureaus will present for the roundtable sessions.