Frontier Collective: Municipal Leadership Manifesto
To the Mayoral and Council candidates:
The Frontier Collective is advocating for the future of Vancouver. We’re at the precipice of a technological revolution - our frontier technology industries are young, diverse and at the cusp of mainstream adoption. Vancouver’s Frontier Collective is at the helm of building an inclusive and sustainable future of innovation; one poised to change the landscape of our economy and we need to capitalize on this opportunity.
We’re a non-traditional organization comprised of leaders in innovation, culture, and community passionate about advancing the development of the fastest-growing industries (frontier tech) driving innovation in the region, including AI (artificial intelligence), cleantech, climate tech, biotech, robotics, Web3, metaverse, VR/AR (virtual and augmented reality) and more. The Frontier Collective’s focus is on promoting the region's tech industry across those different verticals on the world stage. We’re determined to grow investment in and infrastructure for early-stage companies, and attracting diverse talent to Vancouver.
Without the right environment, resources, and support, we will lose out on the immense opportunity to lead the world in frontier tech and usher in a new wave of transformation, economic prosperity, and high-paying jobs that we know will come with it. We believe that there needs to be bold action to change the region’s culture and ensure we have the foundation to thrive as an ecosystem.
We also believe that rising tides can raise all ships and we want the city of Vancouver to address the wider issues that will ensure a sustainable and equitable city for all. If we are to see a vibrant future, we need to consider these challenges first:
The housing crisis and affordability.
The Downtown Eastside mental health and homelessness issues.
Too much red tape and bureaucracy stopping fast change.
Livability, and the safety/security of residents with rising crime rates.
Not enough embrace of arts/culture, and a lack of support for small business/establishments.
As advocates for our region’s tech industries, and as citizens of Vancouver, we believe that major change needs to happen. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Without support, we’ll lose it.
Here is our Manifesto:
To commit to championing the needs of our technology and innovation sectors, a key driver of our local economy by: Establishing a tech council with the mandate to foster innovation in the city.
Supporting and participating in both local and global advocacy to elevate visibility and promotion (such as events/conferences)
Working with federal and provincial governments to establish greater support for talent acquisition, early-stage start-ups, R&D, and tech innovation.
To support the Frontier Collective’s vision of the creation of an innovation hub - a 150,000+ square foot physical space to be a centre of gravity in the city for innovation. It would tackle some of the world's biggest problems, connect innovators to industries, help new companies scale, blend technology and art in groundbreaking new mediums, support cutting-edge R&D, and cultivate a vibrant community. A physical hub is a critically missing piece in Vancouver’s innovation landscape. It could house hundreds of homegrown companies and propel us to global leadership in next-generation tech. The Hub will ultimately support local frontier tech development, early-stage startups and foster entrepreneurship, industry connections, creative tech, and greater investment into the region.
As part of the focus on driving economic development within the region, exploring ways to leverage our strengths in frontier technology, to attract world-class talent and investments into the region in collaboration with the Province and municipal economic development agencies. .
Municipally, our economic development agencies like Invest Vancouver have limited funding towards all of Metro Vancouver, and the Vancouver Economic Commission has been under-utilized and under-funded. There are other cities in Canada like Calgary and Toronto that are investing over $100+ million. Vancouver budgets are a fraction of that it and there needs to be a boosting of opportunities for foreign direct investment and export development through the agencies or impactful organizations.
Ultimately, the city needs to take critical steps towards growing support for economic development, championing the region’s needs to the provincial and federal government to increase innovation funding, and recognize this key opportunity.
4. Seek opportunities for impactful groups dedicated to advancing the needs of key local industries like the Frontier The Collective and wider tech/innovation community needs a to be seated at the table to help identify key policy shifts and bring overall support to industries that will grow at an exponential pace, ensuring a nuanced, fresh, and diverse perspective at the City of Vancouver. Allowing the Collective to contribute to policy and comment on economic priorities would permit the City to get action-items done and policy implemented more effectively. We need to double down on our future drivers to our economy.
