Edmonton forms new partnership with Calgary to strengthen tech in both cities
A new partnership between Edmonton Unlimited and Platform Calgary could combine each city's strengths for mutual success, said Edmonton Unlimited CEO Tom Viinikka.
"This is about two organizations being very deliberate in how they act together, and being really transparent and open with the community about the expectations that we have for ourselves, so that they can also benefit from that, see what the benefit of that collaboration is, and then hold our feet to the fire," Viinikka told Taproot.
Viiniika and Platform Calgary CEO, Terry Rock, announced the memorandum of collaboration on May 21 during Inventures in Calgary. The ongoing partnership is a way to connect Edmonton to Calgary's strengths, and vice-versa, through greater communication between the two agencies.
Viinikka said the partnership makes sense because the cities both offer physical spaces to the community to develop their respective tech ecosystems, but have different strengths that they can lend one another. Calgary is thriving in fintech, while Edmonton is known for its life sciences and artificial intelligence expertise, Viinikka said.
It's not the first time an innovation agency in Edmonton has forged a partnership with Platform Calgary. In June 2019, the now-defunct Innovate Edmonton and Platform Calgary launched the Alberta Innovation Corridor, to create programs and services for existing companies and also promote both cities to outside companies, investors, and talent. Work on the corridor began winding down within a year due to both the COVID-19 pandemic and the dissolution of Innovate Edmonton.
The Alberta Innovation Corridor had its own brand, website, and founding funder in Calgary Economic Development. Viinikka said Rock, who also worked on the corridor, called him soon after he left Edmonton Screen to take the CEO role at Edmonton Unlimited to discuss the new idea. The two had a different approach in mind than the way the innovation corridor functioned.
"This is not about another entity that has a board or a board of advisors, or another executive director," Viinikka said. "The idea behind this is to actually integrate, as opposed to create another thing that is this translator between the two places."
The two organizations already work together on the Alberta Catalyzer pre-accelerator with Alberta Innovates. Viinikka said they already have steps in mind for the future, too, such as inter-city navigation between startups, investors, and mentors, as well as coordinated travel between cities for tech events like Startup Week in Edmonton and Innovation Week in Calgary. He added that he and Rock are exploring more regular, formal communications, and have already tried out board-to-board meetings.
The pair gave the tech industry a look at the collaboration during a panel at Inventures.
"The day that we did this panel, it almost felt like someone was stacking the deck for me," Viinikka said. "That morning, I just randomly got into two or three conversations at Inventures — people coming up and saying, 'Hey, I don't know how to connect with (a type of thing or person) in Edmonton' … I thought, 'Man, this is exactly what we're going to be talking about this afternoon, the need to solve this problem.'"
