WHEREAS, Just 10 years ago, the City of Philadelphia played a smaller role in the region's technology business sector and was only beginning to embrace the challenges and opportunities that the innovation economy was bringing to our City; and
WHEREAS, From the first tech entrepreneurs of the last decade to the founding of coworking spaces like Independents Hall, SeedPhilly and Benjamin's Desk, the volunteer entrepreneur network Philly Startup Leaders, to accelerator DreamIt ventures, technology news site Technical.ly Philly, our City has witnessed a renaissance with a growing technology and innovation ecosystem; and
WHEREAS, The emergence of technology companies over the past decade such as TicketLeap, RJ Metrics, SEER Interactive, Duck Duck Go, Neat, Monetate, Curalate, SevOne and Brand.com have created hundreds of jobs and helped position Philadelphia to better retain the talented students graduating from our numerous prestigious colleges and universities; and
WHEREAS, Today, from entrepreneurship to digital access to digital arts to civic policy to IT talent, Philadelphia continues to develop a rich and vibrant ecosystem competitive with its peer cities and beyond; and
WHEREAS, Between April 4th and 12th the fourth annual Philly Tech Week presented by AT&T will be hosted throughout the City with more than 80 events bringing together thought leaders, industry experts and technology enthusiasts to discuss trends and develop concepts to further advance the innovation economy; and
WHEREAS, In order to prepare for and further support the growth of the technology and innovation community in Philadelphia, it is imperative that the leaders of this industry segment share their experiences and expertise with the City of Philadelphia so that we can be as helpful as possible in assisting this vital segment of our economy; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That it hereby authorizes City Council's committee on Global Opportunities and the Creative/Innovative Economy to hold public hearings on the state of the growing technology and innovation community in Philadelphia and the impact on the local economy.
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