Alberta’s need for a single technology association to represent the industry province wide is being met with mixed reaction, according to a recent government-funded project.
The $40,000 project, conducted by St. Albert’s Perry Kinkaide, questioned more than 10,000 industry stakeholders to determine the industry’s need for a single association to act as a representative on their behalf.
“Clearly the industry is not clear on what it wants,” Kinkaide said. “The canvassing that we did … gave results that were all over the place.”
He said there were three recurring responses: one group said the province lacked an effective advocate despite a large number of existing associations, the second said a single association was necessary to fill this void, while the third group proposed a merging of existing associations to create a single, unified body.
“That was the hand I was dealt, which was a lot of chaos and a lot of uncertainly as to what was needed,” he said.
Kinkaide compiled the data into a report and provided a recommendation to a select group of industry and government representatives on March 30.
The recommendation was to not proceed with the development of a single technology association and instead, contact interested organizations throughout the province and hold a convention to further the dialogue — something he said many associations have already expressed interest in attending.
He said this convention could happen as early as the fall, although some groups don’t want to wait.
“One of the unanticipated consequences of this was the amount of dialogue that was stimulated,” he said, adding one organization has already expressed interest in creating the association.
He said there is also the potential for a handful of the strongest industry organizations in the province to proceed with a merger.
The project began last spring with the intention of creating a single association. This didn’t happen, however, as the project was put on a seven-month hiatus. In that time, the direction of the project shifted focus to first determine if a single association was welcomed by industry.
“I think it was stopped because it created some angst in some corners of the province that created the need for the government to respond,” he said.
The report and recommendation will be shared online today at www.ABCtech.ca.
Although the project was funded by and shared with government, the project had the sole interest of industry in mind.
“Potentially it would be an opportunity for us, when we want to make sure that the voice of industry is reflected in the policies, we do have one organization to work with, but it’s really got to work for industry or it’s going to be meaningless,” said Kim Capstick, spokesperson for Alberta Advanced Education and Technology.
Kinkaide was selected by a panel of industry personnel and Alberta Advanced Education and Technology representatives to conduct the project. To do this, he took a leave of absence from his position as president of the Alberta Council of Technologies.
He has decided to remain on a leave of absence until the council’s annual general meeting at the end of June, at which point he says he will resign as president.
“It’s a good role for me to be in because if there are some things going on in the market today, I can play a more legitimate role now, being somewhat neutral,” he said.
