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Americas Competitiveness Forum Update Progress continues in organizing this June’s Americas Competitiveness Forum. Here are details on two areas of focus: innovation and global supply chain strategies. by David Weems Developing the program areas of the Americas Competitive Forum continues. The forum is scheduled for June 11–12, 2007, in Atlanta, Georgia. (See February 2007 issue of International Trade Update.) It will bring together government ministers, private-sector leaders, academics, and non-governmental organizations from the Western Hemisphere’s democratic countries to explore cutting-edge ideas and to highlight best practices in four key issue areas: (1) sparking and sustaining innovation, (2) creating solutions in education and workforce development, (3) designing successful global supply-chain strategies, and (4) fostering small business development and growth. Here is a look at the details of two of those issue areas. (Story continues below.)
Sparking and Sustaining Innovation Innovation is a key factor in creating competitive advantages for competing in the global economy. It is a process for increasing the flow of ideas, systematically capturing and sharing ideas, and leveraging those ideas to increase breakthrough innovation and to accelerate development. Forum participants will have the opportunity to engage in a series of panel discussions that explore best practices and case studies on various topics to learn how innovation can strengthen national and regional competitiveness. Five panels will be featured under the innovation track of the forum: “Trends in Alternative Energy Technologies,” “Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Development,” “Bringing Ideas to the Marketplace,” “Supporting National and Regional Innovation for Economic Prosperity,” and “Partnerships Advancing Economic Growth and Living Conditions.” Designing Successful Global Supply-Chain Strategies The global supply-chain strategies track will explore how supply-chain efficiency has become a key factor in creating a competitive advantage in the global economy. For companies to create a competitive advantage in the global economy, they must recognize that it is not only their products competing against one another in the marketplace, but also their supply-chain networks. Three panels will be featured in this track: “The Unobstructed Supply Chain,” “Facilitating Trade Movements across Borders,” and “Merging Public and Private Efforts for Supply-Chain Capacity Building.” More information about the panels and a detailed agenda of the entire two-day forum are available on the Americas Competitiveness Forum’s Web site. David Weems is an international trade specialist with the International Trade Administration’s Market Access and Compliance unit.
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