USASCP presentation to the Technology Association of Oregon

The USASCP in collaboration with the State Department’s Diplomat in Residence addressed the Smart Cities Committee of the Technology Association of Oregon (TAO).  The TAO, comprised of public and private stakeholders, represents the regional tech industry and provides support to entrepreneurs, facilitates connections between peers and decision makers, and promotes the Northwest as a global hub for innovation.  USASCP shared programmatic experiences in the fields of trade, water management and transportation as well as highlighted a planned city pairing between Portland and Johor Bahru in Malaysia to the interest of the participants.   The Diplomat in Residence spoke of the Department’s interest to hire foreign service officers with technological backgrounds.  The VTC attracted 29 participants, including cities representatives from City of Portland, City of Bend, City of Independence, City of Hillsboro, City of Eugene, Metro, Trimet, Oregon Department of Transportation, Oregon Department of Administrative Services as well as academia from Portland State University, University of British Columbia and private sector representation from Intel, Verizon, Google, DKS Associates, Urban Systems, Siemens, ESRI.   The Q&A session put forth several opportunities for cooperation, including working with the Portland metropolitan area transportation planning organization, Trimet, and Portland State University on closed-loop systems pertaining to energy, water, waste.   Exploring potential ASEAN investment/business partnerships in the Cascadia Innovation Corridor (Vancouver, Seattle and Portland) was also highlighted.