News: International award recognizes Durham Region’s innovation community

Whitby, Ontario – The Region of Durham’s commitment to innovation and collaboration has been recognized by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the world’s largest nonprofit professional association for economic developers. The IEDC has awarded Durham Region’s Economic Development and Tourism division (Invest Durham) one of its 2024 Excellence in Economic Development Awards.

Recognized each year during the IEDC Annual Conference, the awards honour organizations for exemplary economic development marketing campaigns, projects and programs. Invest Durham was recognized with a Bronze Award in the Special Event Category for its Durham At Collision project.

Collision Conference is one of the largest and fastest growing technology conferences in North America. In 2023, Invest Durham partnered with Durham Region’s eight area municipalities, Durham College, Ontario Tech University, Trent University Durham GTA, Spark Centre, 1855 Technology Accelerator, Ontario Power Generation (OPG), and the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association to showcase Durham Region’s innovation community. The centrepiece of Durham’s pavilion was APMA’s Project Arrow—the first all-Canadian, zero emission connected vehicle, which was built at Ontario Tech University’s ACE Climatic Aerodynamic Wind Tunnel. Additional collaborative organizations co-locating at the Durham at Collision pavilion included Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN), Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI) Access IO, Durham Regional Technology Development Site (Durham RTDS), Brilliant Catalyst at Ontario Tech University, and the Mixed Reality Capture Studio at Durham College. 

Creating significant buzz at the event, Durham at Collision attracted media coverage from CP24, Autoweek, Yahoo Finance, and more. The Durham At Collision event was recognized by an IEDC judge as a “wonderful example of collaboration across a variety of organizations with different priorities.”

Invest Durham thanks each of its municipal and community partners for their efforts and support in making the campaign a success and for showing that Durham Region is where you can invent, engineer and test clean, connected, and electric technologies. Durham Region’s business community is at the forefront of accelerating energy innovation and Invest Durham is committed to building a robust innovation ecosystem that translates research and development assets into jobs and investment.

To learn how you can amp up your business in Canada’s Clean Energy Capital, visit Invest.Durham.ca/collision.

 Quotes

“This award highlights Durham Region’s innovation community and collaborative partnerships. It is by working together we will keep building on Durham’s strength as the centre of clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and innovative technology. I am proud of the work our teams and community partners can do together to build on our region’s success.”

–  John Henry, Regional Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Region of Durham

“Invest Durham proudly shares this award with each of our municipal and community partners. Receiving international recognition from the IEDC is truly an honour. The award validates the hard work and creativity that went into planning Durham At Collision and shows how innovative partnerships, communication and collaborative spirit can support economic development.”

– Simon Gill, Director of Economic Development and Tourism, Region of Durham

About Durham Region

Located on the eastern side of the GTHA, Durham is a region with momentum. Offering a competitive advantage like no other, Durham is a community where talented, smart, diverse and ambitious people—known for their innovation, creativity, skills and education—bring access to world markets, insights, invention and traditions. A place where an innovative ecosystem helps propel new ideas forward. Where ingenuity and industry help tackle global challenges. Visit durham.ca to learn more about one of Canada’s fastest growing communities.

About the International Economic Development Council (IEDC)

The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) is a non-profit, non-partisan membership organization serving economic developers. With more than 4,500 members, IEDC is the largest organization of its kind. Economic developers typically work for cities, counties, states, public-private partnerships, and chambers of commerce and promote economic well-being and quality of life for their communities, by creating, retaining, and expanding jobs that facilitate growth, enhance wealth, and provide a stable tax base. IEDC’s members create high-quality jobs, develop vibrant communities, and improve the quality of life in their regions.