The Austin Technology Council announced a new initiative this morning aiming to better align Austin's tech community and the city’s government.The newly formed ATC Policy Coalition will work to bring together leaders from the tech community and elected officials to foster innovation and represent Austin tech in the civic community. This comes just months after tech behemoths Uber and Lyft exited Austin after losing a vote on requiring their drivers to go through mandatory fingerprinting.
While Uber and Lyft's departure may have made room for a flood of smaller competitors, ATC CEO Barbary Brunner attributes much of the squabble to a miscommunication between tech and civic leaders, and more broadly, a lack of communication in general.
“It seems to me that there just wasn't the communication around the value of the tech industry and the needs of constituents that work in the tech industry,” Brunner said. “There just wasn’t enough communication and understanding at the city council level and with the broader non-tech community.”
As Brunner comes up on her fourth month in the role as ATC CEO, she looks to other tech communities like Denver and Seattle as role models for spurring change and collaboration with city officials. She said a coalition like theirs is needed to motivate and unite the Austin tech community to build strong relationships at the civic level, as well as to become more involved themselves.
“Sometimes you have to pick your head up out of your code, and you have to come out and play at the civic level. I think that’s something that’s really important for tech companies to remember as they’re building their businesses,” Brunner said. “If [entrepreneurs] choose to build their business in Austin, they have a responsibility to be a productive member of the community...It’s understanding how technology can work together to make the community better and part of that is making a collaborative relationship with those not in tech.”
The ATC Policy Coalition will be co-chaired by BuildASign CEO Dan Graham and ATC board veteran Lawrence Waugh. Other founding members include David Altounian, Kevin Callahan, Chelsea Collier, John Howard, Gerardo Interiano, Bryan Jones, Joseph Kopser, Joe Ross and Chris Skyles.
“We have the great fortune to have some very forward thinking leaders in the tech community who have been here a long time and are deeply passionate about making the community a greater place than it is,” Brunner said.
The ATC currently represents over 200 mid-to-large sized tech companies, as well as “Entrepreneur Partners” like Galvanize, Techstars Austin, WeWork, and Urban Co-Lab.
The coalition will soon establish a public community calendar with a wide range of events where policymakers and the tech community can join together to discuss priorities and legislation.
“Innovation is a part of Austin’s DNA, and there is almost no better city in the country for startups,” said Mayor Steve Adler in a statement. “This is a vital part of who we are as a city, so I’m looking forward to working closely with the new ATC Policy Coalition as we develop new perspectives and new solutions to old problems.”
Image via Shutterstock.
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