In response to strong demand from its members, The Business Council is forming a Homeland Security Council (HSC) to help Council members learn about and take advantage of procurement opportunities in homeland security.

The new council expects to inaugurate a variety of activities in 2005. Membership in the HSC will be available free of charge to Business Council members.

That Council members are strongly interested in homeland security issues became apparent after the Council, in collaboration with Empire State Development, conducted a business-to business conference on homeland security issues in New York City in June. The Council decided to reprise that heavily attended seminar this week in Rochester, in collaboration with Empire State Development and the Rochester Business Alliance.

After the June seminar, we sent a brief survey to seminar participants and other Business Council members to evaluate member interest in a Homeland Security Council and learn what kinds of activities would be most appealing. Based on a strong response, The Business Council decided to form a Homeland Security Council that will focus initially on several activities mentioned repeatedly on survey responses.

More than 200 respondents to this survey confirmed that our members have several goals for a Homeland Security Council. They want to learn about procurement opportunities in homeland security, and they want to get expert advice on procurement strategies and tactics.

They also want opportunities to build relationships with high-tech universities and research institutions in New York State, and to network with these institutions and other employers who may be potential partners in bids for homeland security-related goods and services.

For example, the Council expects to:

• Plan and conduct a variety of members-only homeland security-related events in different parts of the state throughout the year. A typical event will include expert presentations on a specific area of interest as well as late-afternoon networking receptions. Possible topics of these events include procurement opportunities, procurement skills, and cyber-security, and marketing strategies.
  
  
• Create a Web site for the Homeland Security Council that will provide, among other things, links to relevant businesses, information on procurement opportunities, details on upcoming HSC events, and a “chat room”-style bulletin board to allow HSC members to network electronically.
  
  
• Offer an on-line business directory of HSC member employers detailing the security-related goods and services they offer, and then disseminating that directory to top officials in appropriate government agencies and private-sector enterprises.
  
  
• Seek specific opportunities to help HSC members develop relationships with New York’s high-tech research institutions and universities.
  
  
• Offer HSC members sponsorship and exhibition opportunities at Business Council events, including both HSC-specific events and other major Business Council events such as the Annual Meeting each September and the legislators’ reception each January. There has been strong interest in these opportunities already expressed by many companies that have participated in the Council’s homeland security seminars.