The Regional Innovation Network of Southern Alberta (RINSA) was formed in 2011 as a collaborative partnership between Alberta Innovates with Economic Development Lethbridge/ Tecconnect, Lethbridge College, and the University of Lethbridge.
Through trusted relationship building and a commitment to serving rural/remote and under-represented groups, RINSA has expanded to 14 members.
• Economic Development Lethbridge/Tecconnect
• University of Lethbridge
• Lethbridge College
• Community Futures Lethbridge Region
• SouthGrow Regional Initiative
• Alberta Southwest Regional Economic Development
• Piikani Resource Development
• Blood Tribe Economic Development
• Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce
• Okotoks Economic Development
• BIPOC Foundation
• Blackfoot Confederacy Tribal Council Entrepreneurship Committee
• Rural Women Entrepreneurs in Technology (RWEIT)
• NRC-IRAP
• Alberta Innovates
RINSA operates with a client service model focused on the client outcomes and collaboration. The main clients of RINSA are entrepreneurs with startups/small businesses with a focus on technology and innovation. RINSA collectively assists start-ups and small businesses to successfully navigate the commercialization system through programs, services, and resources. As a part of the Alberta Innovation Network, RINSA can leverage opportunities to collaborate with other regional innovation networks throughout the province as well.
The main contact and RINSA oversight are provided by Renae Barlow, Vice President of Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Economic Development Lethbridge.
RINSA Services
RINSA offers a variety of services for entrepreneurs, with our most popular offering being free 1-to-1 business advising. Through a comprehensive intake process, RINSA’s Ecosystem Navigator matches the entrepreneur with advisors who have the relevant expertise required to guide the client toward success. This is paired with relevant programs and resources, software licenses where applicable, business plan review, funding application assistance, and connections to pan-provincial events, conferences and accelerators that will benefit their entrepreneurial journey.
RINSA’s Education on Demand program is a premier offering with multiple free workshops that cover the fundamentals of entrepreneurship ensuring accessibility and self-paced learning. New and refreshed content on the Education on Demand platform is always growing and improving with workshops facilitated by Tecconnect business advisors and RINSA experts.
Tecconnect – Centre of Excellence for Entrepreneurship Tecconnect is an entrepreneur incubator, owned by EDL, housing the RINSA office, client startups and community organizations serving entrepreneurs. As a one-stop-shop for entrepreneurs in Lethbridge, Tecconnect provides space for meetings, events, and day use. The building has a large conference room with hybrid meeting capability, boardroom, two breakout spaces with screens, and a lunchroom/networking space. RINSA and EDL host many events for entrepreneurs and service providers, and offers the use of Tecconnect spaces to clients for hosting their own events.
2022 Economic Developers Association of Canada (EDAC) Award Recipient – WEcast
The Women Entrepreneurs-in-STEM (WESTEM) program, facilitated by EDL, was recognized by the Economic Developers Association of Canada (EDAC) as the winner of both the Marketing Canada Award in the Social Media/App category and the EDAC Cup 2022 for our podcast “WEcast”.
The EDAC Cup is the “best in show” award presented during the annual national EDAC Conference. The judges consider creativity, uniqueness of approach, effectiveness in achieving objectives, and best practices when choosing a winner. According to the EDAC judges, WEcast showed great ingenuity as it was the first podcast ever submitted for a Marketing Canada Award!
WESTEM was a project spanning three years, serving over 1,000 women in STEM related fields, working alongside RINSA in entrepreneur service provisions. Currently WESTEM has bridge funding to April 2023 serving Rural Women Entrepreneurs in Technology across Alberta.
RINSA 10 Year Impact Assessment
In 2021, Alberta Innovates – Impact Action Lab assessed the impacts the last 10 years of RINSA program delivery and collaborative partnerships had on the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem. This study, published in September of 2022, highlighted RINSA’s accomplishments and identified lessons learned and gaps in data collection that would lead to a better understanding of the impacts and ripple effects of RINSA to the greater region. These included: Relationship and trust building is central to the development of a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem; Engaging with Indigenous and other under-represented communities takes time, effort and respect; It is important not to “over manage” the ecosystem, giving the entrepreneurs time and space to develop whilst providing support and guidance where needed; and meaningful measurement is difficult and should not stifle innovation. The full report can be found on Alberta Innovates website under Publications “RINSA Impact Case Study Final Report 2022”
