Organizers

The Center for Sustainable Development and Global Competitiveness (SDGC) at Stanford University

Building competitive advantage in a global economy will require addressing the needs of smart business development and innovation in a rapidly changing, global business ecosystem, while fulfilling our social and environmental responsibilities and building a long-lasting foundation for sustainable development. The Center for Sustainable Development and Global Competitiveness at Stanford University provides a platform for research and educational communities to collaborate with global business community members, policy-makers, and citizens to promote sustainable development while maintaining economic competitiveness. 

SDGC engages in multidisciplinary research that advances sustainable practices across multiple cultures, businesses, industries and economies.  Specific areas of research at the Center include; (i) Smarter City and Smarter Infrastructures for Sustainable Development, (ii) Cross-Cultural Learning, Decision Making, and Leadership to enable Smarter Organizations, (iii) Sustainable Knowledge Resources and Social Computing, and (iv) Global Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Formation for Sustainable Development and Competitiveness.

For more information, please click here.

International Towns Federation

The International Towns Federation is an international non-profit organization headquartered in Palo Alto, California USA committed to fostering global sustainable development through closer collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and investment in small cities and towns.  Specific efforts by ITF to support this mission include the global cities and towns “happiness index” evaluation rubric and listing of the global top 100 happiest towns annually, promotion of a “sister towns” program for interested towns around the world, training programs for city and town designers, builders, and managers, and a towns-focused investment fund in partnership with industry.