Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Citation preview
Supporting Transformative Entrepreneurship Development
What’s it take?
Deb MarkleyRUPRI Center for Rural
Entrepreneurship
A Decade of Learning
What makes a region entrepreneurial?• Systems approach – connecting the dots within
the community and the region; seeing the whole; thinking regionally• Entrepreneurial culture – shifting mindsets and
changing conversations• Sustainability - ability to continually invest and
adapt to new opportunities and challenges; regional anchor institutions
Systems Approach
• Entrepreneur focused – meeting entrepreneurs where they are; responsive to their demand
• Pipeline approach – wide and deep mouth of the pipeline; process for moving through the pipeline
• Not just another program – holistic; interconnected • Collaboration among resource providers – offers “no wrong
door” and leads to “hard referrals”• Hub – someone helping make connections; “network
weaver”• Regionally asset based – connected to community and
regional assets
Entrepreneurial Culture
• Youth engagement – early exposure to eship education; demonstrating opportunities to “come home”
• Holding up entrepreneurial role models – shifting mindsets of what’s possible; “taking a job” vs. “making a job”; mentoring
• Community support for entrepreneurs – from buy local to recognition to public policy
Sustainability
• Entrepreneurship = economic development – allocate resources accordingly
• Measuring success - being able to make the value case for continued investment; being able to correct and change course as needed
• Homegrown development resources – encouraging give back, strategic endowment building, vehicles for building community wealth
• Shifting to an investment mentality – how can we invest in ways that build more wealth that can be re-invested …
What’s it take for entrepreneurship to be transformative?
• Get serious about connecting entrepreneurs to demand– Providing information: Economic Gardening
model– Creating virtual clusters: KS Opportunity
Innovation Network– Connecting to value chains: ACENet, Rural
Action…
What’s it take?
• Get better at helping entrepreneurs build businesses, not just start them– Peer support and coaching: Dakota Rising– Service provider coaching: Greenstone Group;
Entrepreneurial League System– Community E coaches: Kansas Farm Bureau
initiative
What’s it take?
• Get serious about building the entrepreneurial culture– Collaboration for mutual benefit: Project Synergy
in Georgia; economic development in Ord Nebraska
– Leadership by anchor institutions: North Iowa Area Community College; youth and eship endowments in rural Nebraska community foundations
Questions?
Provocative Questions
• In terms of transformative entrepreneurship development in the region, what’s working well? What have you figured out or perfected?
• What could be working better? Where are you getting stuck?
• What role does your funding community play now?
• What role should you play?
Going Forward
• What more do you need to learn to be effective partners and supporters?
• What additional capacity or discussions are needed?
• What resources can be tapped to continue the learning process?
• What’s the best way for this learning to happen?• What role can AFN or the AFN Eship Learning Group
play in furthering a learning and capacity building agenda?
