Why Entrepreneurship Matters
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This document discusses the importance of entrepreneurship and ways communities can better support it. It defines entrepreneurship broadly as starting new commercial or social enterprises or changing existing business practices. The document states that entrepreneurship is critical for economic development and prosperity. It suggests that communities would benefit from asset mapping to understand available entrepreneurship support resources, linking these assets through social networking platforms, and promoting an entrepreneurial culture.
Why Entrepreneurship Matters
- 1. Why Entrepreneurship Matters What is entrepreneurship? While there are many definitions of Thanks to our friends at Pop!Tech (via Flickr) entrepreneurship that focus on disruption, innovation, or rate of growth, CSW takes a broader view. We Leaders who want their communities think of entrepreneurship as the start to thrive will consider ways to grow (or participation in the start) of a new the number of people who are commercial or social enterprise, or a creative thinkers and innovators, while change in the way of doing business or at the same time promoting better thinking within an established understanding, processes, and enterprise. pathways to facilitate turning new product or service concepts into viable This definition embraces all phases of enterprises. Every community has this development and considers both potential. Today, more than ever, we those who start new ventures must work together to realize it. (entrepreneurs) and those who work within existing organizations but How Can Communities Better towards new products or processes (intrapreneurs). Support Entrepreneurship? Entrepreneurship in its many forms is Most communities offer programs and an important source of economic resources to support new business dynamism, innovation, diversity, development, but there are often employment, and quality of life. important gaps including: understanding Whether focused on technology or the assets communities have in place to lifestyles, new ventures are an help businesses start, grow and essential ingredient in economic transform (asset mapping); engaging development and transformation. stakeholders (businesses, technical assistance providers, investors, etc.) in enterprise success (networking); and Why is Entrepreneurship So growing entrepreneurial culture, Critical? whether in the classroom or the We care about entrepreneurship boardroom. because we know that agile, innovative, diverse communities are Asset Mapping the ones that will prosper today and In most communities, there are be best positioned to continually multiple organizations supporting reinvent themselves thereafter. entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, we Entrepreneurial communities tend to have learned not just from analysts support the greatest professional and and researchers but from service personal options for their residents providers themselves about new and offer the most desirable businesses that cannot find the help opportunities to live, work, learn, and they need or that fall through the play – sustainably. cracks because the business support organizations do not know where to
- 2. refer a company for services they that stakeholders can organize around themselves do not provide. key issues (learn), identify resources than can enable change (link), and Communities facing this challenge then take action (launch). would benefit from asset mapping. This means collecting information that Culture helps community leaders, policy makers, program directors, and In nearly every circle we travel, CSW businesses themselves understand has heard the mantra, “culture trumps who already supports entrepreneurs, policy.” And culture change is hard. how they do this, and what the We know that no matter what services in the community look like on initiatives communities, government, a continuum. or others take, if people do not embrace the directional change, the Linking Assets effort will fall flat. CSW strives to approach its research, Many communities develop maps of initiative development, and policy their systems in the form of reports, work with an understanding of spreadsheets or other documents. community culture and, where CSW is developing an approach that needed, works with communities to combines data collection with social create cultural alternatives. networking – WeToo.org.™ The approach entails inventorying entrepreneurship service providers “Moving Needles” and collecting information from the We do this by assessing attitudes and providers using a web-‐based profiling developing strategies to move the system. needle on important community Connecting asset mapping with metrics – within and across strategies to align stakeholders and communities and institutions, in systems will be increasingly important neighborhoods, communities regions. as communities become more Examples of such activities include: connected, increasingly technology-‐ Engaging people and institutions rich, and agile. to collectively identify and own issues and solutions; Network-‐based Stakeholder Documenting current realities and Engagement presenting cultural alternatives; It takes more than data to align Aligning systems to enable more systems. Achieving organizational or effective collaboration; community change requires deliberate and sustained effort across many Conducting research and data community networks. Analyzing these analysis that helps informed networks – and not just the formal decision-‐making and consensus organizational structure – is an building; and important part of change efforts. This Promoting innovation at the analysis, in turn, can inform the margins – encouraging self-‐ development of initiatives designed to organized activities (barcamp, incent collaboration and align systems, unconferences, etc.) and programs, and services. promoting entrepreneurial CSW uses its Learn, Link Launch© activities that normalize approach to connect these disparate experimenting and build pieces. We work with leaders to help innovation capacity. make clear their initiative goals, so 2
- 3. The Future We see important (and interconnected) trends that make We are excited about the increasing entrepreneurship even more central to importance of entrepreneurship as a community economic, social, and serious policy issue and are working to environmental well-‐being going help communities embrace the new forward. opportunities it creates. The green economy: We have reached the tipping point. More and more communities understand that green is not just about recycling but about reinventing the way we live, work, learn, and play – globally. The recession: While private capital is “stuck,” we’re witnessing the largest infusion of public capital in our nation’s history. It’s an unprecedented opportunity to reinvent, not just rescue. The Social Web: While the technology revolution is decades old, its promises (shared knowledge and the ability to organize at a mass scale) are just now becoming widely realized, raising whole new possibilities for launching and growing businesses. Demographics: We see young people with the lowest rates of employment in decades competing for jobs with their grandparents, many of whom cannot afford to retire. We need creative ways to barter, trade, and otherwise exchange work for value – less in the form of “jobs” than a portfolio – and make hands-‐on learning (credentialed or not) visible. Founded in 1991, Corporation for a Skilled Workforce is a national, non-‐profit policy research and practice organization located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Our mission: To reimagine everything about work and learning for the prosperity of people, firms, and communities. 3 CSW 900 Victors Way, Suite 350 Ann Arbor, MI 48108 734.769.2900 www.skilledwork.org