About NDE: A New Conversation in America

Until now, the conversation about entrepreneurship at the national level has been largely focused around a national interest in job creation and recognizing and supporting existing small businesses. Representing 99.7 percent of all employers in the United States and employing nearly half of its private sector employees, the needs of small businesses indeed play a major role in any conversation about entrepreneurship. However, economic growth also calls for a vibrant discussion on how to stimulate additional ideas of value and new corresponding enterprises; one that encourages innovations in business processes and the latest technologies, creative thinking, risk-taking and an entrepreneurial culture that has more Americans exploring their potential to ”make a job rather than take a job”.

The rationale for a dialogue is straight-forward. According to Frans Johannsson in his book The Medici Effect, creative solutions and new ideas more often arise at the intersection of disciplines and cultures. We must capitalize on our cultural melting pot and foster a wide-reaching conversation about entrepreneurialism and innovation among more disciplines and cultures. The richer the fabric, the more plentiful the ideas and the faster the field of entrepreneurship will be better established in the United States.

The National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship is one effort to do just that. An initiative of the Public Forum Institute made possible by funding from the Kauffman Foundation, NDE is attempting to broaden attention to the field of entrepreneurship and to connect thought leaders looking to advance it.

A growing network of entrepreneurs, policymakers, academics and others interested in the innovation economy are engaging in the discourse. NDE is helping frame that discussion around the policies and initiatives to remove barriers to entrepreneurs who want to grow; to create incentives for risk-taking to fuel the growth of entrepreneurs, to make more Americans aware of their entrepreneurial potential; and, to increase the understanding of the value of an idea-driven society among a wider constituency.

As a result, discussion of entrepreneurship is now expanding beyond its conventional boundaries. Beyond business schools to entire campuses. Beyond the tax and small business committees on Capitol Hill to the science and education committees. Beyond a specialist in the Department of Commerce to a wider array of experts throughout the federal government. In short, more than 30,000 subscribers now receive a weekly briefing on developments within the innovation economy discussing regulation reform, intellectual property issues, early stage and venture capital, health care and tax policy development, entrepreneurship education and more.

Together with the array of Kauffman partners, NDE is strengthening the network and encouraging interactivity – stimulating the exchange of information and the sharing of resources – to address the needs of current and future entrepreneurs. Gathering insights from around the world, NDE keeps followers of the dialogue abreast of the latest policy developments, programs and initiatives, informing them about the latest research and activities in the innovation-age.

Increasing the number of places where these issues are being discussed, the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship is engaging a more diverse cadre of individuals and organizations – whether it is members of the Congress or the media, economists or business leaders – committed to capitalizing on the creativity, ingenuity and tireless efforts of the American innovator.

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