Week of February 7 - February 11, 2005

Welcome to the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship, an initiative of the Public Forum Institute made possible by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City. Through NDE-news, we bring you short summaries and analyses of various trends driving the innovation economy. Subscribe now to receive your weekly copy. Archived issues are available online. Links to the day's entrepreneurship stories from across the nation and around the world are posted each weekday on the NDE main page - bookmark it and stay informed about the latest entrepreneurship news. 

Entrepreneurship and University Technology Transfer

If you’re interested in the links between entrepreneurship and technology transfer, you might be interested in the proceedings of a conference held at the University of Arizona’s Karl Eller Center in late January. The conference’s title says it all: “Institutionalizing Entrepreneurship Education by Linking It to University Technology/Knowledge Transfer.” With this charge, some of the world’s best thinkers on technology transfer came together to assess how these programs can be more effectively fused with new entrepreneurship education initiatives. Ten background papers were commissioned for the conference, and they are all available at the Eller Center’s website. 

To learn more about “Institutionalizing Entrepreneurship Education by Linking It to University Technology/Knowledge Transfer,” – sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City – visit http://entrepreneurship.eller.arizona.edu/events/2005/knowledge_transfer.aspx. 

Top Research Universities

While we’re on the subject of tech transfer, we can also refer readers to the University of Florida’s annual and widely-read ranking of America’s top research universities. The Top American Research Universities is produced by TheCenter, an affiliate of The Lombardi Program for Measuring University Performance. This year’s edition marks the fifth anniversary of the report, and the authors have developed a comprehensive and extensive set of measures for the project. Measures include faculty publications, research dollars, student satisfaction, and a host of other indicators. Based on these various measures, the following institutions are ranked as the top ten American research universities: Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Columbia, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Penn, Duke, Berkeley, and the University of Michigan. 

The Top American Research Universities, by John V. Lombardi, Elizabeth D. Capaldi, Kristy R. Reeves, and Denise S. Gater is available at http://thecenter.ufl.edu/research2004.pdf

Small Business Vitality: The Hot Spots

American City Business Journals, which publishes dozens of local business journals across the US, has recently released its rankings of the top American markets in Small Business Vitality. The rankings are based on four measures: the number of small businesses, growth in the number of small businesses (2000-2002), and growth in both private sector employment and payrolls. Here are this year’s top performers (in rank order):

  • Large Metros (over 500,000 residents): Portland, ME; Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Jacksonville, FL.

  • Mid-Sized Metros (100,000-500,000): Bend, OR; Naples, FL; Cape Coral-Ft. Myers, FL.

  • Small Metros (under 100,000): Bozeman, MT; Kill Devil Hills, NC; Gillette, WY.

To access the Top Markets in Small Business Vitality, visit www.bizjournals.com/specials/2005/small_biz_towns/best_towns.html

Innovation Indicators: The View From Pennsylvania

Lots of regions across the world are grappling with how to effectively understand and measure the innovation economy. An interesting new effort is underway in Pennsylvania where thirty-five technology-based economic development organizations collaborated with the Commonwealth’s Department of Community and Economic Development to produce the 2005 Pennsylvania Techformation report. The study examines Pennsylvania’s technology development performance in comparison to six other comparable states (Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio). The report takes a different look at the technology development process and assesses how the state supports firms through various growth stages: concept, formation, growth, maturity, and reinvention. For Pennsylvania, the report finds that the state does a good job in supporting the concept development phase, but it lags other states in terms of business formation. If you’re looking for a new way to assess business development programs, this report will offer some useful and innovative ideas. 

The 2005 Pennsylvania Techformation report is available at www.newpa.com/docs/TechFormationReport.pdf

Entrepreneurial Activity On the Rise Throughout US

A new report by CFED points to a resurgence in entrepreneurial activity within the states. The report, the 18th annual Development Report Card for the States (DRC), challenges state policymakers to cultivate the positive trend through promoting innovative growth ahead of business recruitment and integrating entrepreneurship education into state systems. 

Highlights include:

  • Research and development spending is on the rise, both in the private sector and in the nation's universities; 

  • Government funding to boost domestic business ideas with potential for commercialization is up;

  • Entrepreneurial capital is flowing faster, from both private and government resources; and, 

  • The number of new companies is growing, as is the number of jobs
    created by new businesses.

To download the Development Report Card for the States, visit www.drc.cfed.org

Entrepreneurship Data from the UK

In advance of next week’s NDE Briefing with Martin Wyn Griffith, chief executive of the UK Department of Trade and Industry’s Small Business Service, we bring you some of the latest data on entrepreneurship in Great Britain – offering both good and bad news for British policymakers. Topping the good news, Britain now ranks as Europe’s most entrepreneurial economy, with 6.3% of the populace engaged in entrepreneurial activities. Other good news is that entrepreneurship rates in the north of England are growing at a more rapid pace, and are thus helping to reduce the economic divide between North and South. Wales has become something of an entrepreneurial hot-spot, as it hosts the greatest number of high growth start-ups. Meanwhile, start-up rates for women still lag considerably behind those of men, and regional disparities still exist. 

To access this data and learn more about the Small Business Service, visit www.sbs.gov.uk

For a NDE Backgrounder on the UK, visit www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde

Kauffman Foundation    The Public Forum Institute

National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship
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Mark Marich, Editor

All stories © 2005 The Public Forum Institute
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