Week of March 7 - March 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. 

Philanthropic Contributions Nearly Double from 2003

Each year, Slate magazine and the Chronicle of Philanthropy compile the Slate 60, a listing of the sixty biggest philanthropic contributions given in the US each year. The 2004 list shows that most of the big givers are active or former entrepreneurs. Overall, it was a good year for philanthropy as the combined contributions of the Slate 60 reached $10.1 billion, smashing last year’s total of $5.9 billion. Bill and Melinda Gates always rank high on the list; they top this year’s Slate 60 with $3.4 billion pledged to their foundation last year. Other big givers in 2004 were the late Susan T. Buffett (Warren Buffett’s wife) and John Templeton of Templeton Funds. Where do the big contributions go? Colleges and universities still serve as top targets for big donations as 56 schools make the 2004 list. Other typical grant recipients are hospitals, medical research centers, and private foundations. 

The ninth annual Slate 60 list can be accessed at: http://slate.msn.com/id/2112694/

America’s Top Tech Cities

If you’re looking to move to America’s most tech-savvy city, pack up your bags and head to Minneapolis-St. Paul. The Twin Cities ranked No. 1 for technology in the latest assessment from Popular Science magazine. These rankings were based on 36 measures that fell into six categories: transportation, connected citizens, education, medical, jobs, and energy. Minneapolis took the top rank because it performed well in all categories, and was especially strong in its use of technology in the transportation and energy fields. Rounding out the top five overall were Atlanta, Washington DC, Boston and San Diego. 

“Technopolis Found” appears in the March 2005 edition of Popular Science. The rankings can also be accessed on-line at: www.popsci.com/popsci/generaltech/article/0,20967,1027536,00.html

New SBA Research

Just in time for today’s symposium on entrepreneurship and economic development – cosponsored by the Small Business Association’s Office of Advocacy, Council of State Governments, National Lieutenant Governor’s Association and the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City – two new Office of Advocacy studies offer some interesting research advances. Dynamics of Minority-Owned Employer Establishments, 1997-2001 summarizes the latest Census data on minority-owned businesses. A couple of highlights:

  • The share of business owned by minorities reached 15.7% in 1997.

  • American Indians and Alaska Natives are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs. Businesses owned by this group grew tenfold between 1982 and 1997. The number of Hispanic-owned business quadrupled over this period. 

  • Most minority-owned firms grow faster than the norm. Between 1997 and 2001, 27.4% of non-minority-owned firms expanded. In contrast, 34% of Hispanic-owned and 32.1% of Asian/Pacific Islander-owned firms expanded during this period. 

  • Minority-owned firms have lower survival rates. The four-year survival rate for all US establishments is 72.6%. Minority owned firms survive at a rate that ranges from 72.1% (Asian/Pacific Islander-owned) to 61% (African-American-owned). 

A second study reports on recent findings from another Census Bureau database, the Business Information Tracking Series (BITS). Using this data, Zoltan Acs and Catherine Armington seek to gain a better understanding of why different regions have differing rates of new firm formation. Their research highlights several factors. Not surprisingly, regions with high rates of new firm formation also have high rates of employment growth. They also find that education plays a key role in new firm formation. Regions with increased high school graduation rates also show increases in new firm formation. They also find that raising the overall level of education seems to have a stronger effect than focusing on improving college level education. Finally, regions with heavier specialization in certain businesses also seem to have higher rates of new company formation. 

The February 2005 report, Dynamics of Minority-Owned Employer Establishments, 1997-2001, by Ying Lowrey, is available at www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs251tot.pdf

The February 2005 report, Using Census BITS to Explore Entrepreneurship, Geography, and Economic Growth, by Zoltan Acs and Catherine Armington is available at: www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs248tot.pdf

Information on “Putting It Together: The Role of Entrepreneurship in Economic Development” is available at: www.sba.gov/advo/research/conference.html

UK Innovation Report

Last week, we reported on several new reports that raised alarms about the state of America’s innovation economy. Americans are not alone in making these assessments; the British government is also engaged in a similar process. Britain’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) produced an extensive review of Britain’s innovation economy in December 2003; DTI has now released a series of scorecards on achievements since that time. These new reports track progress in six areas including knowledge transfer, skills and workforce, regional innovation, and small business. The report notes that the government has made good progress in implementing the goals of the original 2003 report. Examples include, expanded support for women entrepreneurs, creation of a Science and Industry Council in all regions, and publication of a guidebook on bringing more innovation into government procurement. This report should interest followers of the British movement toward an enterprising culture, but it should also be read by those with interest in well-designed programs for policy implementation and performance measurement. 

The December 2003 Innovation Report and related documents produced by Great Britain’s Department of Trade and Industry are available at http://www.innovation.gov.uk/innovationreport/index.asp

New Economy Firms in Michigan

A new survey from Western Michigan University (WMU) takes a long, hard look at what will be needed for Michigan-based entrepreneurs to thrive. The WMU New Economy Report details the findings of a survey of more than 1,100 Michigan-based entrepreneurs who were asked to report on their firm’s growth plans as well as their expected challenges and opportunities for future growth. Finding capital appears to be job one, as one in six firms were actively seeking capital and roughly 80% found accessing capital to be “very” or “somewhat difficult.” The firms were fairly satisfied with Michigan’s university system as more than half of those surveyed had accessed university resources and were happy with the experience. They are less bullish on Michigan’s plans to become a hotbed for life science companies and research. More than 1/3 of those surveyed have uncertainties about these plans. 

The WMU New Economy Report was funded by the WMU Research Foundation. The survey was conducted by EPIC-MRA, a Lansing, Michigan based market-research firm. The report is available at: http://www.wmich.edu/neweconomy/

Kauffman Foundation    The Public Forum Institute

National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship
2300 M Street, NW; Suite 900
Washington, DC 20037
Mark Marich, Editor

All stories © 2005 The Public Forum Institute
Content from this newsletter may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes with proper attribution to the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship and a link to www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde. 

Subscribe: 
 To sign up to receive NDE-news, visit www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde/join/

Unsubscribe:
Please send an e-mail to nde-out@nde-news.org with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. If you have difficulties with the automated process, please e-mail Mark Marich with your email address in the body and your unsubscribe request will be handled promptly.

Privacy Statement: 
 The Public Forum Institute recognizes and respects the importance of protecting the privacy of all information provided by recipients of our e-mail newsletter. We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure and will not share personally identifiable information with other companies or organizations.