NDE-news: January 30 - February 5, 2006

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Week of January 30 - February 5, 2006 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.
Public Opinion on America’s Innovation Future We’re regularly reporting on studies that bemoan the state of America’s innovation infrastructure, and call for major new investments in science, technology, and innovation. Most of these reports are produced by expert panels of scientists, researchers, and industry leaders, but these concerns are not limited to elite opinion-makers. A new poll shows that average Americans are also greatly concerned about the US’s future competitive positions. The poll and a series of focus groups, led by Peter D. Hart Associates and the Winston Group, asked participants (opinion leaders and voters) to provide their views on America’ s ability to sustain its scientific and technological superiority through this decade and beyond. When asked to identify the world’s economic leader in 20-30 years, 45% of voters identified China. Thirty-two percent selected the US. Interestingly, the survey saw a split in the intensity of concern about these competitive challenges. Thirty-three percent of opinion leaders cited improving innovation capacity as America’s Number One future challenge. Only 18% of voters shared this view. However, there was consensus around the critical importance of improving education. A majority of all groups believe this is the key to enhancing American competitiveness. To view the results of the Business Roundtable’s survey on “Innovation and Competitiveness: Addressing the Talent Gap,” visit http://www.businessroundtable.org/pdf/20060112Two-pager.pdf
Georgia’s Entrepreneur-Friendly Communities Gwinnett County (a suburb of Atlanta) was recently cited by Georgia’s Department of Economic Development as an “Entrepreneur-Friendly Community.” Gwinnett is the 13th Georgia County to receive this designation which is a part of an innovative state program to encourage communities to do more to support local entrepreneurs. Designated communities have sent their community leaders through a training process, and have established a system that allows them to map local assets and identify entrepreneurial strengths and weaknesses. The process provides them with tools and resources that help identify what local business owners need, and to design effective strategies for assisting them, or if necessary, getting out of the way. This program is an interesting model for getting community leaders and elected officials more engaged in promoting entrepreneurship. To learn more about the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s “Entrepreneur Friendly” Communities initiative, visit http://www.georgia.org/Business/SmallBusiness/Entrepreneur+Friendly+Communities.htm
Entrepreneurship and Rural Revitalization Lots of rural communities are embracing entrepreneurship as a tool to help transform and revitalize their communities. The latest issue of Routes of Change, an e-newsletter published by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, highlights some recent examples. For example, in Monroe, LA, Renewal, Inc., is operating a successful microenterprise program that trains new minority and women business owners. In West Virginia, the Conservation Fund is investing in businesses that utilize local natural resources in a sustainable and ecologically-sound manner. In Michigan, the Land Use Institute operates programs that link farmers to restaurants and food stores that are promoting “buy local” campaigns. All of these examples highlight innovative and effective means to link enterprise development, sustainability, and rural community revitalization. To view the January 2006 edition of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Routes of Change, visit http://bm23.com/x/preview.php?id=99038_92b36723_4894741_951b7538. To subscribe to Routes of Change, visit http://www.wkkf.org/Programming/Overview.aspx?CID=4
Additional programs target angel investors The Angel Capital Education Foundation (ACEF), which promotes education and research in the growing field of angel investing, announced a major expansion of its educational offerings under its popular Power of Angel Investing (PAI) branded seminar series. The new offerings are designed to complement ACEF’s existing introduction to angel investing with two to four hour detailed workshops that target more experienced angel investors. The expanded offering points to the rapid growth of the angel investor community -- typically made up of high net worth individuals and "cashed out" entrepreneurs who are actively engaged with the ventures they fund. ACEF will begin offering licensing agreements to the expanded list of educational offerings to angel groups, universities, community economic development offices and other organizations. Both ACEF and the PAI seminar series are programs of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. For more information on ACEF, visit http://www.angelcapitaleducation.org/
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Week of January 30 - February 5, 2006