1. Building Regional Entrepreneurship &
Innovation Support Systems
Rural Entrepreneurship Convening
Nebraska City, Nebraska
November 9, 2010
2. A Question to my Facebook Friends
What is the most helpful thing the public sector can to
to help you start and grown your business?
“No idea, never had any help from the government except paperwork and
huge tax bills.”
“Reduce the red tape. Period. Their intervention does absolutely nothing to
help. Stay away.”
“Tax abatements and incentives”
“Access to resources that are usually only
available to larger companies – market research,
mentoring from successful executives, etc.”
3. Points to Cover
• Our Analogy
• Our Model
• Our Process
• North Central Indiana
• Ideas for the Future
• Tools & Technical Assistance
9. Five Asset Networks
– Build world-class brainpower
– Translate brainpower into wealth through
innovation and entrepreneurship
– Create quality, connected places where “hot spots”
can develop
– Create a buzz with a brand & new stories
– Continuously strengthen habits of civic leadership
and collaboration
10. Our Process: Strategic Doing
Strategic Planning, developed
by corporations over 40 years
ago, can be too slow and too
rigid for today’s fast-paced
world.
Strategic Doing is the art of
building networks and guiding
purposeful conversations that
quickly translates shared values
into strategies and strategies
into action.
11. North Central Indiana
• 14 counties, 15 cities, 5,577 square miles
• Two population centers
– Lafayette/West Lafayette – 88,362
– Kokomo – 46,074
• Most of the region is rural
12. Background
• Purdue University (Indiana’s land grant university)
– A mission that includes learning, discovery, and delivery
– 69,000 students
– “Research 1” Institution
– Top rankings in engineering, business, agriculture
• $15 million investment from DOLETA in 2006 (Gen1)
– Only WIRED initiative led by a university
• An additional $18 million leveraged
• Four Key Strategies
– Developing 21st Century talent
– Creating globally competitive industry clusters
– Building a regional support system for entrepreneurship
– Weaving a supportive regional civic infrastructure
13. 70+ Shareholders
• Federal: DOL, EDA, SBA, NIST
• Philanthropy: Kauffman, Edward Lowe, Purdue Research
Foundation, Community Foundations
• State: Economic Development, Workforce Development, SBDC
• Higher Ed: Purdue, IU Kokomo, Ivy Tech Community College
• Local & Regional: Extension, LEDOs, SBDCs, K-12,
Incubators/Tech Parks, Workforce Boards
14. Investment Portfolio
• Entrepreneurship Peer Networks
• Energizing Entrepreneurship
• Companies to Watch
• Eureka Winning Ways
• Zoning for Home-Based Businesses
• Business Plan Competitions
• STEM Entrepreneurship Camp
• K-12 Teacher Training
• Skunkworks
• Economic Gardening
• Entrepreneurship Certificate
Program
• Technology Showcases
• Angel Network Events
16. Return on our Investment (Metrics)
• 227 K-12 teachers trained to teach entrepreneurship
• 1,536 students (future entrepreneurs) enrolled in entrepreneurship
programs
• 1,851 existing and emerging adult entrepreneurs trained
• 654 new products, services, and top-line growth ideas created
• 102 business plans developed
• 10 new start-up business launched
• 353 jobs created or retained
• $3.5 million in industry cost savings realized
• $1.6 million in industry sales growth
• $4 million in industry sales retained
80% of these initiatives have been sustained beyond the initial investment
17. Ideas for the Future
• Economic Development Certificate
program
• Statewide roll out of Economic
Gardening
• Export strategy based on connecting
Indiana products with Purdue
international students
18. Tools: Industry Clusters Analysis
Database, analytical tools, and
processes to help regions assess
their economic competitiveness and
create strategies for growth and
development
Developed by the Purdue Center for Regional Development & Indiana Business Research Center
with funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration
19. Tools: Occupational Cluster Analysis
Analytic tools to explore employment size, growth, location quotient, and
shift share for 15 knowledge-based occupation clusters. These tools help
regional leaders understand their workforce and educational situation in
order to bridge the gap between workforce and economic development. It is
also useful to diagnose how well-positioned the region is to participate
effectively in a knowledge-based innovation economy.
Developed by the Purdue Center for Regional Development & Indiana Business Research Center
with funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration
20. Tools: Innovation Index
The Innovation Index provides
leaders and practitioners with the
first tool for comparing a region's
innovation performance with that of
the United States, a state, or other
regions.
Developed by the Purdue Center for Regional Development & Indiana Business Research Center
with funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration
21. Tools: Guidelines for Regional Investment
Regional leaders can simplify the
process of developing a shared
framework by first defining their goals
in terms of five categories of strategic
investment, corresponding to the
critical ingredients for competitive
regions in today’s global economy.
Tools are available at:
http://www.statsamerica.org/innovation/
Developed by the Purdue Center for Regional Development & Indiana Business Research Center
with funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration
22. National Work
Workshops, Training, & Technical Assistance
http://www.pcrd.purdue.edu/What_We_Do/sdb.pdf
23. Role for USDA-RD
Help Create Regions of
Shingle-Ready Communities
Invest in regional support systems
• Focus federal policies, programs,
and resources toward promoting
regional networks.
• Create strong platforms to
collaborate across regions to learn
“what works.”
• Look to “hub” organizations (like
universities) that transcend
election cycles.
24. Scott Hutcheson
Assistant Program Leader, Economic & Community Development
Purdue University
Purdue Extension & Purdue Center for Regional Development
Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship
1207 W. State Street, Room 227
765-494-7273 (office)
765-494-3200 (fax)
765-479-7704 (mobile)
