Creating entrepreneurial communities: building community capacity for ecosystem development

Abstract

Research on the economic impact of entrepreneurship makes the case for entrepreneur-focused economic development. Community economic development practitioners and policy-makers face the challenge of identifying and implementing the most promising strategies. Some community development researchers have argued effectively for an entrepreneurial development system, or ecosystem, approach as a way to build and grow a pipeline of entrepreneurial talent. Others document the importance of building community capacity as a prerequisite for the establishment of an effective ecosystem. This paper draws on field-based learning, primarily in Kansas and Australia, to develop the conceptual underpinnings for an approach to creating entrepreneurial communities that builds: (1) the capacity of the community to host and support an entrepreneurial ecosystem and (2) the capacity of entrepreneurs to grow themselves and their businesses in support of community economic development.

Keywords:

• entrepreneurship
• economic development
• community capacity building
• entrepreneurial development system

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Stage 2 businesses are defined by the Edward Lowe Foundation as those businesses with 10–99 employees (www.youreconomy.org).

2. These outcomes were achieved through a comprehensive approach to entrepreneurial support, involving multiple partners in both the public and private sectors. The Center’s framework both contributed to and benefited from the action research and learning afforded in Kansas.

3. This approach addresses the question of how communities can predict when a business reaches Stage 2 – they cannot. However, this is not necessary when you can assess where an entrepreneur’s skill level currently lies and track her skill level advancement and trace the progression of her business through its life cycle stages.