KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a nonpartisan foundation that supports entrepreneurship and education nationwide, announces $2.9 million in funding to study how entrepreneurial ecosystems drive local economic growth in communities around the country.
Even as local stakeholders have increasingly focused on creating policies and programs that support entrepreneurship, there is currently limited timely and granular data on entrepreneurial ecosystems at the city or regional level.
This portfolio, which consists of independent, institutional and organizational researchers, will perform research that will better inform policymakers and entrepreneurship support organizations building environments for new and growing companies.
The portfolio includes:
- Lee Fleming
- Rem Koning
- Jon Eckhardt
- Banu Ozkazanc-Pan
- Paolo Gaudiano
- Brooks Rainwater
- JF Gauthier
- Daniel Basco
- Joda Thongnopnua
- Fallon Wilson
- Derick Pearson
- Warren Reed
- Chris Sinton
- Steve Radley
Similar to an ecosystem in nature, an entrepreneurial ecosystem is composed of both entrepreneurs and the environment in which they are starting their businesses. The success of these entrepreneurial communities is determined by a number of factors, including access to capital, talent, entrepreneurship support organizations, pro-entrepreneurship public policy and educational institutions or established businesses that embrace entrepreneurship.
“Building inclusive ecosystems for all entrepreneurs requires information that is responsive and representative,” said Evan Absher, Program Officer in Entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation. “We have merged cutting-edge technology with sound methods and perspectives from all communities to create research immediately useful for entrepreneurs and the people that support them.”
Beyond funding for their proposals, the Foundation will also provide the researchers with direct assistance in the three years following the award. This includes meetings to assess the progress of their methods, to collect new entrepreneurial data and to understand how best to expand, adjust or pivot in another direction to ensure ultimate success.
This process will develop nascent research into applicable insights in an intentional manner, a key component of the Kauffman Foundation’s new approach to knowledge creation.
Understanding entrepreneurial communities and how to help them grow is a key component of the Kauffman Foundation’s Zero Barriers movement which seeks to eliminate barriers to entrepreneurship, grow the economy and improve people's lives.
About the Kauffman Foundation
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private, nonpartisan foundation that works in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful. The Kauffman Foundation is based in Kansas City, Missouri, and uses its $2 billion in assets to collaboratively help people be self-sufficient, productive citizens. For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect with us at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn.
