Entrepreneurship Development Systems - · PDF fileFIELD Microenterprise Fund For Innovation, Effectiveness, Learning and Dissemination Entrepreneurship Development Systems: The W.K

FIELDMicroenterprise Fund For Innovation, Effectiveness,

Learning and Dissemination

Entrepreneurship Development Systems:The W.K. Kellogg Foundation DemonstrationPrepared for Entrepreneurship: Where Practice and Theory MeetNovember 6, 2008, St. Louis Missouri

Elaine EdgcombNovember 2008

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W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Rationale for the EDS Demonstration

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To “promote entrepreneurial activity in their regions, showcase successful models of entrepreneurship activity to rural communities outside their area, leverage significant new investments, and stimulate state and national interest in rural entrepreneurship policies and strategies.”

[W.K.Kellogg Foundation press release, February 8, 2005-http://www.wkkf.org/default.aspx?tabid=102&CID=4&CatID=4&ItemID=44084&NID=20&LanguageID=0 ]

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What is an EDS?


“An effective entrepreneurship development system integrates a wide range of programs and tailors products and services to meet the diverse needs of entrepreneurs. It should be comprehensive, flexible, culturally sensitive, and integrated, and should require providers to collaborate rather than operate independently or in isolation.”[1]

[1] Brian Dabson, “Fostering Entrepreneurship Development Systems in Rural America: First Review of the Results of the Request for Proposals,” report to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. CFED and the Rural Policy

Research Institute (RUPRI), January 2005, 3.

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Five Key Components

• Entrepreneurship Education

• Adult entrepreneurship training and technical assistance

• Access to capital• Access to networks• Entrepreneurial culture


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An Underlying Concept of Collaboration


“By requiring collaboration, we hope the process and the final awards will produce models that will show how a region’s often-limited resources can be brought together, through collaboration, to stimulate and encourage entrepreneurship,”

--Caroline Carpenter, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, press release announcing awards

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Three Goals


First, to create a pipeline of entrepreneurs by nurturing entrepreneurial aspirations in youth, identifying and supporting potential entrepreneurs, and fostering an entrepreneur-friendly environment that attracts entrepreneurs;

Next, to implement a system of financial and technical support for all types of entrepreneurs of varying motivations and skill levels; and

Finally, to foster a supportive policy and cultural environment of entrepreneurship within the public, private and nonprofit sectors

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Principles


Entrepreneur focused

Inclusive

Asset-based

Collaborative

Comprehensive and Integrated

Community-based but regionally-focused

Linked to policy

Sustainable over time

Continuous improvement

8©FIELD - The Aspen Institute

“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp,Or what’s a heaven for?”

---Robert Browning, “Andrea Del Sarto”, lines 97-98

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The Demonstrations


Advantage Valley EDS

North CarolinaRural OutreachCollaborative

Connecting Oregon forRural Entrepreneurs (CORE)

HomeTownCompetitiveness

Empowering Business Spirit

Oweesta Collaborative

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Study ObjectivesTo understand:

What can be said about the effect of the funded Systems on:--entrepreneurs--local communities--and policy?

What is being learned about the development of these Systems that others can apply?


1. Entrepreneur level issues– To what extent has the pipeline of aspiring

entrepreneurs seeking services increased?

– To what extent has the number of entrepreneurs increased?

– What outcomes do assisted entrepreneurs (participants) experience?

– What changes do assisted entrepreneurs (any participant, including youth) express with respect to their attitudes about and capacity for entrepreneurship?

2: Entrepreneurship Development Systems

– What are the core functions, components and drivers of a successful EDS?

– What are the key lessons with respect to developing and maintaining a successful EDS?

3. Community and Policy Level Issues– To what extent did the EDS initiatives

contribute to poverty reduction, economic progress and policy change in the six target regions?

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EDS Accomplishments


Advancing youth entrepreneurship:

Elevated its profile

Curriculum development and teacher training

New structures

Included in West Virginia’s mandatory financial literacy curriculum

Training ~ 17,000; 1,200 in business plan competitions; several thousand teachers trained

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Accomplishments:


Entrepreneurial development strategies

Introduce coaching as a key tool

Created peer support systems

Fostered greater community support for entrepreneurship

Developed approaches to making entrepreneurship more inclusive

~ 1000 individuals coached; networking for more; new businesses and jobs in the hundreds

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Accomplishments


Investments in infrastructure:

Tools to increase transparency

New and leveraged services, capital funds, marketing and technical assistance

Policy gains:

Increased visibility of entrepreneurship

Educated policy makers

Gained legislative funding for services, tax credits for microentrepreneurs and for community foundation giving; a uniform commercial code

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Developing an EDS is a long-term processEach is Unique


Context

Leadership

Institutional capacity

Preparedness forJoint action

Givens DecisionsTheory

Partners (#, types)

Definition of region

DecisionmakingProcess (how shared

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Key to your theory is how you define a system or systems approach


“A group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements or parts that function together as a whole to accomplish a goal.”

“A system is an assemblage of inter-related elements comprising a unified whole. From the Latin and Greek, the term "system" meantto combine, to set up, to place together.”

Key notions:

bringing together diverse set of components or actors

a common goal, objective or unified whole

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The “Big Tent” or Supply-Side Theory


Bringing together a diverse group

By filling gap in services, by more effective marketing, by better coordination, entrepreneurs would gain access to more, and more appropriate, services when and where they needed them. And, getting those services more fully and more efficiently would quicken the pace of entrepreneurial development and growth.

EBS, CORE, NCROC

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Transformational or Demand-Side Theory of Change


Focus on a common goal or objective

Support for personal development, learning and empowerment of entrepreneurs, sustained relations with coaches, connections to larger structures of support will lead to more effective accessing of technical assistance, a stronger portfolio of entrepreneurs, with more achieving their growth goals.

Adv. Valley, HTC, Oweesta

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A system is about connecting supply and demand


Supplier Driven• increasing providerunderstanding of each other•Better needs assessment•Filling gaps•Cross-referring

Entrepreneur orDemand Driven•Increasing transparency•Increasing capacity to assess and choose•Directories, web portals, etc.

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“No Wrong Door”?


“It will take a long time to realize the “no wrong door” ideal where we have an effective client management and referral system that is clear and consistent. None of the collaborative partners wants to be told what to do – each has an ego about what they do well and feels accountability pressure already; any lead agency cannot be heavy-handed. With better information tools that guide the entrepreneurs to us, the clients can help reinforce the value of having better insight on where to go for various expertise and encourage us each to stick to what we do best and to practice continuous improvement.”

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“You know it don’t come easy”- Collaboration


A system doesn’t require a large number of collaborators especially at the start

Effective collaboration requires skillful facilitation

It’s a marathon, not a sprint---Shared values take time to develop

Numeric goals can help

Not all EDS tasks require collaboration—or at least full participation by all parties

Systems emphasize different values

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EDS work requires changing the culture around entrepreneurship


Showcasing model entrepreneurs and marketing their success

Using Energizing Entrepreneurship curriculum

Encouraging local entrepreneurial task forces and networks of service providers

Training local policy makers and fostering more inclusive community leadership

Coaching local champions

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Three more points


Coaching has shown its value in entrepreneurial transformation. We need to better understand strengths and weaknesses of varying approaches.

Youth entrepreneurship can be the catalyst for change at community and state levels

The speed at which you can make policy change depends on the institutional capacities you start with.

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Sustainability takes many different forms


When planning for sustainability,

Know that long term support needed

Start smaller, build organically

Start with methodology for entrepreneurial development at adult and youth levels

And depends on capacity to raise resources, partner expectations, willingness to absorb components, and assessment of success

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Research and evaluation: Start with what you want to learn


Clarifying goals, objectives and theories

Implementing formative designs

Selecting indicators and creating tools

Facilitating learning sessions

Documenting qualitative changes at community level

Start with collecting a few key measures in common, not witha common MIS!

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For more information


FIELD

The Aspen Institute

www.fieldus.org

[email protected]

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Advantage Valley Entrepreneurship Development System


Region: 12 counties spanning West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio

Context: industrial decline in coal, metals, forestry and paper,chemicals and heavy construction

Structure: led by Advantage Valley, Inc.; coaching/networking program based on proprietary Entrepreneurial League System®; network of service providers and Collaborative of institutions focused on entrepreneurship education, policy and other issues

Focus: to build a group of growth-oriented entrepreneurs and more supportive environment for them and other emerging entrepreneurs

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Connecting Oregon for Rural Entrepreneurship (CORE)


Region: Five target areas in mountainous northwest, desert country in south, coastal area, agricultural area and Native American reservation

Context: economic distress due to decline of timber industry in 90’s

Structure: 29 partners led by Rural Development Initiatives; five target area collaboratives with entrepreneur advisory board; statwide advisory committee working on policy; and statewide service providers offering resources

Focus: to build EDSs in five locations with state providers’support, ultimately developing statewide system

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Empowering Business Spirit (EBS)


Region: four counties in northern New Mexico

Context: ethnically diverse and culturally rich, but with 22% poverty rates and unemployment 20-100% above state avg.

Structure:led by Regional Development Corporation, collaborative of service providers within the region and from state level, with lead for youth enterprise work

Focus: a seamless “continuum of service providers”originally; now community-focused enterprise facilitation model backstopped by service providers

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HomeTown Competitiveness


Region: distressed rural communities across Nebraska

Context: changes in traditional agriculture leading to depopulation rates between 10-37%; low wages and limited career choices

Structure: Heartland Center for Leadership, Nebraska Community Foundation and RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship supporting development of community structures for leadership and asset development, youth engagement and entrepreneurship. Supported by management team and resource partners

Focus: comprehensive community revitalization model with entrepreneurship as one of four pillars; local communities encouraged to form broader regional development initiatives within their counties to spur greater impact

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North Carolina Rural Outreach Collaborative


Region: 85 rural counties across state, organized in six regions

Context: losses in traditional manufacturing, tobacco and other agriculture

Structure: 25 partners led by North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, organized in management team and project-focused working groups—connected to regional initiatives in varying states of development

Focus: state-wide system designed to increase transparency of services and quality of services

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Oweesta (SAGE) Collaborative


Region: Pine Ridge, Cheyenne River reservations in South Dakota, and Wind River reservation in Wyoming

Context: social and economic disenfranchisement leading to extreme and longstanding poverty; lacking infrastructure for enterprise and economic development

Structure: 9 Native American organizations partner to support indigenous coaching model—the Wawokiye Business Institute, deliver services and work on policy

Focus: Native American entrepreneurship model designed by Native American organizations specifically for their communities.

32©FIELD - The Aspen Institute

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Entrepreneurship Development Systems - · PDF fileFIELD Microenterprise Fund For Innovation, Effectiveness, Learning and Dissemination Entrepreneurship Development Systems: The W.K