Entrepreneurship in Regional Economic Development

Posted by on August 27, 2004

[posted from Community Development Banking listserv]

An international conference on Knowledge Clusters and Entrepreneurship in Regional Economic Development will be held at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs on the University of Minnesota’s West Bank Campus, September 13 and 14, 2004.

This international conference will bring together leading academics, policymakers, practitioners and financiers with the aim of addressing the following questions and similar issues:
– What is knowledge in the context of economic development and how can it be ‘built’ within a region?
– How do knowledge clusters emerge, and what can policy makers and economic development practitioners do to foster their growth?
– What makes some countries and regions more entrepreneurial than others?
– How can Universities maximize their entrepreneurial impact within a region?
– What are the most appropriate financing strategies for venture-based economic development?
– How should the performance of entrepreneurship strategies be measured and evaluated?
– What can be done to overcome some of the specific challenges faced by rural communities attempting to raise levels of entrepreneurship, or those working with groups such as women and people of color, currently under-represented in the entrepreneurial class?
– Are there ‘best-practice’ case studies from the US and around the world, which might help guide regional policy makers and practitioners working in this area?

To learn more about the conference and to register on-line, go to http://www.knowledgeclusters.com. For questions about the conference, please contact Marit Enerson at menerson@hhh.umn.edu or (612) 625-8575.