NCRCRD Listening Sessions

During the past year, 182 collaborations representing over 2,000 organizations and agencies applied for the W.K. Kellogg entrepreneurship grant opportunity. Clearly, many rural areas see entrepreneurship development as an important tool in their economic development portfolio. In response to this outpouring of interest, the four Regional Rural Development Centers are working in concert with funders and others to learn more about what is working in relation to entrepreneurship in rural America and what possibilities exist if we could do more to support entrepreneurship. For more information, visit The National Coalition for Rural Entrepreneurship.

From the Ground Up: Growing Entrepreneurship in the North Central Region, a report by Mary Emery, is now available at http://www.ncrcrd.iastate.edu/pubs/contents/191.htm.

Entrepreneurship in Rural America: A Briefing on What's Working
Online Breeze Meeting
Monday, December 11, 2006 (10-11:30 a.m. CST)

The NCRCRD is hosting a 90-minute Breeze briefing from the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship. This briefing will focus on what the Center is learning about different approaches to supporting and generating entrepreneurship in rural areas. Don Macke, co-director, will describe the Center's current work as well as the results of several evaluation projects they have undertaken to look at the impact of various strategies including the Sirolli method on creating and expanding entrepreneurial efforts. Registration fee is $15. The registration deadline is Friday, December 8, 2006. For more information about the meeting, contact Mary Emery at memery@iastate.edu or (515) 294-8321. Information about Breeze technology can be found at http://about.extension.org/wiki/Web_Conferencing_Center.

Registration Form (PDF format, 61 kb)

Don Macke's PowerPoint presentation (PDF format, 84 kb)

Breeze Session: Creating Rural Entrepreneurs Through Entrepreneurship Development Systems (NOTE: The audio begins right away, but there is a two minute delay before the actual presentation appears on the screen. DO NOT CALL the number listed on the screen. This is an archive, not a live presentation.)

The North Central Regional Center for Rural Development organized a number of listening sessions on what is working well and what needs to happen to make it work even better, and prepared summaries of the listening sessions.

Illinois: October 28, 2005—Rural Entrepreneurship Across the Tri-State Area (Illinois, Iowa and Missouri): A Listening Session on Programs, Strategies and Possibilities, Quincy, IL

Listening Session Summary (HTML format)
Listening Session Summary (PDF format, 162 kb)

Indian Country: July 12, 2005—Indian Country at United Tribes Technical College, Bismarck, North Dakota

Listening Session Summary (PDF format, 314 kb)

Indiana: August 30, 2005—Center for Agricultural Science and Heritage, Indianapolis, Indiana

Listening Session Summary (HTML format)
Listening Session Summary (PDF format, 22 kb)

Iowa

Kansas: January 30-31, 2006—Kansas State University Union

Listening Session Summary (HTML format)
Listening Session Summary (PDF format, 91 kb)

Michigan: January 16, 2006—Supporting and Generating Entrepreneurship in Rural Michigan (Lansing, Michigan)

Listening Session Summary (HTML format)
Listening Session Summary (PDF format, 39 kb)
Listening Session Results (PDF format, 49 kb)

Minnesota: June 2, 2005—Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, Cloquet, Minnesota

Listening Session Summary (HTML format)
Photos (Best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer)

Missouri: The University of Missouri Extension, through its Community Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Development (CEED) Initiative, held 16 Community Conversations throughout the state, and published their findings.

Community Conversations on Entrepreneurship Final Report, Executive Summary (PDF format, 526 kb)

Nebraska: August 22, 2006—Nebraska Listening Session: What is Working Well in Supporting and Generating Entrepreneurship and How Can We Make it Better? Bridgeport, NE

Listening Session Results (HTML format)
Listening Session Results (PDF format, 52 kb)

North Dakota: November 21, 2005—Rural Entrepreneurship Across North Dakota: A Listening Session on Programs, Strategies and Possibilities. Sessions were held at in Grand Forks, Watford City, Fargo and Bismarck.

Listening Session Summary (HTML format)
Listening Session Summary (PDF format, 47 kb)

Ohio: March 24, 2006—OSU Extension Center at Piketon

Listening Session Summary (HTML format)
Listening Session Summary (PDF format, 90 k

South Dakota: February 2006—Chamberlain, South Dakota

Report on Rural Entrepreneurship in South Dakota
Listening Session Summary (HTML format)
Listening Session Summary (PDF format, 43 kb)

Wisconsin: August 3, 2005—Wood County Court House, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin

Listening Session Summary (HTML format)
Listening Session Summary (PDF format, 85 kb)

Summary of Listening Sessions, Congressional brief prepared by NCRCRD, May 2006

National Coalition for Rural Entrepreneurship: Listening Across America (PDF format, 345 kb)

Click the following link for a map showing states in which listening sessions have occurred or are planned to occur, inactive states, and states receiving the W. K. Kellogg award.

Map of listening sessions, HTML format

For more information about the NCRCRD Listening Sessions, please contact Mary Emery at (515) 294-2878 (office), (402) 304-1531 (cell phone), or .

Entrepreneurship Resources

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Americans for the Arts: Creative Industries 2005
http://ww3.artsusa.org/pdf/information_resources/creative_industries/the_congressional_report.pdf

Angel Investment Groups, Networks and Funds: A Guidebook to Developing the Right Angel Organization for Your Community, Susan L. Preston in association with the Kauffman Foundation, August 2004 Edition
http://web.kauffman.org/pdf/angel_guidebook.pdf

Appalachian Regional Commission: Entrepreneurship Initiative
http://www.arc.gov/index.do?nodeId=19

Association of Enterprise Opportunity provides its members with a forum, information and a voice to promote enterprise opportunity for poeple and communities with limited access to economic resources.