INOVERZUM inovacijska skupnost

Inoverzum in ta spletna stran

Tomaž Černe — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 14:30:37 +0000

Pozdravljeni obiskovalci spletne strani,

v zadnjem letu smo zanemarili spletno stran, kar pa ne pomeni, da nismo aktivni.

Priznali smo si, da spletna inovacijska skupnost ni zaživela, kot smo si želeli in so tako objave odvisne zgolj od naše aktivnosti. Statistika obiskov kaže, da so nekatere vsebine dobro obiskane, zato informacij, ki so se nabrale na portalu ne bomo brisali, ampak vam ostajajo na voljo. Prav tako se še vedno lahko včlanite v skupnost in dobite dostop do zgrajene baze znanja. Vendar pa novih novic načeloma ne bomo objavljali (skrbeli bomo, da bo naš opis in ponudba aktualna).

V zadnjem letu se tako bolj posvečamo individualnim projektom, ki jih izvajamo skupaj s partnerji. Ti imajo jasno zastavljene cilje, ki so usmerjeni h komercializaciji idej in znanja v obliki novi produktov in podjetij.

Želimo vam uspešno realizacijo idej. Če vam lahko pri tem kako pomagamo, pa nam sporočite.

Lep pozdrav,

Tomaž Černe

Tehnološka tržna poročila

Tomaž Černe — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 10:14:40 +0000

Ponudba za podjetja

Inoverzum ima licenco Business Insights, eno vodilnih svetovnih analitskih hiš s področja ICT in tehnologij, ki pripravlja strateška tehnološko tržna poročila. Le-ta so namenjena podjetjem kot eden pomembnih virov in eno od orodij pri:

iskanju novih poslovnih priložnosti,
ocenjevanju tehnoloških in poslovnih trendov,
ocenjevanju in analizi ICT in tehnoloških trgov,
pregledu konkurence,
pripravi razpisov in projektov,
dodatnih ocenah za nove investicije,
pripravi srednjeročnih in dolgoročnih strategij organizacije,
pomoči o odločitvah o prihodnjih strateških vlaganjih,
usmeritvah razvoja novih programov in novih tehnologij,
odločitvah o vstopih na nove segmente.

Tehnološka tržna poročila zagotavlja strateške informacije in podatke o tehnologijah, konkurenci in trgih. Te informacije lahko pomembno pripomorejo pri sprejemanju pravih odločitev, kar je še zlasti pomembno v trenutni gospodarski situaciji.

Trenutno imamo v ICT in tehnološkem portfelju preko 130 poročil, ki v povprečju obsegajo med 100 in 150 strani izčrpnih analiz in pokrivajo naslednja področja:

ICT v podjetjih in organizacijah;
Outsourcing;
ICT v gospodarstvu;
Tehnologije v fokusu;
CRM tehnologije;
Programska oprema;
Telekomi;
Varnost;
E-trgovanje.

Tehnološka tržna poročila so relativno draga, obenem pa ne vsebujejo vseh relevantnih informacij. Zato se mnogi težko odločajo za njihov nakup. Mi pa smo uspeli za vas pripraviti paket »Eno iz več«, v katerem vam omogočamo, da naročite poizvedbo po celotni bazi Business Insights in tako dobite namensko poročilo. Tipično bi za podobno poročilo morali kupiti 7 posameznih poročil in jih podrobno analizirati, mi pa vam tovrstno poročilo lahko izdelamo po veliko ugodnejši ceni.

Sporočite ključne besede, ki vas zanimajo, in priskrbeli vam bom ponudbo s kazalom vsebine vašega namenskega poročila.

Poročila vam bo v pomoč kot kredibilen in ažuren vir informacij in spoznanj, s katerimi boste lahko s svojo ponudbo še konkurenčnejši in prepričljivejši, kar pomeni, da boste hitreje in učinkoviteje dosegali cilje pri svojih poslovnih partnerjih.

Storitev zagotavljamo v sodelovanju z

Zakaj raziskovati?

Tomaž Černe — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 23:27:01 +0000

Danes sem zopet slišal, kako Slovenija povečuje delež BDP, ki se vlaga v RR. Dejstvo je, da delež narašča iz dveh razlogov: ker se država dejansko namenja več sredstev za RR in ker nam BDP pada. Tako naj bi Slovenija bila danes že nad povprečjem EU27 in se bližala najbolj razvitim. Prav je, da Slovenija povečuje vlaganja v RR, vendar si ne morem kaj, da se ne bi vedno vprašal, kaj ima povprečen državljan on tega.

Evropska Komisija je oktobra 2010 sprejela dokument »Innovation Union«, s katerim želi odgovoriti na izzive sedanjega časa. Z »Innovation Union« EU postavlja vizijo, plan, jasno razdelitev nalog in postopke izvajanja ter nadzora. Dokument predvideva 10 ukrepov, med katerimi je kar 6 ukrepov s področja raziskav in izobraževanja. Med njimi sta ključna:

Ukrep 1: In times of fiscal constraints, the EU and Member States need to continue to invest in education, R&D, innovation and ICTs. Such investments should where possible not only be protected from budget cuts, but should be stepped up.

Ukrep 6: We need to get more innovation out of our research. Cooperation between the worlds of science and the world of business must be enhanced, obstacles removed and incentives put in place.

Ni torej samo pomembno, koliko sredstev vlagamo v RR, ampak tudi kakšen je rezultat teh raziskav. V kolikor se bo do leta 2020 povečal delež vlaganj v RR na 3% EU GDP, naj bi to ustvarilo 3.7 milijonov novih služb in povečalo letni GDP za skoraj €800 milijard do leta 2025.

Ukrep št. 1 torej Slovenija uspešno izvaja. Kako pa je z ukrepom 6? Imamo nekaj programov, ki pospešujejo prenos znanja iz raziskovalnih zavodov v gospodarstvo, to je vsekakor potrebno priznati (TIA: MR iz gospodarstva; TIA: Valor; SPS; JAPTI: Inovacijski vavčer; TIA: INO – ali bo v letu 2011?!). Komercializacija znanja JRO naj bi v splošnem potekala ob izvajanju procesov TT (prenos tehnologij, technology transfer), s katerimi pa se v Sloveniji ne ukvarja sistemsko. Univerze imajo TTO (Pisarne za prenos tehnologij, Technology Transfer Office) bolj kot ne zgolj na papirju. MIT navaja, da od vloženega 1$ v raziskave dobijo nazaj 5 centov s prenosom tehnologij. Ni veliko, so pa posredni učinki za skupnost toliko večji: start-up podjetja, ki so izšla iz MIT, zaposlujejo več kot 500.000 ljudi, alumni MIT so ustanovili več kot 25.800 podjetij, ki zaposlujejo več kot 3,3 milijona zaposlenih z letno prodajo več kot $2.000 milijard dolarjev. Če bi vsa ta podjetja združili v eno samo državo, bi bili 11 največja ekonomija na svetu. 600-700 podjetij v okolici je tako ali drugače povezanih z MIT. Prenos tehnologij ima poleg prenosa raziskovalnega dela v prakso, v produkte, torej tudi velik vpliv na ekonomski razvoj skupnosti, saj se veča konkurenčnost gospodarstva, prebivalstvu so kot posledica raziskav na voljo nove tehnologije, znanja, produkti, zdravila, ustvarjajo se nova delovna mesta, študente se navadi na razmišljanje o praktičnih uporabah znanja.

Če pogledamo kolikšen je proračun MIT za RR, vidimo, da je približno tolikšen, kolikor je celoten proračun za RR v Sloveniji. In koliko start-up podjetij, novih delovnih mest so ustvarili slovenski JRO? Mogoče ne bi bilo slabo, če bi majhen del sredstev, ki se namenjajo za RR namenili za vzpostavitev sistema prenosa tehnologij. Učinki za skupnost bi verjetno bili večji.

Seveda pa si moramo najprej odgovoriti na vprašanje: zakaj sploh raziskovati?

CIP 2: Help create next Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP)

tomazv — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 09:12:40 +0000

This public consultation forms part of an impact assessment which will inform the design of a possible successor programme to the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP 2007-2013), consisting of three operational programmes:

the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme,
the ICT - Policy Support Programme and
the Intelligent Energy Europe programme.

The consultation is being undertaken in order to provide the Commission with public views on what the future priority areas for an EU intervention in these areas should be, and what instruments should be used.

The Commission wants to gauge:

How EU programmes can provide better support to enterprises, including access to finance, business framework conditions, access to information and the internationalisation of enterprises.
How to foster competitiveness and innovation in sectors with major development potential, e.g. eco-innovation, clusters, key enabling technologies.
How to stimulate a wider uptake of innovative ICT-based services and exploit digital content across Europe.
How to promote the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Background document (PDF) [25 KB]

Zmagovalci pišejo zgodovino

Tomaž Černe — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 22:42:26 +0000

Kot nam je znano, je bila tehnologija razlog za ustvarjanje številnih bogastev. Vsi poznamo Microsoft, Google, Apple, Facebook. In ti zmagovalci nam dajejo občutek, da se s tehnologijo obogati. In prav zato si vsi želimo tehnološkega razvoja in preboja.

In prav zato me je toliko bolj presenetil podatek IEEE (IEEE Spectrum 11.10), da bi, če smo leta 2002 vložili $100 v 118 najboljših tehnoloških podjetij, danes imeli $138. Če pa bi istega leta vložili $100 v po abecednem redu prvih 118 netehnološih podjetij, bi danes imeli 25% večji zaslužek. In to v obdobju tehnološkega razcveta.

Kaj nam to pove? Da je si zapomnimo samo zmagovalce.

dokumenti

Tomaž Černe — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 12:48:17 +0000

Priponke

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Raziskovalno-razvojna dejavnost, Slovenija, 2009

Tomaž Černe — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 09:52:16 +0000

V letu 2009 je bilo v Sloveniji za raziskovalno razvojno dejavnost namenjenih 656,9 milijona EUR bruto domačih izdatkov ali 1,86 % slovenskega bruto domačega proizvoda.

Za R-R dejavnost je bilo namenjeno 40 milijonov EUR več kot v prejšnjem letu
V letu 2009 je bilo v Sloveniji v vseh sektorjih izvajanja skupaj porabljenih za R-R dejavnost 656,9 milijona EUR ali je 6 % več kot v prejšnjem letu. Povečanje je bilo največje v visokošolskem sektorju (za 15 %) in v poslovnem sektorju (za 7 %). Na povečanje sredstev za R-R dejavnost v poslovnem sektorju je v letu 2009 poleg večjih vlaganj v to dejavnost vplival tudi razširjen izbor poročevalskih enot.

Največ finančnih sredstev so k bruto domačim izdatkom za R-R dejavnost prispevale gospodarske družbe
K vsem bruto domačim izdatkom (BIRR) so v letu 2009 največ finančnih sredstev za R-R dejavnost prispevale gospodarske družbe, in sicer 380,9 milijona EUR ali 58 % vseh sredstev za R-R dejavnost. Delež teh sredstev se je v primerjavi s prejšnjim letom zmanjšal, in to za 5 odstotnih točk. Iz državnih virov je bilo za R-R dejavnost namenjenih 234,2 milijona EUR finančnih sredstev ali 36 % vseh sredstev za R-R dejavnost. Zadnja leta so vse pomembnejši vir financiranja R-R dejavnosti v Sloveniji tudi sredstva iz tujine; ta so v opazovanem letu znašala 39,7 milijona EUR ali za 15 % več kot prejšnje leto.

Povezava do celotne vsebine novice: http://www.stat.si/novica_prikazi.aspx?id=3521

VIR: Statistični urad Republike Slovenije

Obveščevalnik 05

Tomaž Černe — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 09:04:45 +0000

Pozdravljeni.

Čas hitro teče in zima že skoraj trka na vrata. Od zadnje številke Obveščevalnika se je zgodilo veliko stvari. Tehnološka mreža ICT je s strateškim posvetom praznovala 8. obletnico ustanovitve ter 5. obletnico delovanja kot konzorcij partnerjev. V teh letih se je dokazalo, da je povezovanje gospodarstva z razvojno raziskovalnim sektorjem pomemben dejavnik tehnološkega in gospodarskega razvoja. Kljub temu pa je še mnogo prostora za sinergične učinke in tako povečanje prebojne moči. Ustanovljen je bil tudi zavod TM ICT, oddane prijave na razpis kompetenčnih centrov, rok za oddajo prijav na razpis razvojnih centrov gospodarstva je pred vrati. Če pogledamo v Evropo, je potrebno izpostaviti, da je Evropska komisija objavila strategijo "Inovacijska unija", s katero želi odpraviti ovire za vstop idej na trg, v Bruslju pa je potekala konferenca programa IKT v 7OP z imenom ICT2010, v okviru katere so bili predstavljeni razpisi programa IKT za prihodnji dve leti. Vsekakor mnogo priložnosti, od nas samih pa je odvisno, ali jih bomo znali izkoristiti.

Tomaž Černe, urednik

Na kratko

Tehnološka mreža ICT postala aktivna tudi na socialnih omrežjih. Seveda se ne bo zanemarilo spletne strani, prepoznavnost pa se bo gradilo tudi v drugih omrežjih. Tako nam lahko sledite na twitterju, v okviru Linked-in lahko sodelujete v diskusijah, lahkotne vsebine pa lahko spremljate na facebooku. Vabimo vas, da se omrežite in vest razširite med svoje kolege.

Twitter: kratke novice TM ICT.
Linked-in: poslovno povezovanje in sodelovanje, mednarodno povezovanje, iskanje potencialnih partnerjev in sodelovanje na vsebinah.
Facebooku: lahkotne vsebine, promocija ICT tehnologij in zavedanja o njihovem pomenu za vsakdanje življenje in razvoj.

Otroci so odlični reševalcev problemov. Ustvarjajo nove koncepte, ki nimajo kognitivnih omejitev kot odrasli, saj so relativno neprizadeti z zaznavanjem meje, kaj je praktično in kaj mogoče. Študija Lalitude 42s, ki je zaprosila otroke, naj povejo kakšne so njihove zamisli o novih digitalnih tehnologijah, je ugotovila, da so njihove zahteve presenetljivo realne. Samo 4% proizvodov in storitev bi bilo nemogoče ustvariti (npr. teleportacija, potovanje v času). Mnogi so že ugotovili uporabno vrednost inovacijskih tokov mladih, tako imenovane digitalne generacija. Do zdaj so mnogo videli nove digitalne možnosti predvsem v svetu medijev in zabave, mladi pa si predstavljajo, kako bi lahko pomladili stare človeške rutine, vsakdanje naloge in družbe dejavnosti.

>>> Več na inovacijski skupnosti inoverzum.

Inštitut za varstvo in varnost državljanov (IPSC) Skupnega raziskovalnega središča (JRC) je skupaj z Evropsko komisijo razvil nove indekse regionalne konkurenčnosti. Pri ocenjevanju stopnje konkurenčnosti vsake od 271 evropskih regij je indeks upošteval širok spekter povezanih dejavnikov, kot so inovacije in tehnološka zmogljivost, prometna in komunikacijska infrastrukture, zdravstvo, izobraževanje in politika kakovosti institucij. Deset najbolj konkurenčnih regij v EU je tako Utrecht, Hovedstaden (vključno Kopenhagen), Noord-Holland, London, Stockholm, Etelä-Suomi (vključno Helsinki), Zuid-Holland, Ile de France (vključno Pariz), Noord-Brabant in nazadnje Berkshire, Buckinghamshire in Oxfordshire. In kako se je odrezala Slovenija?

>>> Več na inovacijski skupnosti inoverzum.

Na inoverzum.eu lahko najdete tudi:

- Can Regional Innovation Clusters Foster the Next Economy

- Business Idea & Opportunity Evalution

- How to read a patent in 60 seconds

- How to Boost Your Creativity

- Ten More Great Free e-Books for Innovators

Tehnološka tržna poročila Business Insights

Z licenco ene najboljših analitskih hiš vam omogočamo pridobitev informacij, ki jih lahko uporabite pri svojem delu. Nova poročila v bazi med drugim obsegajo:

Consumers and the Cloud: Quantifying and exploiting the consumer cloud market opportunity, 2010-2018
Consumer use of cloud technology is vast, and will drive overall cloud revenues from 2010-2015. This report seeks to scope, size and demystify the business opportunities presented by the consumer application of cloud computing technology. >>>

The Future of Video Content Convergence: Consumer engagement opportunities in multi-platform video and over-the-top TV
The convergence of broadcast, broadband and mobile technologies is creating a dynamic “content everywhere” consumer market context, forcing major transformation and potential restructuring in the consumer electronics, technology, telecoms and media industries, and especially for content creators, owners and publishers >>>

The Future of TV: The evolving broadcast and on demand landscape
The analog switch off is planned for the next decade around the world, and the global TV market is going through a period of huge change. Digital TV in all of its forms – terrestrial, cable, satellite, IPTV – is booming. HDTV is becoming prevalent in mature markets, and technologies such as 3DTV and mobile TV are also set to take off. >>>

The Future of 4G Technologies: New opportunities and changing business models for the emergence of LTE and WiMAX
Technological innovation, including 3G, improved smartphones and multiplay mobile Internet devices (MIDs), has led to a boom in data usage with data traffic surpassing voice traffic for the first time in December 2009. The report examines the similarities and differences between the 4G technology candidates and identifies the threats and opportunities in the new environment for ICT players. >>>

Želite več informacij? Sporočite ključne besede, ki vas zanimajo, in priskrbeli vam bomo ponudbo.

Povabilo k sodelovanju

Še niste člani spletne inovacijske skupnosti Inoverzum? Pridružite se nam in soustvarjajte vsebine: www.inoverzum.eu

KOLOFON: Brezplačno glasilo Inoverzum Obveščevalnik se izdaja v elektronski obliki; Datum izida 1. 7. 2010; Izdajatelj: Inoverzum d.o.o., podjetje za management inovacij, Hraniliniška ulica 7a, SI-1000 Ljubljana; Glavni in odgovorni urednik: Tomaž Černe; W: www.inoverzum.eu E: info@inoverzum.eu

Seven Steps to Developing an Economic Gardening Implementation Strategy

Tomaž Černe — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 08:19:14 +0000

Economic gardening is an entrepreneurial approach to economic development that seeks to grow the local economy from within. Here are the seven steps to developing an implementation strategy for your economic gardening program to succeed.

This article is an excerpt from the InFocus issue, Strengthen Your Local Economy through Economic Gardening, by Christine Hamilton-Pennell, published by ICMA.

Economic gardening is an entrepreneurial approach to economic development that seeks to grow the local economy from within. Its premise is that local entrepreneurs create the companies that bring new wealth and economic growth to a region in the form of jobs, increased revenues, and a vibrant local business sector. Economic gardening seeks to focus on growing and nurturing local businesses rather than hunting for “big game” outside the area.

Preparing a strategy for an economic gardening program can be complicated—there are many elements that must be developed first, taking into consideration unique community needs and available resources. Here are the seven steps to developing an implementation strategy for your economic gardening program to succeed.

1. Gain the support of local officials and other stakeholders

Governing bodies generally do not like to be handed a program and asked to vote on it. It takes time and effort to develop the support of elected officials for an economic gardening approach. The first step is to sit down with each official and other key stakeholders and listen to their concerns about economic development. Inadvertently or deliberately excluding a key stakeholder or someone on the governing board from providing input or participating in the decision-making process can lead to opposition and future undermining of your efforts.

2. Identify your community’s assets

Develop an inventory of community and business assets available to you. Ask yourself these questions:

What human capital exists in my community? Human capital refers to “the unique capabilities and expertise of individuals that are productive in some economic context,” generally linked to formal education and experience.
What skills and expertise can we tap into?
What organizations can we partner with?
What systems and organizations already exist to support entrepreneurs?
Who is already motivated and passionate to make something happen?
What cultural, recreational and other quality-of-life amenities do we have?
What assets can we leverage outside our community?

Your list of assets should include the usual suspects such as economic development organizations, chambers of commerce, small business development centers (SBDCs), SCORE, workforce centers, universities and community colleges, financial institutions, and civic and social groups such as Rotary and Kiwanis. Other groups and individuals that can also provide value to your community efforts include:

Public and university libraries
Professional business associations and groups
Community foundations and loan funds
Microfinance organizations
Elected and appointed officials
Utility companies
Successful entrepreneurs
Council of governments
Arts and cultural entities
Consultants
Policymakers
Healthcare agencies
Tourism offices
Immigrant and citizenship initiatives
Continuing education and training programs
And more

Look for individuals in your community who have skills and expertise in areas such as business coaching and mentoring, finance, employment/workforce development, research, marketing, meeting facilitation, organizing/managing projects, public speaking, legal support, and fundraising.

Perhaps the most important assets you can identify in your community are individuals who can become champions and advocates for your economic gardening project. They might be successful entrepreneurs who want to give back to their community or individuals within any of the groups or organizations listed above.

3. Develop a collaborative effort among resource partners

Once you have identified the assets in your community, explore which entities and individuals are likely to become resource partners in moving your economic gardening venture forward. Set up a steering committee that can guide and implement the project.

Bring key resource partners together to reach common agreement on goals and directions for the project, as well as to identify who will take responsibility to carry out each piece. If key resource partners are not willing to take ownership of the project, then your community may not be ready to launch an economic gardening project. You may have to step back and address the political and community development issues that are driving your locality.

4. Create a system-wide operating agreement

Because an economic gardening project generally involves multiple entities, it is important for the steering committee to develop a formal or informal operating agreement that addresses key operational and long-term planning issues. Questions that must be addressed include:

Which entity or group will make program-level decisions?
How will the program be funded?
Who will serve as fiscal agent?
Who will oversee and coordinate delivery of services?
What role will each partner fulfill in the overall project?
What resources will each partner contribute to the effort?
How will the program be tracked and evaluated?
How will a sustainable capitalization plan be developed?

5. Determine the target audience for services

One of the most important questions an economic gardening project needs to answer is, “Who will we serve?” Economic gardening programs around the United States take a variety of approaches, depending on their identified goals and community expectations. Some programs support all types of small businesses; others work only with growth-oriented companies. The important thing is to know which group of businesses you are targeting and why.

The first step in determining your target audience(s) is to inventory the available entrepreneurial talent in your community. What kinds of businesses are located there? What is their level of growth or maturity? Small local businesses generally fall into three categories: start-ups, lifestyle businesses (local consumer-based ventures), and growth businesses (offering goods and services to external markets).

A template for the entrepreneurial talent assessment process is offered by the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship (energizingentrepreneurs.org/index.php).

According to existing research, growth-oriented companies produce the greatest economic impact on a region, because they bring money into the community from outside markets. Many of these are so-called Stage 2 businesses, those that have between 10 and 99 employees and at least $1 million in revenues, although growth-oriented ventures can be found across the entire universe of companies. Growth companies also tend to be relatively young (less than five years old). They can range from companies with a local market that want to expand and reach external markets (often through e-commerce) to companies that have specialized expertise or knowledge and primarily sell to external markets.

Rapidly expanding, high-growth companies, sometimes referred to as gazelles, are a rarity in many communities, making up only 3 to 5 percent of all businesses. Most small localities do not have the technical resources to support the needs of high-growth businesses. These companies typically have the connections and technical assistance they need to grow, and they will do it with or without an economic gardening program.

Stage 1 companies—those with one to nine employees and less than $1 million per year in revenues—are by far the largest group of businesses in the United States. They collectively represent 28 percent of all employment nationally. Most of these firms are start-ups and lifestyle businesses, but some are growth-oriented companies, too.

Lifestyle businesses (the so-called mom ‘n’ pops) are the small retail and service businesses in every community. They do not usually “grow” the local economy by bringing in new wealth, but they recirculate the wealth throughout the local community. They are essential to what makes a local community a vibrant and desirable place to live and work. They can also provide significant political capital for an economic gardening program through their testimonials and support.

The “sweet spot” for most local and regional economic gardening programs to target is entrepreneurs who have started a venture that is between one and five years old and who want to grow it, regardless of its size. These ventures aren’t necessarily high-tech, but they have developed some sort of innovation in their product, process, or delivery method. They also have a potential or actual market outside the local economic region and create high-quality, living-wage jobs.

These nascent growth-oriented companies can provide significant economic impact and can benefit greatly from the services an economic gardening program typically provides. To focus on this target audience, find companies that meet the following criteria:

Firmly established (in business for one to three years)
Have financial statements that include profit and loss and cash flow numbers
Have a clearly defined market
Demonstrate revenue growth over time (even if the company has not yet reached the break-even point)
Clearly intend to grow (as expressed in the desire to hire employees, expand operations or market area, or seek capital investment)
Have a product or service that is scalable and preferably unique (i.e., cannot be easily imitated)
Have a potential or actual market outside the local region.

These growth businesses will sometimes look like secondary businesses—local retail and service companies. The key is that they have both the desire and the ability to sell their goods and services outside the local area. For example, a local producer of specialized jams and jellies can sell their products over the Internet; a local coffee roaster using solar technology can wholesale their organic beans to coffee shops throughout the region; or a local printing company can provide on-demand printing and graphic services through their website.

You can also consider offering tiered services to different audiences. You might, for example, provide basic services to your lifestyle businesses and more comprehensive support to growth-oriented companies.

6. Develop a delivery system to provide services to the target audience

Steps involved in creating a viable delivery system include finding or developing qualified business coaches, providing or linking to technical assistance resources, locating entrepreneurs within your target audience, offering market research services, identifying financial resources, and partnering with other providers within and outside the local area. A local referral network of small business professionals and service providers is a crucial element at this juncture.

Having the capacity to deliver economic gardening services is a challenge for many small and rural areas. Rural communities must often develop a regional initiative and take advantage of government resources that are available to their local area. These include land grant university extension offices, small business development centers, and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loan programs. Grant opportunities for rural community and economic development initiatives are available through federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Economic Development Agency.

Rural communities must have adequate transportation and broadband infrastructure to support local business logistical needs. They must also have an entrepreneurial climate—a business culture that supports entrepreneurship. They must provide quality-of-life amenities such as good schools, access to health care, and cultural amenities. They must also have access to a trained workforce that can meet local employment needs.

7. Develop a communication system to gain community support and buy-in

Make public presentations explaining the economic gardening program and gain the support of local media. Use entrepreneurs and your local referral network as advocates to deliver your message to funders, prospective clients, and the public. Build regular reporting functions into your ongoing activities.

The entire article, Strengthen Your Local Economy through Economic Gardening, published in ICMA's Infocus, is available for purchase in the ICMA Press online bookstore.

[WEBINAR] UNLOCK SOURCING VALUE: Turning Great Decisions into Great Relationships

Tomaž Černe — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 08:00:37 +0000

Now more than ever our industry is realizing the unique value of a positive and understanding sourcing relationship. To reap the largest benefits possible from a great relationship we must first learn how to build those great relationships.

Take a few minutes to join this webinar hosted by ServiceFrame, a highly esteemed innovator in sourcing governance software. The session will be spearheaded byDavid O'Sullivan, Cofounder of Chazey Partners, and Daniel Berman, CTO for ServiceFrame. Together, these experts will share their experiences and insights while discussing how you can:

Transition to a partnership focused on value and continuous improvement.
Identify the key questions necessary to driving great relationships
Benchmark and analyze your ongoing performance and relationship
Develop a productive, ever-improving relationship to maximize service improvements.

Date: Thursday, November 18, 2010

Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm EST (18:00 - 19:00 CET - v Sloveniji)

Registration: Click here to Register for Webinar

Cost: Free

Source: The Outsourcing Institute

Datum in Ura Dogodka:

18.11.2010, 18:00 - 19:00

Lokacija:

Webinar