The Ecosystem Building Leadership Project is an initiative to collaboratively design, create, and validate a formal entity or shared infrastructure whose purpose is to provide leadership for the advancement of the entrepreneurship ecosystem building field of practice. Past ESHIP Summits and other inputs have made clear the need for more coordinated and centralized efforts to build field-wide infrastructure that will help accelerate wider understanding and adoption of ecosystem building as a practice in economic, community, workforce and entrepreneurship development in the United States.
Background
The origin of the Ecosystem Building Leadership Project (EBLP) stems from the great work of 1500+ participants of the ESHIP Summits hosted by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Over the course of three years and four Summits, ecosystem builders from all 50 U.S. States, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and 20 other countries gathered to join collective efforts to explore and progress the entrepreneurship ecosystem building field of practice.
Launched in 2017, the ESHIP Summit was a three-year initiative (2017-2020), designed to accelerate the adoption of ecosystem building as a new approach to entrepreneurship support and economic development. By bringing together builders of entrepreneurship ecosystems, the program was designed to take a community-driven approach to accelerate the emerging field of entrepreneurship ecosystem building. By working collaboratively across many organizations they aimed to create tools, resources, and knowledge to better support communities that are working to empower entrepreneurs.
Launched in 2017, the ESHIP Summit was a three-year initiative (2017-2020), designed to accelerate the adoption of ecosystem building as a new approach to entrepreneurship support and economic development. By bringing together builders of entrepreneurship ecosystems, the program was designed to take a community-driven approach to accelerate the emerging field of entrepreneurship ecosystem building. By working collaboratively across many organizations they aimed to create tools, resources, and knowledge to better support communities that are working to empower entrepreneurs.
Provisional Council
Dara Macan
National Director Partnerships & Engagement at SourceLink
Enoch Elwell
Founder & Board Chair at CO.STARTERS
Tarsha Hearns
Senior Director of Ecosystems at Dallas Entrepreneur Center
Julie Heath
VP Entrepreneurial Ecosystems at Indiana Economic Development Corporation
National Director Partnerships & Engagement at SourceLink
Enoch Elwell
Founder & Board Chair at CO.STARTERS
Tarsha Hearns
Senior Director of Ecosystems at Dallas Entrepreneur Center
Julie Heath
VP Entrepreneurial Ecosystems at Indiana Economic Development Corporation
Project Support Team
(January 2022 - October 2022)
Charles Ross
Host & Co-Chair
Dell Gines
Co-Chair
Kristin Leutz
Co-Chair
Beth Zimmer
Project Lead
Charlton Cunningham
Communications Lead
Lindsay Schuenke
Coordination Lead
Host & Co-Chair
Dell Gines
Co-Chair
Kristin Leutz
Co-Chair
Beth Zimmer
Project Lead
Charlton Cunningham
Communications Lead
Lindsay Schuenke
Coordination Lead
This community of entrepreneurship ecosystem builders and the people who support them contributed to the development of The ESHIP Goals; a proposed set of collective objectives to further fortify the entrepreneurship ecosystem building field. The solutions to the ESHIP Goals are meant to serve as tenets to the field, and the goals themselves a checklist to help prioritize, organize, collaborate and create consensus, as we work together to improve the effectiveness of our emerging field as a whole, and as a result, the effectiveness of individual ecosystem builders everywhere.
Through this work to advance entrepreneurship ecosystem building as a practice, the need has been identified for a field-wide infrastructure (much of which is captured in the ESHIP Goals) that will centralize coordinated actions in service to the field. This will further accelerate wider understanding and adoption of ecosystem building as a practice in economic, community, workforce and entrepreneurship development in the United States. Thus, the Ecosystem Building Leadership Project launched.
Through this work to advance entrepreneurship ecosystem building as a practice, the need has been identified for a field-wide infrastructure (much of which is captured in the ESHIP Goals) that will centralize coordinated actions in service to the field. This will further accelerate wider understanding and adoption of ecosystem building as a practice in economic, community, workforce and entrepreneurship development in the United States. Thus, the Ecosystem Building Leadership Project launched.
Tiffany Henry
Instructional Designer, Office of Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Arkansas Tech University (Network Health)
Fay Horwitt
President & CEO at Forward Cities
Pava LaPere
Co-Founder & CEO at EcoMap (Sustainability)
Charles Ross
President & CEO at International Business Innovation Association
Beth Zimmer
Project Manager at Ecosystem Building Leadership Project
Instructional Designer, Office of Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Arkansas Tech University (Network Health)
Fay Horwitt
President & CEO at Forward Cities
Pava LaPere
Co-Founder & CEO at EcoMap (Sustainability)
Charles Ross
President & CEO at International Business Innovation Association
Beth Zimmer
Project Manager at Ecosystem Building Leadership Project
Jennifer Hunter
Facilitator
Jason Barnes
Facilitator
Ed Morrison
Facilitator
Scott Hutcheson
Facilitator
Dr. Brint Milward
Facilitator, Research
Facilitator
Jason Barnes
Facilitator
Ed Morrison
Facilitator
Scott Hutcheson
Facilitator
Dr. Brint Milward
Facilitator, Research
Collaborative Advisory Group
e2 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
Don Macke
Opportunity HUB
Rodney Sampson
Forward Cities
Fay Horwitt
1863
Melissa Bradley
Black Innovation Alliance
Kelly Burton
Sourcelink
Rob Williams
InBIA
Krista Covey
NACCE
Becky Corbin
Startup Champions Network
Tom Chapman
CO.STARTERS
Enoch Elwell
Don Macke
Opportunity HUB
Rodney Sampson
Forward Cities
Fay Horwitt
1863
Melissa Bradley
Black Innovation Alliance
Kelly Burton
Sourcelink
Rob Williams
InBIA
Krista Covey
NACCE
Becky Corbin
Startup Champions Network
Tom Chapman
CO.STARTERS
Enoch Elwell
Inncuvate
Mark Lawrence
Urban Manufacturing Alliance
Katy Stanton
Angel Capital Association
Pat Gouhin
Comena 66
Denisse Rodriquez
Black Female Founders
Erin Horne McKinney
UF Innovate | Accelerate @ The Hub & Sid Martin BioTech
Karl LaPan
Aspen Institute's Latinos in Society City Learning & Action Lab
Alejandro Manzanares
Prospera
Augusto Sanabria
Mark Lawrence
Urban Manufacturing Alliance
Katy Stanton
Angel Capital Association
Pat Gouhin
Comena 66
Denisse Rodriquez
Black Female Founders
Erin Horne McKinney
UF Innovate | Accelerate @ The Hub & Sid Martin BioTech
Karl LaPan
Aspen Institute's Latinos in Society City Learning & Action Lab
Alejandro Manzanares
Prospera
Augusto Sanabria
4th Economy
Rich Overmoyer
National League of Cities
Corianne Rice
Community Development Venture Capital Alliance
Kerwin Tesdell
Rural Rise
Tina Metzer
STARTOUT
Andres Wydler
Jim Woodell & Co
Jim Woodell
University Economic Development Association
Margo Fliss
International Economic Development Council
Nathan Ohle
Global Accelerator Network
Patrick Riley
Rich Overmoyer
National League of Cities
Corianne Rice
Community Development Venture Capital Alliance
Kerwin Tesdell
Rural Rise
Tina Metzer
STARTOUT
Andres Wydler
Jim Woodell & Co
Jim Woodell
University Economic Development Association
Margo Fliss
International Economic Development Council
Nathan Ohle
Global Accelerator Network
Patrick Riley
Entrepreneurship Funders Network
Ifeoma Aduba
GET Cities at Second Muse Foundation
Leslie Smith
Roanhorse Consulting
Vanessa Roanhorse
National Urban League
Stephanie Devane
Established
Jen Consalvo & Frank Gruber
NRP Relations
Christine Lai
Value Web
Mike Fleisch
U.S. Small Business Administration
Jennifer Shieh
Institute for Work & the Economy
Peter Creticos
Ifeoma Aduba
GET Cities at Second Muse Foundation
Leslie Smith
Roanhorse Consulting
Vanessa Roanhorse
National Urban League
Stephanie Devane
Established
Jen Consalvo & Frank Gruber
NRP Relations
Christine Lai
Value Web
Mike Fleisch
U.S. Small Business Administration
Jennifer Shieh
Institute for Work & the Economy
Peter Creticos
Field Survey
The Field Assessment Survey is crucial in helping us to understand the current needs, challenges, and aspirations from the field in order to inform the project's design. Information from this survey will help us to identify what is collectively needed to enable the success of the project.
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