Entrepreneurship Issue Forums

How Prioritizing Community Expertise Can Inform Engaged Research

(November 2022) This forum features various researchers and heartland community partner organizations from the Kauffman Foundation’s Inclusive Ecosystem portfolio – comprised of three-year projects that explore entrepreneurial ecosystems in the Heartland states, these grants emphasize holistic, community-led approaches to research on entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Findings from the NORC Entrepreneurship in the Population Survey

(October 2022) Are you interested in the landscape of entrepreneurship in your local community? Watch this Data Dive into a new survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago and funded by the Kauffman Foundation. NORC scholars discuss their first-year findings as part of a 5-year, cross-sectional, nationally representative survey designed to capture an accurate measure of entrepreneurship status among the U.S population.

The Power of Partnership: Forming Strong Research and Community Partnerships

(September 2022) This forum highlights six research teams from Kauffman’s Community Engaged Research Cohort who share their experiences in designing research with partnerships in mind, forming strong community partnerships, as well as the challenges or pitfalls that other researchers should be aware of before engaging in this approach to research production.

Seeding Inclusive and Equitable Recovery

(July 2022) In a fast-paced, and increasingly unpredictable world, how we think about recovery and who it might benefit are key to supporting resilient, inclusive economies. What can the recent rounds of federal funding teach us about the complex issues related to the design and delivery of equitable and inclusive economic recovery programs?

Data Dive – Indicators of Entrepreneurship

(June 2022) This spring, the Kauffman Foundation released updates to our entrepreneurship indicators, highlighting the latest entrepreneurial trends in both the New Employer Business series and the Kauffman Indicators of Early-Stage Entrepreneurship. The data has sparked conversations about the status of the economy and entrepreneurial activity this past year, particularly around what these trends mean for our cities and communities today.

Gig Work and Entrepreneurship

(May 2022) Gig work has received increasing attention in recent years, particularly with the rise of digital platforms. What does the proliferation of digital platforms — and gig work more broadly — mean for entrepreneurship? This forum discusses the landscape of gig work in the U.S., various types of gig work, the relationship between gig work and entrepreneurship, and the implications of gig work for policy and practice.

Spring Knowledge Challenge Showcase

(April 2022) Kauffman Knowledge Challenge grantees highlight their research, which focuses on activities that improve our understanding of entrepreneurship and generate practical, actionable, and rigorous evidence to inform decision making and create systems change.

The Great Resignation and Entrepreneurship

(March 2022) Panelists explore what increasing digitalization means for new businesses, how entrepreneurs are adapting to a digital landscape, and what the potential is for digitalization to increase entrepreneurial equity and inclusion – or recreate existing inequities.

The Great Resignation and Entrepreneurship

(February 2022) Panelists discuss why so many Americans are quitting their jobs, breaking down what the current employee retention landscape might mean for new business creation and entrepreneurship in the future.

Entrepreneurship and Access to Support

(January 2022) Panelists discuss the current landscape of the U.S. social safety net and its impacts on entrepreneurship, including sharing potential opportunities and solutions to better support entrepreneurs.

Findings from the NORC Entrepreneurship Researcher Climate Survey: Themes and Next Steps

(December 2021) Scholars from NORC at the University of Chicago discuss a survey that assesses the climate faced by researchers who study entrepreneurship, including the survey’s themes and highlights.

Kauffman Knowledge Challenge 2018 Grantee Cohort Presentations

(November 2021) Knowledge Challenge 2018 grantees showcase what they’ve been learning about the entrepreneurial landscape the past two years, sharing what works – and doesn’t – for modern entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship and Inclusive Prosperity: Spotlighting Rural America

(October 2021) Panelists discuss the current landscape of entrepreneurship in rural areas in America, along with the innovative solutions to challenges entrepreneurs face to start grow and sustain a business.

Diversifying the Entrepreneurship Research Pipeline: Emerging Learnings from 2020 Knowledge Challenge Grantees

(September 2021) In our 2020 Knowledge Challenge RFP, we piloted an investment in five projects that seek to increase diversity in the pipeline of researchers who study entrepreneurship. In this forum, we will hear updates from these five project teams who have increased mentorship and networking opportunities, developed innovative curriculum, and put communities and researchers together in close conversation in an effort to increase the range of perspectives and experiences informing entrepreneurship research.

How Do Accelerators Support Entrepreneurship?

(August 2021) Panelists examine the most valuable aspects of accelerator programs, who is benefitting from accelerator participation, and what the long-term outcomes of accelerator participation are.

Inclusive Prosperity Through Innovation and Entrepreneurship

(July 2021) Panelists discuss the research, policies, and programs at the intersection of innovation, entrepreneurship, and inclusive prosperity.

Student Loans and Entrepreneurship: Landscape and Policy Considerations

(June 2021) Panelists discuss recent research on the relationship between student loan debt and entrepreneurship, and what this might mean for policies and programs.