Innovation And Entrepreneurship In State And Local Government

Americans today recognize and celebrate leadership genius in the management of private companies. At the same time, the American public remains deeply skeptical of government's ability to address real economic and social challenges. The contributors to this timely and important volume increase our understanding of the potential incentives for and barriers to creative problem-solving in the public sector. Drawing on case studies of state and local government, as well as theoretical literature on private sector management, these scholars reveal both the problems and the possibilities in governmental decision-making.

Governments at all levels in the United States are rocked by budget shortfalls, lack of direction, unprecedented public frustration and anger. A few state and local governments are developing innovative and effective solutions that confront complex policy issues from radically new angles, often at minimal or no cost to the taxpayers. Presented here are 25 programs dealing with some of the most vexing dilemmas facing government: education, health care, drug abuse, the environment, housing, and economic development. The profiles are written not only from the perspective of the program administrators but also the people who benefit from them. Each of the five sections opens with a brief overview of the issues, identifying problems and key issues. A summary chapter examines such issues as program management, content, organization, and funding. Programs were selected from among those described in applications for Ford Foundation Innovation Awards from 1986 to 1992.

Government acts as entrepreneur when its involvement in market activities is both innovative and characterized by entrepreneurial risk. Thinking of government as entrepreneur is a unique lens through which the authors of this book examine a specific subset of U.S. government policy actions. As such, their viewpoint underscores the purposeful intent of government, its ability to act in new and innovative ways, and its willingness to undertake policy actions that have uncertain outcomes. Viewing particular policy actions through an entrepreneurial lens is useful in two broad dimensions. First, it underscores the forward looking nature of policy makers as well as the need to evaluate the social outputs and outcomes of their behavior in terms of broad spillover impacts. Second, government acting as entrepreneur parallels in concept similar activities that occur in the private sector. Government as Entrepreneur is the first broad effort to emphasize the entrepreneurial aspects of governments. It is also the first systematic treatment of U.S. innovation policies to promote the formation of strategic research partnerships. It will foster a new perspective on the role of government and how incentives for government to act entrepreneurially might be institutionalized; it will serve as a vehicle for policy makers and scholars to think about the entrepreneurial actors in an economy, in a new way.

The Rise of the Entrepreneurial State charts the development of state and local government initiatives to influence the market and strengthen economic development policies. This trend marked a decisive break from governments' traditionally small role in the affairs of private industry that defined the relationship between the public and private sector for the first half of the twentieth century. The turn to state and local government intervention signaled a change in subnational politics that, in many ways, transcended partisan politics, regional distinctions ,and racial alliances. Eisinger's meticulous research uncovers state and local governments' transition from supply-side to demand-side strategies of market creation. He shows that, instead of relying solely on the supply-side strategies of tax breaks and other incentives to encourage business relocation, some governments promoted innovation and the creation of new business approaches.

In recent years state and local governments, universities, and private sector groups have become increasingly active in promoting technological innovation and technology-based business development in their local economies. These efforts have resulted in productive new forms of partnership and cooperation at all levels. While federal programs have sometimes supported these efforts, and while recent changes in federal policy have improved the climate for high technology development initiatives, in most cases both the initiative and the ongoing leadership have come from imaginative state and local leaders. This five-chapter report provides: (1) an overview of high-technology development (HTD); (2) a definition and analysis of high-technology industries; (3) a discussion of entrepreneurship and venture capital in HTD; (4) a discussion of state and local government, university, and private sector initiatives for HTD; and (5) an examination of the federal role in regional HTD. Three reports are appended: they concern (1) the theoretical base for high-technology location and regional development, (2) a regional assessment of the formation and growth in high-technology firms, and (3) a preliminary investigation of recent evidence on high-technology industries' spatial tendencies. One factor examined in the latter report is the nature and diversity among high-technology industries in both growth performance and locational tendencies. (JN).

A ground-breaking account which shows how the public sector must adapt, but also persevere, in order to advance technology and innovation From self-driving cars to smart grids, governments are experimenting with new technologies to significantly change the way we live. Innovation has become vitally important to states across the world. Rainer Kattel, Wolfgang Drechsler and Erkki Karo explore how public bodies pursue innovation, looking at how new policies are designed and implemented. Spanning Europe, the USA and Asia, the authors show how different institutions finance new technologies and share cutting-edge information. They argue for the importance of 'agile stability', demonstrating that in order to successfully innovate, state organizations have to move nimbly like start-ups and yet ensure stability at the same time. And that, particularly in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic, governments need both long-term policy and dynamic capabilities to handle crises. This vital account explores the complex and often contradictory positions of innovating public bodies--and shows how they can overcome financial and political resistance to change for the good of us all.

Originally published in 1994. The energy crisis of the 1970s provided an opportune climate for public sector entrepreneurship to develop. The authors present case studies from six innovative and diverse municipalities in Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden and the United States. The studies document problems these communities encountered while implementing new ideas in energy conservation and changes in energy supply and municipal planning. Each community was selected on the basis of its early, vigorous response to the energy crisis, and then followed up to examine roadblocks along the way to innovation in the public sector. The case studies highlight the challenges policy entrepreneurs face and the tactics they employ, revealing crucial differences between public and private sector entrepreneurship.

America's innovative and entrepreneurial culture is often regarded as one of this country's greatest national advantages in an increasingly competitive world. This innovation infrastructure includes a large number of universities and colleges, research institutions, laboratories, and start up companies all across the United States - from major cities to rural areas. Every day, these institutions, often in partnership with federal agencies, develop breakthrough technologies in the life sciences, energy, telecommunications, information technology, education, social innovation, and other areas. This, in turn, has attracted many of the world's best and brightest people to pursue careers in R&D and innovation in the United States. Many of these same minds become leaders and entrepreneurs across the nation - creating cutting-edge innovation products and services and building our great companies.As other nations increasingly compete with the United States for leadership in innovation, America's colleges and universities are doing their part to maintain our leadership and to nurture more innovation, create processes and programs to commercialize that innovation, and promote entrepreneurship as a viable career path for students. Universities use different approaches to encourage innovative thinking. Their approaches depend on their local environment and objectives, which in turn varies on geography, institutional size, history, culture, and funding resources. This diversity of approaches is proving to be both appropriate and successful for universities and colleges as they seek to create academic and economic benefits through innovation and entrepreneurship.Across the United States, state and local governments, economic development agencies, non-profits, universities, and business groups are trying to develop innovation ecosystems that foster market focused innovation and nurture startup companies to drive job creation. They all share some common goals - to find ways to create millions of new jobs in emerging industries where the United States can maintain its economic leadership, gain market share or create entirely new industries. At the same time, the challenges of globalization require that America remain nimble and constantly deliver new, innovative products and services. Research has shown that business startups and surviving young firms disproportionately create jobs relative to their size in the U.S. economy. For example, while firm startups only account for roughly three percent of total U.S. employment in any given year, they are responsible for about 20 percent of gross job creation.For the United States to remain economically competitive there is need for a strong national infrastructure to commercialize innovation and support high-growth entrepreneurship. If the nation needs to create millions of jobs, and many jobs are created by startup companies, then America will need to significantly increase the number of high-quality, startup companies in the coming years. In the United States, universities are a significant source of the ideas and R&D that are the value proposition of these high-growth startups. But those startups cannot be based solely in the traditional centers of American innovation, such as Silicon Valley, Boston, New York, and North Carolina. In order to develop local entrepreneurial ecosystems, these start ups must also be based in new cities and rural communities in order to build their long-term economic prospects.