Building Supportive Networks for Entrepreneurship



Building Supportive Infrastructure for Entrepreneurship

Curriculum developed in part with funding from

USDA/RCDI Building Entrepreneurial Community Capacity Project

Lesson Plan

The curriculum consists of materials which can be used in whole or in part to help learners better understand how to engage in the development of a respectful, caring, cooperative relationship between a community and its business employers that can ultimately cultivate a more ‘entrepreneur-friendly’ community environment. The materials for this curriculum may include:

1. Lesson Plan/Teaching Outline to teach a 2 hour session including:

a. Introduction including purpose of session (how this supports building an entrepreneur friendly community)

b. Teaching Steps

2. Materials to be distributed prior to and during the class (handouts)

a. Overview of session

b. Work sheets

c. Reading lists

3. Power Point slides and accompanying slide narrative

4. Video podcast providing introduction to curriculum module topic

5. Additional Resources: to gain more depth

a. Web sites

b. Additional reading materials

For more information, feel free to contact the author:

Myra Moss

moss.63@osu.edu

740-607-5177

Author bio:

Myra is currently an Educator with the Ohio State University Extension Program, Community Development unit. She also holds the faculty rank of Associate Professor. Myra’s work involves providing education, research and service to peers in Extension and Ohio residents in the specializations of economic development/entrepreneurship, community planning and capacity building. Her work is all conducted within a framework of sustainable economic and community development.

Primary Learning Objectives:

Learners will:

1. Gain an understanding of the types and importance of supportive infrastructure for entrepreneurship, focusing on the connected community

2. Understand and explore various roles that public officials play in creating and maintaining a connected community for entrepreneurs

Secondary Learning Objectives:

Learners will:

1. Gain an understanding and recognition of existing telecommunications and internet capacity and services that support entrepreneurship within their community

2. Assess the level of community connection and identify strategies for improvement

Supporting Materials – web based and other:

Introduction to the Module:

This curriculum module presents a two hour session on developing infrastructure capacity within your community. The target audience includes local leaders, both private and public sector, service and resource providers and existing and emerging entrepreneurs. The module teaches the importance of having needed infrastructure that supports entrepreneurs within your community. The focus of this module is on understanding the importance of being a connected community, including characteristics and features, existing conditions, plans for the future, and identification of currently existing resources and services. As with all modules in this program, the design is to build the capacity of local leaders so they can provide the guidance and leadership needed to create and stimulate their community as a connected community.

Purpose:

The existence of affordable high speed internet service within a community is critical in helping to create a fertile environment in which entrepreneurs can start up, grow and flourish. While other modules in this series provide key elements needed to build entrepreneurial capacity - networks, financing, access to university research - a common denominator often necessary to facilitate and access these key elements is the availability of an affordable, high speed telecommunications infrastructure that is accessible to emerging and growing entrepreneurs. Equally important is the existence of supportive services and resources that help entrepreneurs understand and use the features, resources and programs that are available through the effective use of the internet and digital tools.

Entrepreneurs thrive when they are provided with access to the ideas, advice and opportunities provided by other entrepreneurs. A connected community allows for the free flow of information and provides an effective environment for communication and collaboration. A connected community is a necessary component of building an entrepreneurial community because it provides the infrastructure needed to create connections among entrepreneurs and between service/resource providers who help entrepreneurs solve their problems and become successful.

Teaching Components/Steps:

Step One: Power Point Presentation

The Power Point slide presentation that is part of this module along with the narrative for each slide included in the presentation should provide two hours of teaching time.

An excellent web resource developed by the Southern Regional Development Center provides a manual for building a community’s capacity to be connected. Reviewing these materials with participants can provide a supplemental, more in depth understanding of the topic and identification of strategies that can be used to improve community capacity (see link below under Additional Resources).

Step Two: Group Discussions

Interspersed throughout the slide presentation are discussion sessions. The purpose of these discussions is to engage the participants in relating the key points of the curriculum to their own community, and to help them identify local resources already in place. Participants can be broken into smaller groups of 5-6 if the overall class is large and then can report out the results of their sessions to the entire group. Have participants record the results of their discussions on flip chart paper so that it can be saved for use in subsequent sessions and for goal setting/strategic planning.

Additional Resources:

The following downloadable manual provides a guide to establishing connected communities. Chapter 2, Learn about Broadband, provides an excellent explanation of terms commonly used when referring to telecommunications and the internet.

Connecting Rural Communities: A Guide to Community Information Technology

The Southern Rural Development Center



The following article is offered through the Pew Internet & American Life Project, the Pew Charitable Trusts. This article as well as the website at

provides good resources on the use of the internet. The article can be accessed at:

archives/whos_online_and_what_are_they_doing_there.php

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