In almost every country, region and city in the world there are political leaders and groups of policymakers striving to spread opportunity and elevate the fortunes of their economies through entrepreneurship. At GEN we want to make that mission easier. Some parts of the globe have distinguished histories of promoting entrepreneurship but many others lack the same institutional knowledge and look to others for best practice and effective policies.
At GEN we are passionate about spreading innovative ideas far and wide. That’s why today – as policymakers and researchers from all around the world convene in Melbourne for the Global Entrepreneurship Congress – we are announcing the launch of the new and improved GEN Atlas compendium of entrepreneurship case studies. GEN Atlas is the largest knowledge portal of its kind with over 300 entries from more than 70 countries and is drawn from our extensive network of knowledge partners, advisors, policymakers, researchers and academics. If the Mayor of Lyon develops an innovative micro grants program, we want policymakers from Bangkok to Bratislava to be able to quickly digest the key aspects of the policy and start to consider whether it can be replicated locally.
GEN Atlas focuses on policies that build a more inclusive form of entrepreneurship and that can be easily replicated at a state or city level. In particular, our case studies have been designed to fit an objective and standardized format that allows policy makers to compare the effectiveness of similar programs and quickly draw out key pieces of information. Each case study is built around six concisely summarized components: objectives, policy mechanism, cost, policy development, impact and lessons learned.
Policymakers can now seek out interesting examples using the GEN Atlas improved search functionality which allows users to filter by policy theme, policy mechanism, country, cost and policies aimed at national/regional/local levels of government. Additionally, users will be able to identify the most effective policies by filtering for those that have provided detailed impact assessments.
GEN Atlas will be accompanied by weekly ‘deep-dives’ that explore specific policy areas, analyzing similar policies across several countries or offering an overview of the support programs available in a particular country or ecosystem. The compendium is built around 8 key themes that have been identified to underpin thriving entrepreneurial ecosystems:
- Finance: New types of capital for startups and scaleups at the right time.
- Education + Skills: Embedding enterprise and entrepreneurship into education and providing (both existing and potential) entrepreneurs with mentoring, training and support.
- Market Access: Expanding access to markets for startups domestically and abroad.
- Inclusivity + Culture: Ensuring that entrepreneurship is a culturally attractive vocation for all sections of society and in particular that people from disadvantaged groups have an equal opportunity to launch and grow a business.
- Regulation: Removing regulatory barriers to innovation and startup success.
- Ecosystem + Economic Development: Developing and managing local ecosystems to better support entrepreneurs, startups and scale-ups.
- Science, Technology and Innovation: Utilizing the latest advancements in science and technology to improve productivity, boost economic growth and solve societal problems through innovation.
- Policy Making: Maintaining a data-driven, effective and coherent policy-making process that supports entrepreneurs and ensures public awareness of available programs.
We would also like to invite users of GEN Atlas to become contributors and help us grow the platform further. If you have intimate knowledge of an innovative policy or program in your country that is not currently included, please either apply to become a contributor or suggest the policy for our longlist of entrepreneurship programs.
Whether you are a policymaker, researcher or just simply passionate about entrepreneurship, we hope that the GEN Atlas compendium will serve you well and continue to spread ideas that unlock creativity and innovation around the world.