From Entrepreneurs to Communities: Rethinking Ecosystems Through Placemaking

Session Description

Traditional entrepreneurship ecosystem building centers the entrepreneur, but can overlook broader systemic factors that enable or inhibit entrepreneurial activity, such as childcare, social services, and community wellbeing. This session challenges that convention by introducing a place-based framework that integrates community development with economic development, using placemaking as the foundation for ecosystem building. 

Developed through a two-year lead-in program to the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Melbourne, and successfully applied in regional Australia, this scalable model engages government, industry, academia, risk capital, and philanthropy. Panelists will share insights on how placemaking fosters inclusive, sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems, and how communities can measure readiness and impact using a unique benchmarking tool—the Readiness Index. Attendees will hear firsthand experiences from leaders in government, faith, and community sectors, illustrating how a whole-of-community approach can overcome systemic barriers to entrepreneurship and unlock new opportunities for innovation and economic growth. This interactive session provides practical insights for ecosystem builders, policymakers, and funders seeking to reimagine ecosystem development through a more inclusive, integrated lens.

Join us to: 

• Learn how placemaking can serve as a powerful foundation for building inclusive, sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems that go beyond traditional, entrepreneur-centered models.
• Discover a practical, scalable framework that integrates community development and economic development, successfully applied in regional communities across Australia.
• Explore tools for measuring ecosystem readiness and impact, including the innovative Readiness Index, to track progress and attract cross-sector engagement.
• Hear firsthand stories from local government, faith-based, and community leaders on how a whole-of-community approach can address systemic barriers to entrepreneurship.
• Gain insights on how to attract and align funding from government, philanthropy, and private capital by bridging social and economic development agendas.
   

Session Recap

(AI-generated session recap made available by Google NotebookLM)

Get the highlights from this thought-provoking discussion that turned traditional innovation thinking on its head and offered practical insights for building stronger, more resilient communities.
 

1. Brief Summary

This session presented a critique of traditional innovation ecosystem building, arguing that focusing solely on innovation and entrepreneurship can exacerbate inequality and centralize wealth. Instead, it proposed a shift towards a place-based approach, where innovation and entrepreneurship are components within a broader community-led framework focused on what matters most to the people in that place. The speakers introduced the Ready Communities program as a practical example of this approach, highlighting its structure, focus on enabling conditions rather than just impacts, data-driven mapping, and the importance of building relationships and capability within the community, particularly demonstrated by the community's response to recent floods. The discussion also touched upon the challenges of systemic issues, the need for long-term funding, and the crucial role of foundations and community leaders.
 

2. Outline

• Introduction of speakers: Dr. Chad Ronaldo (Ready Communities, University of Southern Queensland), Joe Kelly (Learning the Mcclelay / Stronger Places Stronger People), and Jesse (Anglican Church of Australia priest).
• Acknowledgement of Country by Andy Joe.
• Speakers' desired outcomes for attendees, including challenging notions of placemaking and ecosystem building.
• Chad Ronaldo's background in innovation ecosystems and the realization of their limitations, particularly concerning inequality.
• Critique of the traditional innovation ecosystem focus and the difficulty of integrating broader social issues like childcare or domestic violence.
• Proposal for a new frame of reference: starting with place as the foundation, with entrepreneurship and innovation sitting within it.
• Discussion of the Ready Communities program as a two-year place-based approach.
• Overview of the Ready Communities process: engagement, mapping, focus areas, clusters, activations, leader development, catalytic events, embedding, and support.
• Emphasis on addressing inequality and systemic challenges in regional communities through scaffolding and support.
• The role of data and mapping in the program, and the practice of handing data back to the community custodians.
• Introduction of the program logic and focus on enabling conditions over immediate impacts.
• The five enabling conditions/readiness index areas: Clarity and understanding, Connection and connectivity, Capability and capacity, Collaboration for purpose, and Advocacy and promotion.
• Evolution of the program approach: identifying leaders first, then focus areas and initiatives, building capacity to "disappear" as a program.
• The role of the Social Impact in the Regions conference as a catalytic event, boundary spanning, and activation point.
• Measuring the readiness index before and after program engagement.
• Example of activating disused retail space in Kempsey into a potential innovation hub.
• Connecting the work to real-world challenges like natural disasters (Kempsey floods) and building pre-crisis relationships.
• Joe Kelly's experience as a partnership lead and the challenge of using new language vs. community-accepted language.
• Accessing diverse community groups (agriculture, arts, CBD, youth, housing) through the Ready Communities activation.
• Jesse's experience and observations, including the willingness of people to engage, the potential of faith-based organizations as hubs, and building relationships through the work.
• Specific examples of outcomes in Kempsey: McCleay Valley Community Foundation, flood relief coordination, accessing resources, better community organization.
• Addressing community trauma and dysfunctionality as part of the development process.
• Advice for foundations and funders on supporting placemaking efforts.
• The concept of a community as a "community of communities" and understanding the "spirit" or what gives a place life.
• The critical role of foundations in the "space between" and the need for long-term funding (e.g., 10 years).

• Discussion on balancing long-term vision with short-term realities, especially when communities are in survival mode.

  3. Notable Quotes

• "What we're proposing is there might be a new frame of reference not necessarily to say we don't do innovation ecosystem but maybe to take a starting point of place of which entrepreneur in ation ecosystems sits within that." - Chad Ronaldo
• "I think that unless the organizations the philanthropic organizations the foundations that you're working with unless they understand the spirit of the people. What is it that gives them life? What is it that gives them breath? If you don't understand that, you won't be able to make that impact." - Jesse
• "You know one of the things that we have to do sometimes is we have to hold their hands. Um and I would be doing that first. to then see if that's going to be a beneficial to to that person or to that community or to that family because again they might not see beyond tomorrow." - Joe Kelly 4. Key Takeaways
• Prioritize Place Over Ecosystem: Start community development efforts by understanding and engaging with the specific place and its needs first, rather than trying to fit it into a pre-defined innovation or entrepreneurship model.
• Focus on Enabling Conditions: Instead of solely chasing immediate impacts like jobs or investment, build the foundational enabling conditions within a community (clarity, connection, capability, collaboration, advocacy) that will organically lead to long-term positive outcomes.
• Community-Led and Language-Sensitive: True placemaking requires genuine community-led decision-making and using language that resonates with local people, not just technical jargon.
• Build Relationships Before Crisis: Proactive efforts to connect diverse groups and build relationships within a community enhance its readiness and ability to respond effectively when unexpected challenges, like natural disasters, occur.

• Long-Term Commitment is Crucial: Systemic change in communities requires long-term funding and support horizons (ideally 7-10 years or more) from foundations and government, moving beyond typical 3-5 year cycles which hinder sustainable progress.

  5. Resources Mentioned

• Ready Communities Program: A two-year place-based development approach discussed extensively as a model.
• Learning the Mcclelay: A Stronger Places Stronger People initiative that Joe Kelly leads, acting as a backbone organization.
• Kaufman Foundation: Mentioned by Chad Ronaldo as an organization he engaged with while exploring different approaches.
• Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC): Brought to Australia in 2023, influencing thinking towards a place-based approach.
• Place: A collaboration of major Australian foundations and the federal government with a vision for place-based transformation across 50 locations.
• Ready Communities Readiness Index: A tool used to measure progress across the five enabling conditions using 50 different indicators.
• Social Impact in the Regions Conference: An annual conference in Grafton, Australia, connected to the program, acting as a catalytic event.
• McCleay Valley Community Foundation: A community foundation established as an outcome of the Ready Communities work in Kempsey.
• Start Some Good: A social enterprise accelerator program planning to present in Kempsey.

6. Action Items        

• Center Your Desired Outcome: Attendees were invited at the beginning of the session to think about what they personally wanted to get out of the next 40 minutes.
• Engage with the Speakers: Chad invited attendees to ask questions during the Q&A period and to chat after the session.
• Reach Out Regarding Natural Disasters/Recovery/Innovation: Chad specifically asked anyone involved in these areas to reach out to share knowledge, particularly concerning the Kempsey floods.
• Meet People in Your Community: Jesse encouraged attendees to recognize and connect with the "incredible people" in their own local places.
• Consider Attending the Conference: Attendees were explicitly invited to the Social Impact in the Regions conference in Grafton, Australia, happening in September.
• Explore Connections in Australia: Chad offered to make introductions to relevant contacts in the Australian innovation ecosystem for those interested in visiting or collaborating.