August 27, 2014

Mapping a nation of regional clusters

The U.S. Cluster Mapping tool (ClusterMapping.us) provides over 50 million open data records on industry clusters and regional business environments to promote economic growth and U.S. competitiveness.  The project is led by Professor Michael Porter through Harvard Business School's Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness in partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Economic Development Administration.


September 29-30, Minneapolis, MN
REGISTER by September 8th for the early registration discount fee of $175.

We hope you will join us for the formal launch of the new U.S. Cluster Mapping website at Mapping the Midwest's Future: Regional Innovation Clusters and Competitiveness, hosted by the University of Minnesota. This will be a Midwest convening across 12 states and four Canadian provinces. Key speakers include:
  • Michael Porter, Bishop William Lawrence University Professor, Harvard Business School
  • Doug Baker, Chairman and CEO, Ecolab
  • Eric Kaler, President, University of Minnesota
  • Matt Rose, Executive Chairman, BNSF Corporation
  • Tim Welsh, Director, McKinsey & Company and Board Chair, Greater MSP
"Defining Clusters of Related Industries" issued as an NBER Working Paper

Clusters are geographic concentrations of industries related by knowledge, skills, inputs, demand, and/or other linkages. A growing body of empirical literature shows the impact of clusters on regional and industry performance, including job creation and new business formation. There is an increasing need for cluster-based data to facilitate research and support policymakers and practitioners in defining regional strategies. In this paper Professors Mercedes Delgado, Michael Porter, and Scott Stern develop a clustering algorithm that systematically generates and assesses sets of cluster definitions, proposing a new set of benchmark definitions that are available on the new U.S. Cluster Mapping site.  Learn more
C2ER and LMI Institute Webinar: New Technologies for Data Visualization

This free webinar to be held on September 9 from 3-4:00 pm ET will demonstrate two technological tools that can be used to help manage, analyze, and report data-Tableau's data visualization tools and Socrata's suite of open data tools-and how they can support data dissemination in economic development.  Sign up
July 29th U.S. Cluster Mapping Training in Sacramento
 
On July 29-30, 2014, the LMI Institute held its latest training session in Sacramento, CA.  The training covered two economic analysis topics: U.S. Cluster Mapping and the Basics of Economic Impact Analysis.  Sarah Jane Maxted and Jenny Zhao of Harvard Business School instructed participants about the U.S. Cluster Mapping tool, which aims to strengthen U.S. competitiveness by understanding the economic performance of clusters and regions across the nation.  This training was previously held in Boston, MA in June.  Learn more
July 31st U.S. Cluster Mapping Demo for Los Angeles County
 
The Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation invited the U.S. Cluster Mapping team at Harvard Business School to give one of the first demonstrations in California of its new industry cluster mapping data tool. A wide cross section of 66 people representing organizations from around Southern California was on hand for the presentation in Santa Clarita, CA, including the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation and University of Southern California. City, county and state officials sent representatives as well to view the data mapping tool.  Learn more
Interested in attending an event, or wish to recommend one? Contact us! 

Northeast

September 5, Worcester, MA:  ACTION Incubator Roundtable (Association of Cleantech Incubators of New England), 10am-12:30pm ET
 

Mid-Atlantic


September 17, Arlington, VA:  2014 ADPU Annual Conference, ignite!ADPU Talks, 1-2pm ET (Association of Public Data Users)  Learn more
 
Midwest

September 14-16, Chicago, IL:  2014 SSTI Annual Conference: Regional Prosperity Through Innovation (State Science & Technology Institute)  Learn more

September 23-25, Cleveland, OH:  2014 NorTech Innovation UnConference  Learn more

September 29-30, Minneapolis, MN:  Mapping the Midwest Future (University of Minnesota, Humphrey School of Public Affairs)  Register

October 27-28, Minneapolis, MN:  Midwest Innovation Summit  Register

West

October 12, Portland, OR:
  AUBER 2014 Fall Conference (Association for University Business and Economic Research)  Learn more

International

November 10-13, Monterrey, Mexico:
  17th Annual TCI Global Conference  Learn more

U.S. Small Business Administration Competition for Accelerators

The U.S. Small Business Administration has launched a $2.5 million competition for accelerators and other entrepreneurial ecosystem models to compete for monetary prizes of $50,000 each to fund operating budgets. To award the prizes, applicants will be judged by an expert panel that will consider each applicant's mission, founding team members and business goals among other core components. The application deadline is August 2, 2014.  Learn more

Partners: MIT Sloan School of Management - Temple University, Fox School of Business - Phase2 Technology
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative - 
University of Minnesota, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
Oregon Business Council - New Carolina - STATS America - Regional Innovation Acceleration Network