Community Entrepreneurship Accelerator
Community Entrepreneurship Accelerator
NOW RECRUITING FOR OUR 2020 COHORT!
Achieving inclusive economic growth within a city requires dedicated effort and sustained commitment. To accelerate and sustain this effort, Forward Cities is launching its next cohort of Community Entrepreneurship Accelerators within a select number of member cities. Our Community Entrepreneurship Accelerator is a local capacity-building engagement uniquely centered at the cross-section of economic development, community development and business development.
LONG-TERM IMPACT. SHORT-TERM GAINS.
Through our 2-year accelerator process, we help local coalitions of community partners, entrepreneurs and economic development stakeholders co-create and implement strategies that lower barriers to access and participation in their entrepreneurial ecosystem. Our work follows a human-centered design approach, is guided by city-specific research and evaluation, and utilizes storytelling and shared learning to amplify the impact.
Accelerator Phases:
PHASE 1: DISCOVER | 3 Mo
We hire and train a Local Director and work with a local cross-sector council to understand and map the local entrepreneurial ecosystem through multiple lenses, emerging key assets and barriers related to equitable participation.
DISCOVER MILESTONES
- Hire a Local Director to serve the role of ecosystem builder and project manager
- Listen – Convene local entrepreneurs and stakeholders at a central event to understand their perspectives
- Connect – Form a diverse cross-sector council of interested local leaders
- Research – Map the local inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem and gather relevant data input from a variety of sources
PHASE 2: DESIGN | 3 MO
With guidance from the Forward Cities team, the Local Director works with a the local council to select and/or design asset-based solutions to improve the efficacy of the inclusive ecosystem, directly addressing barriers to entrepreneurial starts and growth.
DESIGN MILESTONES
- Align – Identify and leverage local assets/existing efforts and national best practices
- Locate – Determine the most effective geographic scale and location of efforts for greatest impact
- Plan – Emerge asset-based, high-potential, high-impact initiatives to address emerged barriers
- Socialize – Engage entrepreneurs and community throughout the development of solutions
PHASE 3: DELIVER | 18 Mo
We work with local ecosystem partners to implement programmatic and community engagement strategies, scale what works, create a plan for sustainability and share success with the local community and the broader Forward Cities Learning Network.
DELIVER MILESTONES
- Test – Launch and evaluate initiatives in community
- Scale – Scale what works, pivoting where necessary for greatest impact
- Share – Tell the stories of success in the local community and amplify them through our national media channels.
- Transfer – Transition efforts to local backbone organization(s) and connect with a national network of other cities and partners to strengthen the work.
Current Accelerator Cities:
LAUNCH AN ACCELERATOR IN YOUR COMMUNITY!
For additional information about Forward Cities Community Entrepreneurship Accelerators and to
discuss participating in our next cohort, please contact:
Christopher Gergen, CEO
