Subscriber Update: What's New and Next
Who reads The Groundbreakers? Which main themes capture innovation ecosystem leaders attention? Also: new content, a new business model and two polls.
Landing In the Right Place
When I launched The Groundbreakers, I knew early on I’d found a lifetime’s worth of work. My calling, without question. I left conversations with community builders feeling like I wanted to know more, convinced that every place has an innovation story people need to hear. It became clear that while innovation ecosystems are conceptually straightforward to understand, and contain common elements and processes, in practice they are as unique as fingerprints. It follows that understanding what works across innovation ecosystems—and why—makes it easier for all of us to experiment and arrive at our own local formulation.
One of the most striking observations? Pride of place, evidenced by community builders’ dedication to the town or city they call home. As someone with a bit of an entrepreneurial streak, I recognize that pride of place invariably leads to a key entrepreneurial trait: persistence. Persistent community builders like those I’ve met never stop at the first hurdle. Or the hundredth. They do, however, measure, experiment, strategize and pivot to solve problems. They initiate partnerships, raise capital, mentor companies, create courses and champion the place they love.
Soon to be published interviews with Donna Gillespie, Chief Executive Officer of Kingston Economic Development, and Brad Roth, President and Executive Director of NUtech Ventures, and Associate Vice Chancellor for Technology Development at University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) both make compelling cases for the power of persistence, strategic planning and the inherent opportunities innovation ecosystems present.
More Content. New Content.
Pivots and hurdles bring me to the purpose of this note. Doing justice to the world of innovation ecosystems is the proverbial tall task, highlighted by the sheer scale of work over the course of the spring and early summer. Two things leapt out at me, one positive, the other a cause for concern. Without question, The Groundbreakers strikes a chord with readers. People read it; people care. But it was also clear that my publishing process needed a lot of work. This latter point led me, like anyone, to ask how I could make my work better while offering readers more.
The result is, I hope you’ll find, both interesting and useful. Beginning next week, and rolling out over the course of the new few months, you can expect to see:
Innovation Ecosystem Profiles: Interviews with community builders, packed with insight. Profiles will be published serial-style. Individual posts focus on key stories, experiences and findings; the complete serial provides readers a comprehensive overview.
Research Summaries: Time-saving encapsulations of useful academic research, organized into main themes and findings.
Success Factors: Short, example-filled outlines highlighting the practical side of innovation ecosystem development and growth.
Survey Results: One for each of The Groundbreakers’ five main reader groups (below), rolling surveys will provide readers with “state of the industry” findings, with periodic updates as the rolling survey expands its reach over time.
Write For Us: Insight and analysis from practitioners, researchers and academics focused upon applied research, innovation, commercialization, economic development and community well-being. Feel free to reach out to me directly with story suggestions.
The Groundbreakers podcast: Roundtable discussions and interviews with innovation ecosystem leaders. The podcast is as yet unnamed: I’m open to suggestions!
The Groundbreakers Readership: Who You Are
Innovation ecosystems are complicated, fascinating entities. It’s little wonder that TGB readers come from equally interesting backgrounds. It’s highly likely you will see yourself within one of the following reader groups:
Innovation Leaders: Professionals deeply involved in fostering innovation within organizations, such as university administrators and R&D directors, seeking insights into best practices and innovative strategies.
Policy Makers and Government Officials: Individuals shaping policies at various levels who are interested in learning how to foster innovation, drive economic development, and improve quality of life.
Economic Development Professionals: Individuals actively promoting economic growth at local, regional, and national scales, focused on the role of innovation and collaborative partnerships in achieving economic outcomes.
Innovation and Development Organizations (IDOs): Entities like accelerators, NGOs, and government-backed bodies that aim to foster innovation, support economic development, and build communities.
Business Improvement Organizations: Business leaders, and organizational bodies like chambers of commerce interested in understanding the role of innovation ecosystems in business success and resilient communities.
Main themes summarizing an industry
Well over a hundred hours of interviews with innovation ecosystem leaders supplies a big enough sample to identify the industry’s overarching areas of interest and focus.
Unranked, these are:
Building Innovation Ecosystems // Local Unique Innovation Ecosystems // Technology and Innovation // Global Perspectives on Innovation // Interconnectedness and Complexity // Local Innovation and Community Engagement // Adaptability and Resilience in Innovation // Data-Driven Innovation // Knowledge Generation and Collaboration // Knowledge Transfer and Interconnectedness.
You will start to see these themes listed in article descriptions and be able to access any article tagged with a theme you’re interested in.
Theme descriptions may be found here. You’ll have to scroll down a little.
Changes to The Groundbreakers Business Model
My objective is provide as much information as possible regarding how and why innovation ecosystems work. Readership is global, we have a lot to share, and this is an important area of local and international development.
Access is now free for all content on a rolling 52 week basis. (Previously, every post was free for a month.)
This will sound good—free always does!—but might leave you wondering about viability. Thankfully there are answers, and good ones. The essence of the new content strategy is “value-added”, which I will elaborate upon in a subsequent update.
Two Quick Polls
What’s ahead
Tomorrow: TGB’s new referral program launches in beta.
Starting next week, TGB will publish innovation ecosystem profiles from Kingston, Ontario and Lincoln, Nebraska. Also in the works: a supercluster profile, and profiles from Malawi, California, Liberia, Alberta, Montana and Nigeria. These will publish once or twice a week.
Starting this month: Research Summaries and Success Factors. Each will publish monthly, each update will contain selections of inter-related research summaries and success factors.
Rolling surveys will begin distributing to readers and beyond this month. Once a surveyed group generate a sufficient volume of responses, I will publish a free summary and an in-depth value-added report for paid subscribers.
Thank you!
The Groundbreakers is still new and still growing, so you can imagine how much your ongoing support means. (Answer: a lot!) What also means a lot: your suggestions, the lifeblood of any small business.
Have a lovely day,
Ian.