:

DE sign:
(Deconstructing in-order to find new meanings)

A blogging space about my personal interests; was made during training in Stockholm #Young Leaders Visitors Program #Ylvp08 it developed into a social bookmarking blog.

I studied #Architecture; interested in #Design #Art #Education #Urban Design #Digital-media #social-media #Inhabited-Environments #Contemporary-Cultures #experimentation #networking #sustainability & more =)


Please Enjoy, feedback recommended.

p.s. sharing is usually out of interest not Blind praise.
This is neither sacred nor political.

Showing posts with label #Economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #Economy. Show all posts

Saturday, February 4

Circular Economy Congress Sessions ::: EU ::: Dec 2016 #SCEWC2016

City Debates at #SCEWC2016

Designing a Circular City


Inspirational Talk - Kent Larson. Towards Entrepreneurial, High-performance, Livable Cities



Published on Dec 14, 2016

Kent Larson will discuss the work of his research group to develop urban interventions that address the challenges of extreme urbanization and a rapidly changing global economy. His talk will focus on three current projects: CityScope, Persuasive Electric Vehicle (PEV) and CityHome project. He will also discuss Urban Living Lab collaborative projects in Hamburg, Andorra, and Cambridge.

INTRODUCE BY:
Christopher Swope
Managing Editor
Citiscope
Washington DC, United States of America


SPEAKER:
Kent Larson
Director, City Science Initiative and Changing Places Research Group MIT Media Lab
Cambridge, United States of America


New Plastics Economy in Cities


The Inclusive Economy



Dialogue Session - Cities Leading the World of Tomorrow



From Ownership to Service



Workshop - Circulab. Circular Economy Workshop




Thursday, October 1

She Entrepuneures 2016

Leadership Programmes ::: Swedish Institute ::: She Entrepreneurs 2016

"She Entrepreneurs is a leadership programme for young emerging women social entrepreneurs in the Middle East, North Africa and Sweden. The programme aims to give the participants innovative tools for sustainable change while seeking to create an active network of women changemakers.


She Entrepreneurs runs for one year, with participants meeting for ten days in Sweden and one week in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. In between the modules, the participants work on their own initiative locally, coached by group mentors over digital platforms.
The participants are social entrepreneurs from Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Palestine, Yemen and Sweden who address social challenges and strive for positive social change through initiatives based on entrepreneurial principles. During the programme participants are provided with inspiration, knowledge and tools to develop a business idea for sustainable change that they have already started working on in their country or region. Through the programme, participants are also offered the opportunity to meet leading social and business entrepreneurs as well as become a part of an active network of women social entrepreneurs that supports personal and professional development.
The call for applications for She Entrepreneurs 2016 is currently open! The deadline for applying is 8 October 2015 at midnight (Central European Time Zone). "
She Entrepreneurs 2011 from Swedish Institute on Vimeo.


https://eng.si.se/apply-now-she-entrepreneurs-2016/

https://eng.si.se/tag/social-entrepreneurship/



https://eng.si.se/areas-of-operation/leadership-programmes-and-cultural-exchange/she-entrepreneurs/

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&es_th=1&ie=UTF-8#q=social+entrepreneurship+moocs

https://www.class-central.com/subject/entrepreneurship


7 essential MOOCs for budding social entrepreneurs


http://mashable.com/2014/12/14/moocs-social-entrepreneurs/#MPUuyoSesmqp

Starting a business to make the world a better place is a worthy and even fashionable idea. But what does creating a social enterprise really entail, and what skills should you have under your belt before you jump in?
Aspiring social entrepreneurs can find comfort and knowledge in MOOCs, or massive open online courses. Platforms such as Coursera, Udacity and Udemy feature a number of low-cost classes taught by expert faculty in socent and related fields.
From using social media for social good to HTML programming geared specifically toward entrepreneurs, here are seven MOOCs you should look into before launching a socially conscious company.

1. Social Entrepreneurship: A Crash Course

Platform: Udemy
Price: $25
This MOOC is perfect for beginners looking to dip their toes into the social enterprise space. Taught by Jessica Lax, content developer for social impact at School for Change, Social Entrepreneurship: A Crash Course covers five essential topics: hybrid organizations, earned revenue, impact capital, impact measurement and human-centered design.
You can work at your own pace through more than an hour of video content and slides.

2. Social Media for Social Change

Platform: Udemy
Price: $19
Whether or not your social enterprise idea deals directly with social media, maintaining an online presence is imperative for any business worth its salt. This course addresses key social media strategies for social change, and covers examples of successful campaigns.
The MOOC was designed specifically as a skills-building tool for social entrepreneurs "to address old issues with new tactics for increased results."

3. Programming for Entrepreneurs

Platform: Udemy
Price: Free
Basic coding is a skill everyone needs to have — even schools across the world are adopting it into their curricula. Whether you're looking to build a simple website for your social enterprise or you just want a better understanding of development as it pertains to business, this is the MOOC for you.
Programming for Entrepreneurs teaches rudimentary HTML and CSS programming languages and development concepts, so you can walk away with tangible, interactive prototypes of your business idea. There are 28 lectures, with more than two hours of content.

4. How to Change the World

Platform: Coursera
Price: Free
This MOOC focuses on creative ideas from well-known entrepreneurs, writers, academics and political leaders to discuss how innovation and technology can address the world's most pressing issues. Despite the audacious title, the class hones in on specific units: Poverty and Philanthropy; Climate Change and Sustainability; Women, Education and Social Change; and Social Networks, Education and Activism.
As of this writing, the class is in the middle of its current course of study (until Dec. 29), but you can join the watchlist to see when the next session will take place.
Disclosure: How to Change the World was developed between Wesleyan University and the 92Y, in conjunction with Mashable's Social Good Summit in 2013.

5. How to Build a Startup

Platform: Udacity
Price: Free
Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steve Blank, who also teaches at Stanford, UC Berkeley and Columbia, instructs this course on the key steps needed to build a startup. The focus of the MOOC is the needs of the customer — the product, how to deliver it and how to engage your target audience.
While there may not be a specific "customer" for your social enterprise, How to Build a Startup will teach you how to identify key resources, partners, distribution channels and overall costs.
As of this writing, the class is in the middle of its current course of study (until Dec. 29), but you can join the watchlist to see when the next session will take place.

6. Social Entrepreneurship

Platform: Coursera
Price: Free (Open Track)
This MOOC comes to you courtesy of the Social Impact initiative at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. Think of it as the next step after the socent crash course listed above. Wharton's course takes a deeper dive into solution design, concept testing, performance measurement, building for scale and more.
You can choose the free "Open Track," in which assignments are based on real-world examples of social enterprises, or the "Signature Track," in which assignments will relate to the specific social enterprise you'd like to pursue.
As of this writing, the class isn't in session, but you can join the watchlist to see when it starts up again.

7. Foundations of Business Strategy

Platform: Coursera
Price: Free
Strategy is important for any entrepreneur, whether you're creating a nonprofit or for-profit company. The University of Virginia's Foundations of Business Strategy teaches strategic analysis, the impact of competitive markets and how to create value through cases discussions of specific businesses.
The final project has each student select one organization through online forums, using the skills the course has taught him and her to provide a competitive analysis.
The course just wrapped up its most recent session on Nov. 23, but you can join the watchlist to see when the next session takes place.

Thursday, August 27

#Architecture (at) Milan EXPO 2015

Milan EXPO 2015
Video Collection on Social-Media of this year's Milan Expo 15 ::: Enjoy =)

MILAN 2015 - The City of Future from NotWorkingFilms on Vimeo.
Milan 2015 - The City of Future

A video by: Fabio Palmieri
Music by: Isan - Remigo
Final Quote: Albert Einstein

Exploring Milan's architecture with a Canon 5Dmk3 - RAW - Expo 2015
* No CG added

2013©NotWorkingFilms
www.notworkingfilms.com
https://www.facebook.com/NotWorkingFilmsPage


DIVERSITY, Japan Pavilion, Expo Milano 2015 from teamLab on Vimeo.
Japan, a country surrounded by mountains and the sea, undergoes many changes with the passing of the four seasons. Rivers go through great changes in terms of the volume of water that passes through them, from the melting snow in the spring to the rainy season and typhoon season. In Japan, the distance between the mountains and the coast is very short, with very few plains along the way, causing many short fast-flowing streams to form throughout the islands.
This art installation uses waterfalls to represent water, a symbol that is at the heart of Japan’s food culture.

This artwork seeks to convey large volumes of information related to the great diversity found in Japanese food. In order to achieve this, it shows a gigantic waterfall that can be viewed from all around 360 degrees, displaying a large quantity of images of food.

Visitors can touch the images that flow down the waterfall to read in the image, as well as some detailed information, into their smartphones, so they can take them home with them afterward.

This art installation tackles the challenge of making sure that people can share their emotions and experiences, while offering the convenience of providing large amounts of information. teamLab achieves this by creating a symbolic waterfall that allows many visitors to share the same experience within the same space, and by giving them the ability to link this experience with their own personal smartphones.

http://www.team-lab.net/en/all/other/diversity.html


食の多様性という大量の情報を来場者に伝える。そのために、デジタルテクノロジーを使い、食に関連する大量のコンテンツの画像を、360度どこからでも鑑賞できる巨大な映像の滝に流すことよって、食の多様性(DIVERSITY)を表現しました。

食の源である水を、そして、山と海に囲まれた日本の水を、象徴的に、滝で表現しています。来場者は、流れてきた画像にタッチすることで、瞬間的に、画像と詳細の情報が自分のスマートフォンへと取り込み、持ち帰ることができます。

同じ空間にいる来場者が体感を共有できるアートと、個人が持つスマートフォンを繋げることによって、感動と、大量の情報に対する利便性を共存させるチャレンジを行っています。

http://www.team-lab.net/all/other/diversity.html


HARMONY, Japan Pavilion, Expo Milano 2015 from teamLab on Vimeo.
Paddy fields, at the background of the origin of Japan’s food culture, were grown and developed in areas at differing height levels such as the mid to high river basins. This is reflected in the terraced rice-fields that are so characteristic of Japan, a country surrounded by mountains and the sea.
This process was made possible thanks to the beautiful harmony that has existed between humans and nature.

In order to show the fact that paddy fields have prospered in places with differing heights, as well as through the harmonious relationship between humans and nature, the space of the exhibition room has been filled with screens resembling ears of rice. These screens have been installed at a variety of different heights, from the knees up to the waist, creating an interactive projection space that seems to spread out infinitely at various heights and directions.
The projected images change in line with the visitors’ movements as they wander through the room.

This interactive art installation creates a space where visitors look as if they are wading their way through the ears of rice. As they wander around, they can experience a passing of nature that is so characteristic of Japan across the period of a whole year.

http://www.team-lab.net/en/all/other/harmony.html


日本の食の原風景である「水田」は、山と海に囲まれた日本では棚田に代表されるように、河川の中上流域など、高低差がある場所で発達しました。
そしてそれは、人と自然が共生(HARMONY)することで生まれてきました。

水田が、「高低差」のある場所で発達してきたことや、「人と自然が共生」することで発達してきたことを表現するため、腰やひざ下など、さまざまな高さでつくった稲穂に見立てたスクリーンで空間を埋め尽くし、腰から膝ほどの高さに映像が無限に広がるインタラクティブな映像空間をつくりました。
映像は、鑑賞者の位置やふるまいに合わせて、変化していきます。

来場者は、まるで稲穂を分け入るかのように、インタラクティブな映像空間の中を分け入り、歩き回りながら、1年を通した、象徴的な日本の自然を体感します。

http://www.team-lab.net/all/other/harmony.html


Field of Hope - Theme Installation of China Pavilion at Milan EXPO 2015 from Danqing Shi on Vimeo.
“The Field of Hope” is an immersive lighting installation of 2015 Milan EXPO China Pavilion. It is designed by Tsinghua University team led by new media artist Danqing Shi. Consisted with 30,000 metal “straws”, this “field” covers the whole exhibition area and merges with the architecture. Each straw has an LED tip with a diffuser functioning as one 3-dimensional pixel. Viewing from above those pixels form a large motion images floating on top of a wheat field.

“The Field of Hope” provides visitors two perspectives to experience:
1. First person perspective: a descending slop at the entrance leads visitor to gradually merge into the “field”, as visitors going down, the relative heights of the plants grow up representing the season changes. While visiting the exhibition items embedded in the field, visitors may wonder why the light straw tips blink different colors.
2. Third Person perspective: visitors then walk up through an ascending ramp to the panorama platform at the second floor. With a broad view of the field from above, the blinking pixels now can be recognized together as one entire image rendering China’s diverse landscapes and an abstract expression of different forms of farm field.

Design team:
New Media Artist: Danqing Shi
Installation Design: Xiaojin Xi, Danqing Shi
Technical Consultant: Feng Xian
Animation Design: Zhigang Wang, Danqing Shi
CG Production: e-go CG
Sound Design: Dai Dai, Zhixu Wang
Music Composer: Xiangguo Yu


expo from Danqing Shi on Vimeo.



The Wings / Daniel Libeskind at Milan EXPO 2015 from ArchDaily on Vimeo.


Daniel Libeskind designs Milan Expo pavilion for Chinese developer Vanke from Dezeen on Vimeo.
See more architecture and design movies at dezeen.com/movies.

New York-based architect Daniel Libeskind has proposed a twisted reptilian structure for the first ever expo pavilion for a stand-alone Chinese company.

Designed for Vanke, China's largest property developer, the Shitang pavilion is already under construction at the Milan Expo 2015 site, and was conceived by Daniel Libeskind as a sinuous volume with a scaly outer skin.

Ancient Chinese teachings and Renaissance art are cited as some of the inspirations for the building, whose twisted shape is intended to create a "continuous flow" between inside and outside spaces. A staircase will also curve around the exterior, leading up to a rooftop terrace.

Responding the Expo theme Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life, New York exhibition designer Ralph Appelbaum and Chinese graphic designer Han Jiaying will work with Libeskind to create an interior described by Vanke as a "virtual forest". This will feature 300 multimedia screens, offering a look at the role of the dinner table in Chinese communities.

“In keeping with the theme of Expo Milano, Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life, we proposed the concept 'Shitang' for the Vanke Pavilion,” said Vanke Chairman Wang Shi.

"Shitang in Chinese means 'table'. We thus want to express our idea of urbanisation and community through the experience of food. Indeed, food is one of the most effective ways to understand a culture: the ritual of eating and talking together is important in every community because by eating together it is possible to get to know each other better," he said.

Libeskind has previously said that he would not work in China on ethical grounds and urged architects to "think twice" about building in the country. Later that same year it was revealed by UK architecture newspaper BD that his practice was working on a 25,000-square-metre public building in Hong Kong.

"This is not a dogmatic idea for Daniel," Nina Libeskind told BD in 2008. "Its a personal thing for him. We've seen what has happened in Tibet, but there is a rule of law in Hong Kong that Daniel is comfortable with."

China unveiled the design for its national pavilion earlier this year. Designed by New York firm Studio Link-Arc and a team from Tsinghua University, it will feature an undulating roof and an indoor field.


Expo 2015 - The river birth from Kouzelna on Vimeo.
"WHERE EUROPE´S RIVERS FLOW FROM"
One of videos made for competition "Czech projection hall on EXPO 2015 in Milano". Video shows creation of Czech rivers. (using slow motion)

Description of whole project:
An audiovisual interactive room "For(r)est" should be a part of the Czech pavilion on Expo 2015 in Milano. This project connects all Expo´s topics with a Czech pavilion theme, Laboratory of life. The room is transformed into
a Czech forest. On the walls there will be interactive projections of Czech animals. There are stylized trees made of special ecological fabric situated around the room space. Forest is a cure for many lifestyle diseases. For(r)est is a place for rest.

Thanks to:
DoP: Orlin Stanchev
Sound: Samuel Jurkovič
Editor: Pavel Šimek
Production: Eva Babincová Plutová

POKROK studio
AVI STUDIO
IS Produkce


Brazilian Pavilion by Raphael França + Takeshi Miyamoto from Sopro Coletivo on Vimeo.
Brazilian Pavilion EXPO Milan 2015 - APEX Brazil


Milan Expo 2015: Slovenian Pavilion / SoNo Arhitekti from ArchDaily on Vimeo.


EXPO MILANO 2015 - BELGIAN PAVILION - HOLOGRAFIC DISPLAY - AQUAPONICS from The Others on Vimeo.
The Pavilion highlights Belgium’s environmental sustainability, technological innovation and national identity. The aim is to express the theme of Expo Milano 2015 at every level: from the architecture to the details of its scenography, and the range of food on offer, to give an integrated, coherent response to the vital issues under investigation. Inside, there are displays and experiments focusing on remarkable scientific and technical advances in the field of food technology, such as alternative food production methods, aquaponics, hydroponics, cultivation of insects and algae. The Pavilion is therefore a genuine laboratory of ideas and innovations on a large scale. The Others have been in charge of coordinating the overall audiovisual content management of the pavilion, creating a special branding to standardise all audiovisual contents, creating and animating 3D photorealistic insect models and creating and animating hydroponics and aquaponics holographic displays.

management of the pavilion, creating a special branding to standardize all audiovisual contents, creating and animating 3D photorealistic insect models and creating and animating hydroponics and aquaponics holographic displays.

Client: Belgian Government
Agency: Besix/Van Houdt
Content production: Patrick Genard
Directed and Produced: The Others
Date: Barcelona May 2015


EXPO MILANO 2015 - BELGIAN PAVILION - INSECT INSTALLATION from The Others on Vimeo.
The Pavilion highlights Belgium’s environmental sustainability, technological innovation and national identity. The aim is to express the theme of Expo Milano 2015 at every level: from the architecture to the details of its scenography, and the range of food on offer, to give an integrated, coherent response to the vital issues under investigation. Inside, there are displays and experiments focusing on remarkable scientific and technical advances in the field of food technology, such as alternative food production methods, aquaponics, hydroponics, cultivation of insects and algae. The Pavilion is therefore a genuine laboratory of ideas and innovations on a large scale. The Others have been in charge of coordinating the overall audiovisual content management of the pavilion, creating a special branding to standardize all audiovisual contents, creating and animating 3D photorealistic insect models and creating and animating hydroponics and aquaponics holographic displays.

Client: Belgian Government
Agency: Besix/Van Houdt
Content production: Patrick Genard
Directed and Produced: The Others
Date: Barcelona May 2015


EXPO MILANO 2015 - BELGIAN PAVILION - HOLOGRAFIC DISPLAY - ROTATORY from The Others on Vimeo.
The Pavilion highlights Belgium’s environmental sustainability, technological innovation and national identity. The aim is to express the theme of Expo Milano 2015 at every level: from the architecture to the details of its scenography, and the range of food on offer, to give an integrated, coherent response to the vital issues under investigation. Inside, there are displays and experiments focusing on remarkable scientific and technical advances in the field of food technology, such as alternative food production methods, aquaponics, hydroponics, cultivation of insects and algae. The Pavilion is therefore a genuine laboratory of ideas and innovations on a large scale. The Others have been in charge of coordinating the overall audiovisual content management of the pavilion, creating a special branding to standardize all audiovisual contents, creating and animating 3D photorealistic insect models and creating and animating hydroponics and aquaponics holographic displays.

Client: Belgian Government
Agency: Besix/Van Houdt
Content production: Patrick Genard
Directed and Produced: The Others
Date: Barcelona May 2015


EXPO MILANO 2015 - BELGIAN PAVILION - INSECT DISPLAY from The Others on Vimeo.
The Pavilion highlights Belgium’s environmental sustainability, technological innovation and national identity. The aim is to express the theme of Expo Milano 2015 at every level: from the architecture to the details of its scenography, and the range of food on offer, to give an integrated, coherent response to the vital issues under investigation. Inside, there are displays and experiments focusing on remarkable scientific and technical advances in the field of food technology, such as alternative food production methods, aquaponics, hydroponics, cultivation of insects and algae. The Pavilion is therefore a genuine laboratory of ideas and innovations on a large scale. The Others have been in charge of coordinating the overall audiovisual content management of the pavilion, creating a special branding to standardize all audiovisual contents, creating and animating 3D photorealistic insect models and creating and animating hydroponics and aquaponics holographic displays.

Client: Belgian Government
Agency: Besix/Van Houdt
Content production: Patrick Genard
Directed and Produced: The Others
Date: Barcelona May 2015


EXPO MILANO 2015 - BELGIAN PAVILION - HOLOGRAFIC DISPLAY - HYDROPONICS from The Others on Vimeo.
The Pavilion highlights Belgium’s environmental sustainability, technological innovation and national identity. The aim is to express the theme of Expo Milano 2015 at every level: from the architecture to the details of its scenography, and the range of food on offer, to give an integrated, coherent response to the vital issues under investigation. Inside, there are displays and experiments focusing on remarkable scientific and technical advances in the field of food technology, such as alternative food production methods, aquaponics, hydroponics, cultivation of insects and algae. The Pavilion is therefore a genuine laboratory of ideas and innovations on a large scale. The Others have been in charge of coordinating the overall audiovisual content management of the pavilion, creating a special branding to standardise all audiovisual contents, creating and animating 3D photorealistic insect models and creating and animating hydroponics and aquaponics holographic displays.

Client: Belgian Govenrment
Agency: Besix/Van Houdt
Content production: Patrick Genard
Directed and Produced: The Others
Date: Barcelona May 2015


German Pavilion Expo Milano 2015 from SCHMIDHUBER on Vimeo.
“Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life” is the theme for Expo 2015. The German pavilion clearly orients itself to this leitmotif – under the “Fields of Ideas” motto. Germany reveals itself as a vibrant, fertile “landscape” filled with ideas on future human nutrition. The pavilion vividly illustrates just how important dealing respectfully with nature is to our ongoing food supply, while inviting visitors to take action themselves.

Visitors can discover the “Fields of Ideas” along two different routes. They can either stroll along the pavilion’s freely accessible upper level, which invites them to relax and enjoy. Or they can explore the exhibition inside the pavilion, which addresses such topics as the sources of nutrition, through to food production and consumption in the urban world.


Overall responsibility:
German Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, Bonn

Management company:
Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH

Design, planning, realization:
German Pavilion Expo Milano 2015 Consortium

Spatial concept, architecture, general planning:
SCHMIDHUBER, Munich

Content concept, exhibition, media:
Milla & Partner, Stuttgart

Project management and construction:
Nüssli (Deutschland) GmbH, Roth


German Pavilion Expo Milano 2015 - Solar Trees from SCHMIDHUBER on Vimeo.
The central design element of the pavilion are expressive membrane-covered shelters in the shape of sprouting plants: the “Idea Seedlings.” Their construction and bionic design vocabulary are inspired by nature. The Idea Seedlings link the interior and exterior spaces, a blend of architecture and exhibition, and at the same time provide shade for visitors in the hot Italian summer.

By integrating cutting-edge organic photovoltaic (OPV) technology, the seedlings become Solar Trees. The German Pavilion is the first large international architecture project to use these innovative new products. In contrast with a project using conventional solar modules, the German Pavilion architects had the opportunity to do more than just incorporate existing technology. They had free rein to design the flexible, OPV membrane modules to match their own creative ideas, and to integrate them into the overall design of the pavilion.


Overall responsibility:
German Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, Bonn

Management company:
Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH

Design, planning, realization:
German Pavilion Expo Milano 2015 Consortium

Spatial concept, architecture, general planning:
SCHMIDHUBER, Munich

Content concept, exhibition, media:
Milla & Partner, Stuttgart

Project management and construction:
Nüssli (Deutschland) GmbH, Roth


Zumtobel illuminates breathe.austria Austrian pavilion at EXPO Milano 2015 from Zumtobel Lighting on Vimeo.
"Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life"– this is the theme of Expo Milano 2015, which focuses on sustainability produced food and renewable energy. Austria's contribution is dedicated to the most elementary means of life: air. In breathe.austria, architecture, nature, culture and research are merged to create an inspiring experience – visitors find themselves in the midst of a natural forest originating from Austria.


Milano Expo2015/ Temporary pavillion from A2BC on Vimeo.
The project for a temporary pavilion for the Milano Expo 2015 takes shape in a radical gesture, communicatively evoking a clear visual identity, which is synthesized in a distinctly recognizable archetype. The portal acts as a direct quotation that abandons the significance of its historically commemorative purpose, to create a shared dimension; a shared public space. "Ex Machina" defines a place, an axis, an intersection.

The design intends to create two levels of shared public space; immediately at the street level and above, granting visitors a rarely accessible view of the city .

The strength of its composition, pace of the structure, and its permeability and lightness establish a clear architecture in which therole of the public is the same as the surrounding monuments.


Ukrainian Pavilion Expo 2015 Milan. Computational Architecture from Dmytro Aranchii Architects on Vimeo.
watch new video of Ukraine Pavilion EXPO2015 https://vimeo.com/123357174

Prototype of Ukraine's Pavilion for world EXPO 2015 in Milan
Pavilion is modular, provides fast dis/assembly and responsive to environment through adaptation according to its conditions

Прототип українського павільйону на Експо 2015 у Мілані
Павільйон є модульним, що забезпечує його швидку роз/бірку та чутливий до навколишнього середовища, здатний адаптуватися під його умови


ecoLogicStudio transforms cladding system into a bioreactor with Urban Algae Canopy from Dezeen on Vimeo.
In this movie Marco Poletto of ecoLogicStudio claims the integrated algae farm and cladding system his practice will showcase at the 2015 Milan Expo could be used to power cities in future.

See more architecture and design movies at http://www.dezeen.com/movies


daniel libeskind on his design for the vanke paivlion for expo 2015 in milan from designboom on Vimeo.
designboom speaks to daniel libeskind who elaborates on the themes and technical challenges he faced in the realization of the vanke pavilion he designed for expo 2015 in milan.

see the original article on designboom here:
http://www.designboom.com/architecture/vanke-pavilion-expo-milan-2015-daniel-libeskind-interview-05-04-2015/


michele molè of nemesi & partners explains the italy pavilion at expo 2015 from designboom on Vimeo.
architect michele molè of nemesi & partners explains his design for the italy pavilion at milan's expo 2015.

see the original article on designboom here:
http://www.designboom.com/architecture/italy-pavilion-expo-milan-2015-nemesi-partners-michele-mole-interview-05-06-2015/


benedetta tagliabue describes the concept behind her copagri 'love it' pavilion for expo milano 2015 from designboom on Vimeo.
the italian born architect elaborates on the architectural concept and programmatic layout of the domed structures.

see the full interview on designboom here:
http://www.designboom.com/architecture/benedetta-tagliabue-embt-copagri-pavilion-expo-milano-06-19-2015


wolfgang buttress on his scheme of the beehive for the UK pavilion at expo milan 2015 from designboom on Vimeo.
designboom interviews wolfgang buttress regarding the conceptual journey he took in realizing the UK pavilion at expo milano 2015.

see the original article on designboom:
www.designboom.com/architecture/uk-pavilion-expo-milan-2015-wolfgang-buttress-interview-05-05-2015/


wolfgang buttress elaborates on the immersive experience of the UK pavilion at expo milan 2015 from designboom on Vimeo.
designboom interviews wolfgang buttress who elaborates on the overall audio and visual experience he wants visitors to have when approaching and engaging with the UK pavilion at expo milan 2015.

see the original article on designboom:
designboom.com/architecture/uk-pavilion-expo-milan-2015-wolfgang-buttress-interview-05-05-2015/


http://www.archdaily.com/tag/milan-expo-2015

Friday, August 30

An Entrepreneurial Revolution

How to Start an Entrepreneurial Revolution

The Big Idea: How to Start an Entrepreneurial Revolution
To ignite venture creation and growth, governments need to create an ecosystem that sustains entrepreneurs. Here’s what really works.
[ In the latest Ease of Doing Business ranking from the World Bank, one country made a spectacular leap—from 143rd on the list to 67th. It was Rwanda, whose population and institutions had been decimated by genocidein the 1990s. On the World Bank list, Rwanda catapulted out of the neighborhood of Haiti, Liberia, and the West Bank and Gaza, and sailed past Italy, the Czech Republic, Turkey, and Poland. On one subindex in the study, the ease of opening a new business, Rwanda ranked 11th worldwide.
You can see and even smell the signs of Rwanda’s business revolution at Costco, one of the retail world’s most demanding trade customers, where pungent coffee grown by the nation’s small farmer-entrepreneurs is stocked on the shelves. And in Rwanda itself the evidence is dramatic—per capita GDP has almost quadrupled since 1995.
This is the kind of change entrepreneurship can bring to a country. As Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, put it recently, “Entrepreneurship is the most sure way of development.” He is not a lone voice: Economic studies from around the globe consistently link entrepreneurship, particularly the fast-growth variety, with rapid job creation, GDP growth, and long-term productivity increases.
You’ll see more palpable evidence of surprising entrepreneurial success stories on the Costco shelves. A few steps away from the Rwandan coffee, you can find fresh fish from Chile, which now ranks second only to Norway as a supplier of salmon. The Chilean fish in America’s supermarkets were supplied by hundreds of new fishing-related ventures spawned in the 1980s and 1990s. A few aisles over are memory USBs invented and manufactured in Israel, a country whose irrepressible entrepreneurs have been supplying innovative technologies to the world since the 1970s. And just around the corner, the Costco pharmacy sells generic drugs made by Iceland’s Actavis, whose meteoric rise landed it, in just 10 years, among the top five global generics leaders.
Rwanda, Chile, Israel, and Iceland all are fertile ground for entrepreneurship—thanks in no small part to the efforts of their governments. Though the companies behind the products on Costco’s shelves were launched by innovative entrepreneurs, those businesses were all aided, either directly or indirectly, by government leaders who helped build environments that nurture and sustain entrepreneurship. These entrepreneurship ecosystems have become a kind of holy grail for governments around the world—in both emerging and developed countries.
Unfortunately, many governments take a misguided approach to building entrepreneurship ecosystems. They pursue some unattainable ideal of an ecosystem and look to economies that are completely unlike theirs for best practices. But increasingly, the most effective practices come from remote corners of the earth, where resources—as well as legal frameworks, transparent governance, and democratic values—may be scarce. In these places entrepreneurship has a completely new face.
The new practices are emerging murkily and by trial and error. This messiness should not deter leaders—there’s too much at stake. Governments need to exploit all available experience and commit to ongoing experimentation. They must follow an incomplete and ever-changing set of prescriptions and relentlessly review and refine them. The alternatives—taking decades to devise a model set of guidelines, acting randomly, or doing nothing—all are unacceptable. ]
In the latest Ease of Doing Business ranking from the World Bank, one country made a spectacular leap—from 143rd on the list to 67th. It was Rwanda, whose population and institutions had been decimated by genocide in the 1990s. On the World Bank list, Rwanda catapulted out of the neighborhood of Haiti, Liberia, and the West Bank and Gaza, and sailed past Italy, the Czech Republic, Turkey, and Poland. On one subindex in the study, the ease of opening a new business, Rwanda ranked 11th worldwide.
You can see and even smell the signs of Rwanda’s business revolution at Costco, one of the retail world’s most demanding trade customers, where pungent coffee grown by the nation’s small farmer-entrepreneurs is stocked on the shelves. And in Rwanda itself the evidence is dramatic—per capita GDP has almost quadrupled since 1995.
Rwanda: From Genocide to Costco’s Shelves (Located at the end of this article)
This is the kind of change entrepreneurship can bring to a country. As Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, put it recently, “Entrepreneurship is the most sure way of development.” He is not a lone voice: Economic studies from around the globe consistently link entrepreneurship, particularly the fast-growth variety, with rapid job creation, GDP growth, and long-term productivity increases.
You’ll see more palpable evidence of surprising entrepreneurial success stories on the Costco shelves. A few steps away from the Rwandan coffee, you can find fresh fish from Chile, which now ranks second only to Norway as a supplier of salmon. The Chilean fish in America’s supermarkets were supplied by hundreds of new fishing-related ventures spawned in the 1980s and 1990s. A few aisles over are memory USBs invented and manufactured in Israel, a country whose irrepressible entrepreneurs have been supplying innovative technologies to the world since the 1970s. And just around the corner, the Costco pharmacy sells generic drugs made by Iceland’s Actavis, whose meteoric rise landed it, in just 10 years, among the top five global generics leaders.
Rwanda, Chile, Israel, and Iceland all are fertile ground for entrepreneurship—thanks in no small part to the efforts of their governments. Though the companies behind the products on Costco’s shelves were launched by innovative entrepreneurs, those businesses were all aided, either directly or indirectly, by government leaders who helped build environments that nurture and sustain entrepreneurship. These entrepreneurship ecosystems have become a kind of holy grail for governments around the world—in both emerging and developed countries.
Unfortunately, many governments take a misguided approach to building entrepreneurship ecosystems. They pursue some unattainable ideal of an ecosystem and look to economies that are completely unlike theirs for best practices. But increasingly, the most effective practices come from remote corners of the earth, where resources—as well as legal frameworks, transparent governance, and democratic values—may be scarce. In these places entrepreneurship has a completely new face.
The new practices are emerging murkily and by trial and error. This messiness should not deter leaders—there’s too much at stake. Governments need to exploit all available experience and commit to ongoing experimentation. They must follow an incomplete and ever-changing set of prescriptions and relentlessly review and refine them. The alternatives—taking decades to devise a model set of guidelines, acting randomly, or doing nothing—all are unacceptable.
But the government cannot do everything on its own; the private and nonprofit sectors too must shoulder some responsibility. In numerous instances corporate executives, family-business owners, universities, professional organizations, foundations, labor organizations, financiers, and, of course, entrepreneurs themselves have initiated and even financed entrepreneurship education, conferences, research, and policy advocacy. As we shall show later in this article, sometimes private initiative makes it easier for governments to act more quickly and effectively, and all stakeholders—government and otherwise—should take every chance to show real leadership.
To make progress, leaders need practical if imperfect maps and navigational guidelines. From what we know from both research and practice, here’s what seems to actually work in stimulating thriving entrepreneurship ecosystems.
Nine Prescriptions for Creating an Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
The entrepreneurship ecosystem consists of a set of individual elements—such as leadership, culture, capital markets, and open-minded customers—that combine in complex ways. (See the exhibit “Do You Have a Strong Entrepreneurship Ecosystem?”) In isolation, each is conducive to entrepreneurship but insufficient to sustain it. That’s where many governmental efforts go wrong—they address only one or two elements. Together, however, these elements turbocharge venture creation and growth. When integrating them into one holistic system, government leaders should focus on these nine key principles.
Do You Have a Strong Entrepreneurship Ecosystem? (Located at the end of this article)
1: Stop Emulating Silicon Valley.
The nearly universal ambition of becoming another Silicon Valley sets governments up for frustration and failure. There is little argument that Silicon Valley is the “gold standard” entrepreneurship ecosystem, home to game-changing giants such as Intel, Oracle, Google, eBay, and Apple. The Valley has it all: technology, money, talent, a critical mass of ventures, and a culture that encourages collaborative innovation and tolerates failure. So it is understandable when public leaders throughout the world point to California and say, “I want that.”
Yet, Valley envy is a poor guide for three reasons. One is that, ironically, even Silicon Valley could not become itself today if it tried. Its ecosystem evolved under a unique set of circumstances: a strong local aerospace industry, the open California culture, Stanford University’s supportive relationships with industry, a mother lode of invention from Fairchild Semiconductor, a liberal immigration policy toward doctoral students, and pure luck, among other things. All those factors set off a chaotic evolution that defies definitive determination of cause and effect.
Further, Silicon Valley is fed by an overabundance of technology and technical expertise. Developing “knowledge-based industry”—the mantra of governments everywhere—is an admirable aspiration, but achieving it requires a massive, generation-long investment in education as well as the ability to develop world-class intellectual property. On top of that, a knowledge industry demands an enormous technology pipeline and scrap pile. Consider that top venture capitalists invest in at best 1% of the technology-based businesses they look at, and a significant proportion of that select group fails.
A third limit is that although Silicon Valley sounds as if it’s a place that breeds local ventures, in reality it’s as much a powerful magnet for ready-made entrepreneurs, who flock there from around the globe, often forming their own ethnic subcultures and organizations in what Gordon Moore, one of the Valley’s graybeards, calls an “industry of transplants.” And difficult as it is to foster an ecosystem that encourages current inhabitants to make the entrepreneurial choice and then succeed at it, it is even harder to create an entrepreneur’s “Mecca.”
2: Shape the Ecosystem Around Local Conditions.
If not Silicon Valley, then what entrepreneurial vision should government leaders aspire to? The most difficult, yet crucial, thing for a government is to tailor the suit to fit its own local entrepreneurship dimensions, style, and climate.
The striking dissimilarities of Rwanda, Chile, Israel, and Iceland illustrate the principle that leaders can and must foster homegrown solutions—ones based on the realities of their own circumstances, be they natural resources, geographic location, or culture. Rwanda’s government took a strongly interventionist strategy in the postgenocide years, identifying three local industries (coffee, tea, and tourism) that had proven potential for development. It actively organized the institutions that would support those industries by, for example, training farmers to grow and package coffee to international standards and connecting them to overseas distribution channels. Rwanda’s immediate priority was to provide gainful employment to millions of people. Its efforts led to about 72,000 new ventures, almost entirely consisting of two- and three-person operations, which in a decade tripled exports and reduced poverty by 25%.
Chile also focused on industries where it had copious natural resources—such as fishing. As in Rwanda, the government took a powerfully interventionist approach to its entrepreneurship ecosystem in Augusto Pinochet’s early years, and the dictator’s free-market ideology made it easier for Chile’s middle class to obtain financing and licenses for fishing operations. The government also weakened labor (sometimes brutally) to reduce new ventures’ input costs and kept Chile’s currency inexpensive to maintain competitiveness in export markets.
Natural resources often are not a key component of an ecosystem, however. Frequently, entrepreneurship is stimulated when such resources are scarce, requiring people to be more inventive. Taiwan, Iceland, Ireland, and New Zealand, resource-poor “islands” far from major markets, all developed ecosystems based primarily on human capital. So did Israel. In the 1970s and 1980s, its unique ecosystem evolved haphazardly out of a combination of factors, including spillover from large military R&D efforts, strong diaspora connections to capital and customers, and a culture that prized frugality, education, and unconventional wisdom.
3: Engage the Private Sector from the Start.
Government cannot build ecosystems alone. Only the private sector has the motivation and perspective to develop self-sustaining, profit-driven markets. For this reason, government must involve the private sector early and let it keep or acquire a significant stake in the ecosystem’s success.
Start with a candid conversation.
One way to involve the private sector is to reach out to its representatives for early, frank advice in reducing structural barriers and formulating entrepreneur-friendly policies and programs. If the necessary expertise doesn’t exist domestically, it can often be found overseas among expatriates. In the 1980s the Taiwanese government engaged with the Taiwanese diaspora, consulting prominent executives in leading U.S. technology companies and establishing ongoing forums to collect their input. The government actually built programs based on the suggestions of these expats, who liked how their ideas were implemented so much that they returned home in droves in the 1990s, many of them to occupy prominent policy positions or run the new plants that were established. For example, Morris Chang, the former group vice president of Texas Instruments, came home and eventually set up and ran TSMC, Taiwan’s second semiconductor-fabricating plant.
Taiwan: Bringing Expat Entrepreneurs Home (Located at the end of this article)
Design in self-liquidation.
In 1993 the Israeli government created Yozma, a $100 million fund of funds that in three years spawned 10 venture capital funds. In each one, Yozma, an Israeli private partner, and a foreign private partner with proven fund management expertise all invested approximately equal amounts. From the start, the Israeli government gave the private sector partners an option to buy out its interest in the funds at attractive terms—a fact often overlooked by other governments that copy the Yozma model. That option was exercised by eight of the 10 funds, profitably for the government, I might add. Five years after the founding of Yozma, its remaining assets were liquidated by auction. The government’s exit served as market proof that real value had been generated and is one of the reasons that the Israeli venture capital industry not only became self-sustaining but simultaneously achieved a quantum leap in growth.
4: Favor the High Potentials.
Many programs in emerging economies spread scarce resources among quantities of bottom-of-the-pyramid ventures. And indeed, some of them, such as the Carvajal Foundation in Cali, Colombia, have dramatically increased income for segments of the population. But focusing resources there to the exclusion of high-potential ventures is a crucial mistake.
In an era when microfinance for small-scale entrepreneurs has become mainstream, the reallocation of resources to support high-potential entrepreneurs may seem elitist and inequitable. But especially if resources are limited, programs should try to focus first on ambitious, growth-oriented entrepreneurs who address large potential markets.
The social economics of high-potential ventures and small-scale employment alternatives are significantly different. Whereas 500 microfinanced sole proprietorships and one rapidly globalizing 500-person operation create the same number of jobs, many experts argue that the wealth creation, power to inspire other start-ups, labor force enrichment, and reputational value are much greater with the latter. One organization that recognizes this is Enterprise Ireland, an agency responsible for supporting the growth of world-class Irish companies. It has created a program specifically to provide mentoring and financial assistance to high-potential start-ups, which it defines as ventures that are export-oriented, are based on innovative technology, and can generate at least €1 million in sales and 10 jobs in three years. The global nonprofit Endeavor, which focuses on entrepreneurship development in 10 emerging economies, has to date “adopted” some 440 “high-impact entrepreneurs,” who, with Endeavor’s mentoring, are turning their successes into role models for their countrymen.
Not all high-potential ventures are technology based; in fact, I’d argue that the majority are not. SABIS is a perfect example. An educational management organization founded in Lebanon many years ago as one school, SABIS now is one of the world’s largest EMOs, teaching more than 65,000 students in 15 countries, with the goal of reaching 5 million students by 2020.
5: Get a Big Win on the Board.
It has become clear in recent years that even one success can have a surprisingly stimulating effect on an entrepreneurship ecosystem—by igniting the imagination of the public and inspiring imitators. I call this effect the “law of small numbers.” Skype’s adoption by millions and eventual $2.6 billion sale to eBay reverberated throughout the small nation of Estonia, encouraging highly trained technical people to start their own companies. In China, Baidu’s market share and worldwide recognition have inspired an entire generation of new entrepreneurs. Celtel’s amazing success as sub-Saharan Africa’s leading regional mobile provider and acquisition by Zain for more than $3 billion stirred the region’s pride and helped African governments fight “Africa fright” among investors. In Ireland it was Elan Corporation and Iona Technologies, listed on Nasdaq in 1984 and 1997, respectively, that served as guiding lights to a generation of budding entrepreneurs.
Sub-Saharan Africa: Building Shareholder Value—and Better Government (Located at the end of this article)
Early, visible successes help reduce the perception of entrepreneurial barriers and risks, and highlight the tangible rewards. Even modest successes can have an impact. Saudi Arabia, a nation with a dearth of entrepreneurial ventures (aside from the powerful family business groups), is fighting hard to tear down the numerous structural and cultural obstacles entrepreneurs face. One young Saudi, Abdullah Al-Munif, left his salaried job, tightened his belt, fought the bureaucracy, and started a business making chocolate-covered dates. He ultimately grew the business, Anoosh, into a national chain of 10 high street stores and turned an eye to overseas markets. Now when Al-Munif appears as a panelist at entrepreneurship seminars, he is swamped by aspiring Saudi entrepreneurs who take inspiration from his bravery, realizing that neither capital, nor technology, nor connections are essential to success.
Overcelebrate the successes.
Governments should be bold about celebrating thriving entrepreneurial ventures. Media events, highly publicized awards, and touts in government literature, speeches, and interviews all have an impact.
This is not as straightforward as it may seem, because many cultures discourage any public display of success as boastful or an invitation to either bad luck or the tax collector. Whereas in Hong Kong even small-scale entrepreneurs drive black Mercedes to project their status, in the Middle East flaunting one’s success publicly can attract the envy of neighbors or, worse, the evil eye.
Kenya’s first international call center, KenCall, founded by Nicholas Nesbitt and two partners in 2004, built an international presence by overcoming many bureaucratic and structural barriers, including the lack of a high-speed optical fiber hookup to the international communications grid. The Kenyan government didn’t wait until KenCall became big to sing its praises; even when it was a fledgling operation, the government brought in foreign delegations for visits, promoted the company in official publications and press releases, and hosted an international outsourcing conference. Government officials also used KenCall’s example to push for reforms, which expedited the construction of East Africa’s first undersea optical fiber link—an example of how entrepreneurial success can facilitate structural change, not just the other way around.
6: Tackle Cultural Change Head-On.
Changing a deeply ingrained culture is enormously difficult, but both Ireland and Chile demonstrate that it is possible to alter social norms about entrepreneurship in less than a generation. Until the 1980s employment in government, financial services, or agriculture was the main aspiration of Ireland’s young people. There was zero tolerance for loan defaults, and bankruptcy was stigmatized. Parents discouraged their children from setting out on their own, so few nurtured dreams of starting their own business. But by the 1990s, after successful pioneers paved the way, hundreds of new software companies had been launched in Ireland. Some exported products; some went public. Many achieved healthy sales revenues. Just as important, entrepreneurs learned that it was possible to fail and regroup to try again. “If you wanted to be respected and taken seriously, you needed to be a founder with a stake in a company trying to do something,” recalls Barry Murphy, who was national software director at Enterprise Ireland’s predecessor in the 1990s.
In her research, University of Minnesota professor Rachel Schurman has described how Chileans’ negative image of entrepreneurs as greedy exploiters was transformed in just one decade, as a direct result of the Chilean government’s concerted effort to liberalize Chile’s economy. Until the 1980s, Chile’s well-educated middle class wasn’t entrepreneurial, avoided opportunity-driven investment, and preferred to consume rather than save and invest. But by the 1990s, Chile’s new middle-class entrepreneurs were telling Schurman: “Today the youth, everybody, wants to be an entrepreneur. If a successful empresario is interviewed in the newspaper, everybody reads it. Why was he successful? How did he do it? It’s a model that never existed before....”
The media can play an important role not just in celebrating wins but in changing attitudes. In Puerto Rico, El Nuevo Día, the largest daily newspaper, supported local entrepreneurship by running a weekly page of start-up success stories. On the small island, these stories have quickly become part of the social dialogue and have raised awareness about the opportunities entrepreneurship presents, as well as the tools it requires.
7: Stress the Roots.
It’s a mistake to flood even high-potential entrepreneurs with easy money: More is not necessarily merrier. New ventures must be exposed early to the rigors of the market. Just as grape growers withhold water from their vines to extend their root systems and make their grapes produce more-concentrated flavor, governments should “stress the roots” of new ventures by meting out money carefully, to ensure that entrepreneurs develop toughness and resourcefulness. Such measures also help weed out opportunists.
In 2006 Malaysia’s Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development awarded 90% of some 21,000 applicants about $5,000 each in business support, strong evidence of the government’s commitment to entrepreneurship. The program was part of an affirmative action program largely aimed at indigenous Malays, who were less entrepreneurial than the country’s business-minded Chinese immigrants. Yet Malay entrepreneurs themselves attribute the disappointing results partly to the fact that funding was too loose and even stigmatized the Malay recipients as less capable. More broadly, Malaysian entrepreneurship-development programs, considered by many, including myself, to be among the most comprehensive programs in the world, have been criticized for actually inhibiting entrepreneurship among the Malays by unwittingly reinforcing their lack of risk taking. Similarly, recent reports on South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment program have reached the conclusion that BEE has discouraged entrepreneurship among the bulk of black South Africans and has benefited primarily the elite and well-connected.
In fact, the hardships of resource-scarce, even hostile, environments often promote entrepreneurial resourcefulness. New Zealanders call Kiwi ingenuity “number 8 wire”: In the country’s colonial days, the only plentiful resource was 8-gauge fencing wire, and New Zealanders learned to fix and make anything with it. Icelandic entrepreneurship is built upon a legacy of “fishing when the fish are there, not when the weather is good.”
For years incubators or entrepreneurship centers that provide financial help, mentoring, and often space to start-ups have been popular with governments. But I have seen scant rigorous evidence that these expensive programs contribute commensurately to entrepreneurship. One municipality in Latin America established 30 small incubators, but after several years only one venture out of more than 500 assisted by them had reached annual sales of $1 million. Though Israel’s renowned incubator program has helped launch more than 1,300 new ventures, relatively few of them have been big entrepreneurial successes. On the basis of my discussions with Israeli officials, I estimate that, among the hundreds of Israeli ventures that have been acquired at hefty valuations or taken public, at best 5% were hatched in incubators. And incubators definitely are not a quick fix. When well conceived and well managed, they can take 20 years or longer to generate a measurable impact on entrepreneurship. Poorly conceived and managed, they can be white elephants.
8: Don’t Overengineer Clusters; Help Them Grow Organically.
No government official ever got fired for promoting clusters—those concentrations of interconnected companies, specialized suppliers, service providers, training institutions, and support organizations formed around a technology or end product within one area or region. Popularized by Harvard Business School’s Michael Porter, cluster strategies have been promoted by governments throughout the world, which tout clusters’ key role in fostering entrepreneurship and economic competitiveness. Though entrepreneurial clusters do exist naturally and can be important elements of an ecosystem, there is only questionable anecdotal evidence that governments can play a major role in breeding them. In a rare critique of the cluster mantra, the Economist reported:
“Typically governments pick a promising part of their country, ideally one that has a big university nearby, and provide a pot of money that is meant to kick-start entrepreneurship under the guiding hand of benevolent bureaucrats....It has been an abysmal failure....Experts at Insead looked at efforts by the German government to create biotechnology clusters on a par with those found in California and concluded that ‘Germany has essentially wasted $20 billion—and now Singapore is well on its way to doing the same.’ An assessment by the World Bank of Singapore’s multibillion dollar efforts to create a ‘biopolis’ reckoned that it had only a 50-50 chance of success. Some would put it less than that.”
The problem is that over the years people have mistaken Porter’s description of the benefits of clusters for a prescription to go out and build them from scratch. In fact, in a 1998 article in this magazine (“Clusters and the New Economics of Competition”) Porter himself anticipated that the dynamics of clusters would be misunderstood by governments:
“Government...should reinforce and build on existing and emerging clusters rather than attempt to create entirely new ones....In fact, most clusters form independently of government action—and sometimes in spite of it. They form where a foundation of locational advantages exists. To justify cluster development efforts, some seeds of a cluster should have already passed a market test....”
Medellín: From Crime-Worn City to Entrepreneurial Breeding Ground (Located at the end of this article)
Governments would be better advised to remain sector neutral and to unleash rather than harness people’s entrepreneurial energies. They should observe which direction entrepreneurs take and “pave the footpath” by gently encouraging supportive economic activity to form around already successful ventures, rather than planning new sidewalks, pouring the concrete, and keeping the entrepreneurs off the grass. Yet this unglamorous but practical insight is often lost as cluster theory gets translated into government policies that are suspiciously akin to debunked centralized industrial planning.
9: Reform Legal, Bureaucratic, and Regulatory Frameworks.
The right legal and regulatory frameworks are critical to thriving entrepreneurship. I have saved the discussion of them for last, however, because they are often the first and exclusive focus of governments, and I’ve been trying to show that government has a more comprehensive, holistic role to play. Furthermore, legal and regulatory reforms often take many years to push through, and entrepreneurship frequently occurs in their absence. In fact, numerous entrepreneurs have succeeded despite inhibiting legislation and bureaucracy, and have gone on to use their wealth and status to push for reform. Finally, reform won’t be truly effective in the absence of all the “softer” approaches government can take to building ecosystems, such as breaking down cultural barriers, educating entrepreneurs, and promoting success stories.
Extensive research points to a number of reforms that have a positive impact on venture creation: decriminalizing bankruptcy, shielding shareholders from creditors, and allowing entrepreneurs to quickly start over. Another helpful reform is to shift workers’ unemployment protection from making termination difficult to providing support for the unemployed. Creating and liberalizing capital markets, such as the UK’s Alternative Investment Market, can have a stimulating effect as well.
Simplified tax regimes and strong auditing and collection also facilitate entrepreneurship. In Puerto Rico, for example, an ineffective tax regime actually encourages many entrepreneurs to stay small and under the radar so that they can keep treating many personal expenses as business investments; in this, Puerto Rico is far from unique.
All else being equal, removing administrative and legal barriers to venture formation is a better way to go than creating incentives to overcome barriers. In 2008 the French government, long frustrated by its business sector’s lack of entrepreneurial spirit, implemented the Auto-entrepreneur program. It simplified the legal process for creating a small business, allowed entrepreneurs to avoid onerous tax prepayments, and eliminated other disincentives. Over 300,000 new businesses have been started in France under the program—more than 10,000 new starts a month. Admittedly, the overwhelming majority are essentially sole proprietorships, and it remains to be seen how many, if any, will evolve into true growth companies. But as one observer noted, “Perhaps the biggest impact will be to reverse long-held negative attitudes in France about starting a small business.” And France’s bold experiment will be an unmitigated success if even one out of a thousand auto-entrepreneurs launches a growth company.
Experiment Relentlessly Yet Holistically
Creating an entire ecosystem is a daunting challenge, but you have to jump in and cover all the bases. Taiwan, for example, strengthened several elements of its ecosystem more or less simultaneously. It encouraged research in integrated-circuit design and manufacturing, established Hsinchu Science Park near Taipei, began running integrated-circuit training programs, engaged with U.S.-based Taiwanese technology executives, and passed laws to encourage the development of an indigenous venture capital industry. Israel’s Yozma succeeded because it was embedded in an emerging ecosystem that already included some two dozen Israeli public technology ventures, two operating venture capital funds, eager angels and institutional investors, U.S. investment bankers with local operations, professional support services catering to entrepreneurs, and a rich deal flow.
In fact, ignoring the interconnected nature of the ecosystem elements can lead to perverse outcomes. Encouraging young people to have entrepreneurial aspirations, for example, can have a boomerang effect and cause brain drain if those aspirations are foiled by a hostile environment. As Harvard Business School professor Josh Lerner has reported, creating venture capital funds that lack a deal flow and an appropriate incentive structure, like the ones set up by Canada’s Labor Fund Program, can actually retard the formation of a private equity sector. Easy government money, handed out indiscriminately, will flood the market with overvalued, poor-quality deals, making it difficult for private equity investors to make money.
Of course, it is neither realistic nor practical to change everything at once. Having a clear map of what an entire ecosystem looks like will help governments take the first steps without losing sight of what comes next.
Effecting such fundamental change in the midst of so much uncertainty requires endless experimentation and learning, and it is important for governments around the world to learn from one another as well, something that doesn’t happen often enough. And everyone trying to build an ecosystem should keep in mind that the work is never really done. Two things recently brought this home to me. The first was the launch, by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Boston, of a global business-idea competition, MassChallenge. The second was a remark made by an old friend, a prominent Israeli economist and one of the pioneering advocates of technological entrepreneurship: “We don’t do enough to promote entrepreneurial growth in Israel, and if we don’t start soon, we will lose our edge.”
Now, Massachusetts and Israel are two of the most entrepreneurial places in the world. If they’re not satisfied and resting on their laurels, it is a sign that the horizon is always receding—that you can never have “enough” entrepreneurship, there are no right answers, and there is no choice but for policy makers and leaders to continue to experiment and learn how to enhance their ecosystems.
Although the story never ends, the action principles I have listed will help governments move the needle of entrepreneurship in the right direction. Engaging the private sector, modifying cultural norms, removing regulatory barriers, encouraging and celebrating successes, passing conducive legislation, being judicious in emphasizing clusters and incubators, subjecting financing programs to market rigors, and, above all, approaching the entrepreneurship ecosystem as a whole will allow governments to create economic growth by stimulating self-sustaining venture creation. Ireland’s president, Mary McAleese, recognized the extraordinary effect that could have on a society. In 2003 she said: “Today an educated, self-confident, and achieving generation can see the power of its own genius at work in its own land as a culture of entrepreneurship transforms Ireland’s fortunes, creating a new future for our children and an economic success story of remarkable proportions.”
Rwanda: From Genocide to Costco’s Shelves
Considering that less than two decades ago, almost one million people were slaughtered in Rwanda in 100 days, the country’s current standing in global business circles is stunning.
Promoting entrepreneurship has been a key plank of President Paul Kagame’s agenda for the nation. In 2001 he launched the Rwanda National Innovation and Competitiveness initiative, which, among other efforts, developed a “national coffee strategy” focused on building a Rwandan Bourbon Specialty Coffee brand. With help from OTF Group consultants, it also identified over $100 million worth of investments to improve coffee washing, production, capacity, and marketing. A partnership among agricultural institutes in Rwanda, Michigan State University, and Texas A&M worked to connect local growers to U.S. and European specialty coffee buyers. Two notable events happened in 2006: Starbucks gave Rwanda’s Blue Bourbon brand of coffee beans its Black Apron award and introduced it in its stores, and on a visit to the U.S. Kagame met with Costco’s CEO, Jim Sinegal, to promote Rwandan coffee. Costco would later become one of the two biggest buyers of Rwandan coffee, purchasing an estimated 25% of the country’s premium crop.
Do You Have a Strong Entrepreneurship Ecosystem?
How do you know if you have the essential elements of an entrepreneurship ecosystem in place? To help governments address that question, Babson College has launched a global action-research project, the Babson Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Project. Below is a summary of the framework BEEP uses to assess the crucial elements in an environment, so that governments know where to focus their efforts. Each category represents a key component of a healthy ecosystem. Though not exhaustive, the sample questions listed below will help you gauge where you are.
Do public leaders:
Act as strong, public advocates of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship?
Open their doors to entrepreneurs and those promoting entrepreneurship?
Do governments:
Create effective institutions directly associated with entrepreneurship (research institutes, overseas liaisons, forums for public-private dialogue)?
Remove structural barriers to entrepreneurship, such as onerous bankruptcy legislation and poor contract enforcement?
Does the culture at large:
Tolerate honest mistakes, honorable failure, risk taking, and contrarian thinking?
Respect entrepreneurship as a worthy occupation?
Are there visible success stories that:
Inspire youth and would-be entrepreneurs?
Show ordinary people that they too can become entrepreneurs?
Are there enough knowledgeable people who:
Have experience in creating organizations, hiring, and building structures, systems, and controls?
Have experience as professional board members and advisers?
Are there capital sources that:
Provide equity capital for companies at a pre-sales stage?
Add nonmonetary value, such as mentorship and contacts?
Are there nonprofits and industry associations that:
Help investors and entrepreneurs network and learn from one another?
Promote and ally themselves with entrepreneurship (such as software and biotechnology associations)?
Are there educational institutions that:
Teach financial literacy and entrepreneurship to high school and college students?
Allow faculty to take sabbaticals to join start-ups?
Does the public infrastructure provide sufficient:
Transportation (roads, airports, railways, container shipping)?
Communication (digital, broadband, mobile)?
Are there geographic locations that have:
Concentrations of high-potential and high-growth ventures?
Proximity to universities, standards agencies, think tanks, vocational training, suppliers, consulting firms, and professional associations?
Are there formal or informal groups that link:
Entrepreneurs in the country or region and diaspora networks—in particular, high-achieving expatriates?
New ventures and local offices of multinationals?
Are there venture-oriented professionals, such as:
Lawyers, accountants, and market and technical consultants who will work on a contingency basis, or for stock?
Are there local potential customers who are:
Willing to give advice, particularly on new products or services?
Willing to be flexible with payment terms to accommodate the cash flow needs of young, rapidly growing suppliers?
Taiwan: Bringing Expat Entrepreneurs Home
Taiwan is an example of how determined government leaders can transform a brain drain into a brain gain.
As University of California Professor AnnaLee Saxenian has reported, that story begins in the 1960s, when engineers left Taiwan in droves to study and work in the United States. During that decade Taiwan’s government leaders recognized the country’s need for entrepreneurship and began sending delegations to Silicon Valley to learn about how it had blossomed there. By the 1970s many Taiwanese engineers had become technology executives in the U.S. They joined expat industry associations and met on an ongoing basis with policy makers in Taiwan to discuss technical and, later, policy developments. In the 1980s Premier Y.S. Sun established the Science and Technology Advisory Group (STAG), which included 15 prominent Taiwanese expats (as well as some non-Taiwanese technology executives), to help the government build the scientific and educational infrastructure for an entire generation of technology entrepreneurs.
STAG and other consultations with U.S.-based expats were so successful in helping the government strengthen Taiwan’s entrepreneurship ecosystem that the brain drain began to reverse. Between 1988 and 1998, 40,000 Taiwanese engineers returned home to pursue—and create—opportunities. Many became senior executives in new companies, heads of government research and training institutes, entrepreneurs, or venture capitalists, forming the human capital backbone of Taiwan’s burgeoning IT components industry.
Sub-Saharan Africa: Building Shareholder Value—and Better Government
The story of Mo Ibrahim illustrates how brute-force entrepreneurial success can have a potentially large impact on an ecosystem.
Ibrahim founded a mobile operator, Celtel, in sub-Saharan Africa, which succeeded in building tremendous shareholder value in the face of violent conflict, corrupt governments, and the worst global telecommunications investment market in decades. Celtel’s shareholders made a killing when the owners of Zain acquired the company in 2005. Ibrahim used his newfound wealth to create the Ibrahim Index to monitor governance in Africa and the $5 million Ibrahim Prize to reward democratic leadership. Already bestowed twice, the prize is sending a loud and positive signal to government leaders to enact courageous reform.
Medellín: From Crime-Worn City to Entrepreneurial Breeding Ground
Perhaps no city has worked harder to turn itself around than Medellín, Colombia, which for two decades was blighted by drugs and homicide.
When Sergio Fajardo became Medellín’s mayor, in 2003, he brought about a revolutionary cultural change, creating a legitimate entrepreneurial business environment. With a coalition of universities, new private equity funds, large companies such as the local power utility (EPM), private entrepreneurs, the nonprofit Proantioquia Foundation, the social cooperative Comfama, and some diaspora Medellínians, his administration forged a strategy of inclusive prosperity. One of Fajardo’s focuses was building beautifully designed, technologically advanced public libraries and community centers in the rankest barrios, and setting up microfinance programs to help the poor. Fajardo’s other strategies included establishing innovation centers and earmarking a whopping 40% of his budget for education and $17 million a year to stimulate entrepreneurship. They seemed to succeed by driving out drugs, creating optimism, and reducing violence to the point where Medellín is now statistically safer than Washington, DC, and many other U.S. cities.
Copyright © 2010 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.
Written By
Daniel J. Isenberg ( disen@babson.edu) is a professor of management practice at Babson College and executive director of the Babson Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Project. His most recent HBR article was “The Global Entrepreneur” (December 2008).
Copyright © 2010 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School.

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