The first four steps in building a Regional Innovation Ecosystem

Many cities and regions are keen to develop and build a regional innovation ecosystem but don’t know the first steps.

It’s a little bit of a ‘chicken and egg’ situation regarding the place and the people. I would normally start with the people, the existing entrepreneurs. In many regions, entrepreneurs are hard at work building their own businesses, engaged with customers worldwide but with little awareness or interaction with other entrepreneurs or service providers in their own back yard.

My suggestions for the first four steps of building an innovation ecosystem are:

1. Identify and boost the visibility of key people

  • Start with a list of the region's top 20 or 30 entrepreneurs. This can be done through local knowledge, a web search, an advanced search on Linkedin, etc.

  • Produce a simple hardcopy or online directory or map of entrepreneurs.

  • Many websites aimed at building an entrepreneurial community provide a list of businesses but miss a trick by not listing or profiling the entrepreneurs in the region. It is just as important to profile the people.

2. Build a community and trust via a well-connected network of entrepreneurs and service providers

  • Regular business events can build the profile of local entrepreneurs and provide a forum to bring people together and for new arrivals to plug into and build their network. Meetup is a great platform to bring people together and build a network. For example, the Peregian Beach Digital Hub supports four core network groups or tribes with around 2,000 members. Each group meets monthly with a curated program of talks, catered drinks, and pizza.

  • More informal dinners like those run by the Entrepreneurial Exchange in Scotland promote peer learning and build relationships.

  • Use online networks and mapping tools, but face-to-face contact comes first.

3. Develop support structures

  • Promote business incubators, Accelerator programs and co-working spaces.

  • Build connections with key service providers – e.g. legal, IP, accountants – with valuable knowledge and networks.

  • Create a network or panel of mentors: entrepreneurial individuals willing to put something back and increase the odds of success of a new venture.

  • Facilitate investor connections, e.g. via pitch forums, angel groups and investor-ready coaching.

4. Build a buzz and profile for the region

  • Share the success stories; you can build the profile of the region as an innovation hotspot by helping leading entrepreneurs get noticed; Silicon Prairie News does a good job in this area

  • Create a major event that gets the region noticed:

    • Big Omaha is pitched as the nation’s most fabulous conference on innovation and entrepreneurship and – in its 5th year – now attracts over 600 delegates.

    • Forward Fest on the Sunshine Coast is a five-day event that kicked off in 2021

    • Startup Iceland also runs an annual conference to help develop local entrepreneurs, link them with the world and build the community's collective strength.

    • Margaret River in Western Australia runs Emergence as a creative festival for digital businesses.

    • Get social: use websites and social media to build the community and spread the word.

These four steps are a great start in building a regional innovation ecosystem.

Colin Graham