NGA Announces Ten States for Entrepreneurship Academy

The National Governors’ Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices, with support from the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (KCEL), will convene an 18-month policy academy this fall to help officials from ten states to develop strategies governors can use to support entrepreneurship. Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, Utah, Washington and Wyoming were selected to participate in the policy academy project.

"The policy academy will involve a high level commitment by the states to achieve demonstrable results," said incoming Center Board Chair, Michigan Governor John Engler. "Governors will appoint teams of eight to ten senior staff, cabinet officials and entrepreneurs who will work together as a state team, led by a Governor’s policy advisor. Each team will share information and gain perspective from similar teams representing other states."

Academy teams will participate in two intensive three-day sessions. Teams will hold in-state planning meetings throughout the course of the project and technical assistance will be available. The Center will develop a Web page and produce publications to raise awareness of issues identified throughout the policy academy process and to provide examples of state best practices relevant to increasing entrepreneurship. With the support of KCEL, the Center will convene a national forum on entrepreneurship at the conclusion of the project, uniting governors and their policy advisors, legislators, and entrepreneurs to engage in a national dialogue about the importance of building entrepreneurial capacity in the states.



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