KCSourceLink won a Gold Excellence in Economic Development Award for its KCSourceLink Annual Report: We Create KC, a project in the category of Annual Report from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC).
The honor was presented at an awards ceremony on Tuesday, Sept. 19, during the IEDC Annual Conference, which was held Sept. 17 – 20, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
KCSourceLink is an affiliate community of SourceLink, a national organization born out of the Kauffman Foundation, the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the U.S. Small Business Administration that builds entrepreneurial infrastructures in communities across the nation. Using SourceLink’s tools for measuring entrepreneurial ecosystems, including The Resource Navigator® and Biz-Trakker®, KCSourceLink has been able to map its entrepreneurial assets, asses the needs of its entrepreneurs, fill gaps in the ecosystem with relevant programming and, through the award-winning We Create KC, measure the city’s entrepreneurial infrastructure and impact.
“On behalf of the IEDC board of directors and Excellence in Economic Development Awards Advisory Committee, congratulations to SourceLink at the UMKC Innovation Center, said Michael Langley, FM, CEO of GREATER MSP, Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minn., and 2017 IEDC Board Chair. “Not only did they work to provide a necessary service to their community; but also, their participation in the awards program sheds light on their stellar projects which other communities can now use as a benchmark.”
Produced under an award from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration and with support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the annual report is organized around six imperatives identified as key areas of development in the region’s quest to nurture entrepreneurship and economic growth. The six imperatives came out of research conducted by several local organizations.
- Maximize entrepreneurial support resources
- Dramatically increase available startup and growth capital
- Create a strong entrepreneurial pipeline of ideas
- Tell the story
- Build entrepreneurial talent
- Engage the broader corporate community
The report also looks at the quadrants of entrepreneurship. The report, additional data and more entrepreneurial stories can be found at www.wecreatekc.com.
“The awards process is a thorough, non-biased and multi-layered process. These are extraordinary accomplishments for all winners, and an overall great effort by all participants. We look forward to next year’s awards competition,” Langley said.