community-based ventures, investing in education, mentorship, and networks. OUR ROLE As we tackle grand societal and environmental challenges, entrepreneurial universities have a role to play. Higher education institutions serve as anchors for regional development through economic and social engagement in their region and beyond. Like Lancaster, they are deeply embedded in local communities and capable of driving change. Universities contribute in multiple ways: • Knowledge creation and transfer: There is a critical role for learning, both at individual and collective levels. We can develop new perspectives and frameworks that push thinking in new directions. Universities generate ideas and technologies that can be used to address local challenges. • Entrepreneurial education: Entrepreneurial learning can foster adaptive capacities, skill development, and knowledge exchange. Networks of entrepreneurs, institutions and organisations are essential for this learning. Universities such as Lancaster are key to creating environments that facilitate continuous learning and knowledge exchange. They play a pivotal role in ensuring businesses not only survive but grow by navigating challenges and adapting to evolving market conditions. You can see it here at Lancaster with the Entrepreneurs in Residence network, with close to 100 entrepreneurs from around the world helping to educate and advise the next generation, and working closely with our research experts. • Regional engagement: Many universities actively collaborate with local government, businesses, and civil society to co-create solutions to regional problems. At Lancaster, we all had experience of the Wave 2 Growth Hubs Programme. Through this, we witnessed the importance of local context in designing and developing growth hubs. We believe it is possible to create a virtuous circle where research insights from universities are factored into and disseminated via policy-led initiatives which can impact on regional development and in turn foster new research insights with policy implications. ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEMS An entrepreneurial ecosystem includes all the elements that support or hinder entrepreneurship in a region: financial institutions, government policies, cultural attitudes, infrastructure, and more. Universities are a key part, providing talent, research, and connections. But the concept assumes all actors contribute equally, whereas the reality is that large corporations, government, and elite investors wield disproportionate influence, and underrepresented groups can be excluded. Unequal access to financial resources, skills, and networks often mean that entrepreneurship remains concentrated among privileged demographics and regions. Women, ethnic minorities and those from lower-income backgrounds face barriers to entry. We require a more inclusive and dynamic approach, one that recognises the diversity of regional contexts and actively works to reduce barriers. Regional learning ecosystems go beyond individual entrepreneurial learning to consider how entire regions can learn, adapt, and evolve. Universities again play a crucial role. By acting as hubs of knowledge exchange, they can help regions build capacity to respond to economic disruption, technological shifts, or environmental challenges. This kind of collective learning is essential for longterm resilience and sustainability. WHAT HAPPENS NOW? The question now is not whether entrepreneurship should play a role in regional development, but how it can do so in a way that is inclusive, sustainable, and context-sensitive. Key stakeholders, including industry, financial institutions and universities, contribute essential resources, knowledge, and support networks. They together create the environment in which entrepreneurship operates. By embracing their role as anchor institutions, fostering entrepreneurial learning, and engaging with their regions in meaningful ways, universities can help build ecosystems that support not just economic growth, but social and cultural growth as well. Policymakers must rethink their assumptions. They should focus on nurturing the unique strengths of each region, supporting diverse forms of entrepreneurship, and addressing the structural inequalities that hold people and places back. Strengthening entrepreneurial learning, fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration, and tackling structural inequalities are essential to ensuring entrepreneurship serves as a force for sustainable regional growth. FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 9 Ellie Hamilton is an Emerita Professor in the Department of Entrepreneurship and Strategy. She was a founder of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development, and her research encompasses entrepreneurship and innovation in dialogue with business and community. Rethinking Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, by Professor Eleanor Hamilton, of Lancaster University Management School; Dr Rhiannon Pugh, of Lund University, and Dr Danny Soetanto, of Adelaide University, is published by Edward Elgar. Dr Pugh and Dr Soetanto are both former Lancaster University Management School researchers. e.hamilton@lancaster.ac.uk
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTI5NzM=