ESMEE

Achieving societal missions requires radical innovations by entrepreneurs, who are able to act outside the status quo, and are driven by sustainability concerns. Yet, the Netherlands has a low level of sustainable entrepreneurship. 

Regional conditions are critical to increasing the prevalence and success of sustainable entrepreneurship, which is why Regional Development Agencies are keen to improve their effectiveness in stimulating sustainable entrepreneurship to accomplish societal missions. However, it is not known yet how entrepreneurial ecosystems can be continuously improved in a context-specific way to enable sustainable entrepreneurship to achieve societal missions.

Target group

The Dutch Regional Development Agencies

Approach

The ESMEE project uses a data-and-dialogue driven entrepreneurial ecosystem approach to improve the functioning of mission-driven innovation systems, in which scientific analysis and systemic co-design are combined with the goal of achieving impact. 

A big data approach is used to identify sustainable entrepreneurship in regions and to understand which regional conditions make them thrive. The focus is on missions around (1) energy transition and sustainability, and (2) agrifood that are in the focus of Regional Development Agencies. Regional dashboards and road maps are jointly developed to improve regional conditions. Our ongoing learning community is the centre where our results are synthesized and insights gained feed back into research.

Duration

01-01-2023 till 31-12-2027

Funding

NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research)

Results

By Enabling Societal Missions through Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (ESMEE), the social earning capacity of regions will increase, and enable sustainable entrepreneurs to realize much-needed innovations for societal missions. 

More info: ESMEE – Enabling Societal Missions through Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

Collaboration

Utrecht University, InHolland UAS, Utrecht UAS, Rathenau Institute, the Dutch Regional Development Agencies, Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Province of Utrecht, the municipalities of Amersfoort and Utrecht, Birch consultants, Hilversum Mediastad.

Team

Research group Designing Value Networks:
Christine de Lille
Liliya Terzieva

Contact

Armand van Oostrom
[email protected]