Lars,
On Thu, Nov 1, 2012 at 4:41 AM, lars hasselblad torres <[email protected]>wrote: > Alex, thanks for the insights - > > Perhaps my interest didn't come through clearly: what I'm looking for are > stories of support and collaboration, which can take many forms. We have > growing relationships with mayors, city councilors, and legislators. We > both offer and seek support, depending on the need, opportunity, and > context. What I'm looking for here are some stories about how those > relationships have worked, how have the hands washed each other? > We have multiple stories with various forms of government agencies. Are there specifics that you want? Some of the stories are up at http://whatisgangplankhq.com. We generally work with economic development departments, but have probably dealt with nearly every local government department in our work. We have had locations on university campuses (Arizona State University and University of Utah) and actively co-create/deliver classes with Mesa Community College while partnering for a number of events with Chandler Gilbert Community College. A good example here is that, as Vermont seeks to redefine itself during a > period of economic transition (ag economy to tech, for example), > legislators are often at a loss to describe a roadmap, identify the > entrepreneurial ecology, and talk cogently about a role for government > (inducements, regulatory, etc). At the municipal level, were often talking > about funds for entrepreneurs out of revolving loan funds. If the city can > package these with the support of coworking spaces - the mentoring, > networks, and reduced overhead - it can be a win. Same thing for our state > SBA. > We find that it is important to not be solely focused on technology, but rather to understand a cities unique DNA. What is it's creative gene sequence, how can you embrace that, how can you amplify it? Space is crucial, but we find startup funding is often best left to private industry. Education, mentorship, support, space and infrastructure are all things government can readily provide pathways/solutions for. So I'm eager to hear how coworkers are tapping into governments as partners > in this work. > Here is a bit about the story of Gangplank - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt0RbQS9Udo (if you want to jump right into the government discussion go to about minute 21:00) If you have specific questions let me know. -- Derek Neighbors http://derekneighbors.com Mobile: 480-335-9746 Co-Founder of Gangplank : http://gangplankhq.com Partner at Integrum Technologies : http://integrumtech.com President of Downtown Chandler Community Partnership : http://downtownchandler.org Connect With Me Linked In : http://linkedin.com/in/dneighbors Twitter : http://twitter.com/dneighbors -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com
