Research and Policy

Understanding and Advancing the Field

To develop effective programs and help inform policy that will best advance entrepreneurship and education, we must determine what we know, commit to finding the answers to what we don’t, and then apply that knowledge to how we operate as a Foundation. Our research is contributing to a broader and more in-depth understanding of what drives innovation and economic growth in an entrepreneurial world.

Robert Litan, vice president of Research and Policy

Insights

  • At the 2008 Kauffman-Max Planck Institute Summit, more than a dozen speakers from Europe, the United States, and Israel, representing some of the finest institutions and freshest thinking on the planet, convened to explore in depth the ways research universities can foster entrepreneurship in the societies around them. The result is this unprecedented volume of essays and discussion synopses, which provides ideas and practical examples for the entrepreneurial research university.

Highlights

  • Econonomic Future Just Happened coverA new study, The Economic Future Just Happened, found that more than half of the companies on the 2009 Fortune 500 list were launched during a recession or bear market, and that these new firms steadily recreate the economy, generating jobs and innovations.


  • Life Without Lawyers, a new book by Philip K. Howard, founder and chair of Common Good, describes the historical and cultural forces that have led to the flood of rules and legal threats that stifle innovations and suffocate the vitality of nation’s economy. Howard outlines the shift in approach needed to restore balance, rebuild coherent boundaries, and provide incentives for entrepreneurs' inventive spirit.

    Common Good is a legal reform coalition dedicated to restoring common sense to America. With Kauffman Foundation support, the nonprofit, non-partisan organization seeks to develop practical solutions to restore reliability to our legal system and minimize the impact of legal fear in American life.

    View a conversation with Philip K. Howard  

  • The US Census Bureau provides new insight into the dynamic lifecycle of employment in new and existing businesses through its Business Dynamics Statistics.

  • National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. 

    Cambridge, MA | Approved Date: 3/11/2008 | Approved Amount: $2,938,925

    Support research by the Entrepreneurship Working Group, the Innovation Policy and the Economy Working Group, and the Entrepreneurship Research Boot Camp at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

  • President and Fellows of Harvard College aka Harvard University

    Cambridge, MA | Approved Date: 6/20/2008 | Approved Amount: $2,752,339

    Support development of the Legal Lab Network at Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet and Society.

  • Tables/Sponsorships

    Approved Aggregated Amount:$620,960

    Our commitment to civic engagement provides a range of opportunities to support special events, table sponsorships, and annual gatherings designed to raise funds for Kansas City area nonprofit organizations. This entry represents the aggregated amount of these contributions.

    • View More Grants 

Featured Resources

  • The Ascent of Money, a PBS series produced with funding from the Kauffman Foundation, tells the compelling history of money, credit, bonds, stocks, insurance, real estate, globalization, hedge funds, computer models of investing, and behavioral finance.

  • The U.S. venture capital industry is at an inflection point. It has had many successes over the last three decades, and is prominent worldwide for its role in financially catalyzing notable, high-growth companies. More recently, however, venture capital returns have stagnated and declined, with the industry having seen little recovery since its go-go days of the late 1990s.

  • Knowledge Economy Immigration coverThe single most important policy reform that will boost long-term economic growth in the United States is to reduce the barriers facing highly skilled and highly educated immigrants.

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