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

  • Measurement of business activity has advanced scientifically more slowly than measurement of household activity. As a result, many of our limitations in understanding the complexities of entrepreneurship stem from a basic lack of data – something the Kauffman Foundation is working to change.

Highlights

  • With interactive graphs based on 16 years of data about entrepreneurial startups, our new data visualization tool reveals surprising trends.


  • Bloggers highlightSome of the country's most widely read economic bloggers, who have built loyal Web audiences by offering in-depth economic analysis and provocative commentary, share their insights in a newly released video produced by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

  • 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.


  • 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:$613,950

    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.

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Featured Resources