ENTREPRENEURISM AND PUBLIC POLICY

A Graduate MPP Course by Herb Rubenstein, MPA, JD, DSS

Consisting of 12 – 3 hour classes plus an introductory class on August 27, 2001

Pre Class Reading:

            Begin reading Reinventing Government by Osborne & Gaebler, 1993 and  read Entrepreneurial Government by Anne Laurent, Associate Editor, Government Executive Magazine, which can be found at www.endowment.pwcglobal.com in pdf format (downloadable/printable) or ordered for free from The PriceWaterhouseCoopers Endowment for The Business of Government.

Introductory Class will be August 27, 2001.  There will be a guest lecturer.

Lecture 1:  My first lecture to the Class, September 10, 2001

            Defining Entrepreneurism as it relates to Public Policy

            Review of Reinventing Government

Assignment:            Complete reading Reinventing Government by Osborne & Gaebler by Lecture 2.  Read for themes, not exact details.

Create 5-10 entrepreneurial ideas to improve government and describe in Matrix form: All assignments are due at 10:00am the Friday before the following class.  Sample Matrix shell attached to syllabus.

Lecture 2:

            Review Matrices – Discussion

Lecture on how to promote entrepreneurial change in the government and how to evaluate the risks of entrepreneurial change in government.

Assignment:  Each student to pick one area, draft a memo to a real government official or Foundation as an advocate for the idea and follow up throughout the semester.

Begin Reading Breakthrough, Inc. - High Growth Strategies for Entrepreneurial Organizations by Rubenstein and Grundy

Begin to search for periodicals, websites, newspapers and other sources including non-profit organizations that provide information on entrepreneurial government programs of current interest. 

Lecture 3:

            The Entrepreneur’s Tools

·        Gap Analysis

·        Scenario Planning and Visualization

·        Root Cause and Defining Moments Analysis

·        Political, Economics, Sociological Analysis

·        Defining Moments Analysis

·        Competitive Analysis

·        Flexibility/Innovation Analysis

·        Strengths/Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Analysis

·        Stakeholder Analysis

·        Implementation Forces Analysis

·        The Business Plan/Economic Growth Plan

Assignment:            Complete reading Breakthrough, Inc.

Lecture 4:

Guest Lecture: Michael O’ Bannon, President, EOP Group

            Current Entrepreneurial Activities at the Federal Government Level

            SBA, SBIR’s, SBIC

            Department of Energy

            Department of Defense

Department of Commerce

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Department of Interior

Assignment:            Peruse Understanding the Federal Budget Process, The EOP Foundation to determine if there are entrepreneurial programs at the Federal Government Level

Students Search for Entrepreneurial Activities at Federal Level from other sources to be identified by the students

Lecture 5:

            Student Reports and Discussion on Federal Entrepreneurial Activities

Assignment:            Develop outcome measures/evaluate measures for Entrepreneurial Programs in Matrix Format

Lecture 6:

Regulating Entrepreneurial Activities and Making Decision Rules regarding when to expand, contract or stop the program.  Is the goal of Entrepreneurism and Public Policy to improve/reform government or to reduce government?

Assignment:            Draft a set of regulations to govern an entrepreneurial program of your creation or critique an existing set of regulations. OR Write an essay on how entrepreneurism could/should result in either improving government or reducing government.  Take only one side of this argument

Lecture 7:

Guest Lecture: Isaac Gadsden, Harvard, MBA, President, Sales and Marketing Process Management, Wilmington, DE

            Review of ongoing State-level entrepreneurial activities including CIT, Mason Enterprise Center, Tax Incentives, Incubators, Venture Funds

Assignment:            Write a 5-page memo on real (actual) and perceived barriers to creating, operating and expanding entrepreneurial programs

Lecture 8:

The intellectual case for entrepreneurial government, plus ethical consideration, in designing, managing and operating an entrepreneurial government program

Assignment:            Read “Is Public Entrepreneurship Ethical? A Second Look at Theory and Practice,” by Steven Cohen and William Kimicke of the Graduate Program in Public Policy and Administration, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, May 18, 1998 available at: www.columbia.edu/cu/sipa/courses/pubman/pmr.html,

and readings from Drucker and others. Plus, Draft a Code of Ethics for an Entrepreneurial Government Program

Lecture 9:

Guest Lecturer: John Kamensky, MPA, Senior Policy Official, National Partnership for Reinventing Government, White House

The Political and Bureaucratic Processes: How to generate the political support in Legislatures and bureaucracies for entrepreneurial programs

Assignment:  Readings from sources suggested by other students.

Lecture 10:

The Role of Research in Entrepreneurial Government Programs

            NAS, Demonstration Programs, Foundations

                Assignment:  Investigate the following organizations:

·        The Urban Institute

·        Brookings

·        Urban Land Institute

·        Ford Foundation

·        Manpower Research Development Corporation

·        RAND

·        MITRE

·        The Kaufman Foundation for Entrepreneurship

·        Council on Excellence in Government

·        Plus find five other organizations of key interest in this area. 
Turn in the annotated list of the five additional organizations

Lecture 11:            Ten top ideas for future Entrepreneurial Programs at the Federal and State levels

Assignment:  Begin research and drafting on Final Exam Questions, Follow Up on Assignment given at the end of Lecture 2: Each student to pick one area, draft a memo to a real government official or Foundation as an advocate for the idea and follow up throughout the semester. 

Lecture 12:           

Guest Lecturer:      To be announced

Is Entrepreneurship and Public Policy an International Phenomenon? 

                                                And

The Role of Technology in Supporting Entrepreneurial Programs, Intrapreneurial Programs and Citizen Involvement in Developing and Implementing Government Programs

·        E-government and beyond

·        E-voting-What is Entrepreneurial in this proposal.

Final Exam:      A 10-page paper on one of four topics or three page papers on each topic below:

1.      How to promote Entrepreneurial Government activities that bridge the digital and economic divide.  Design a government program at the State or Federal Level.

2.      Argue Pro or Con: Entrepreneurial Government Programs inappropriately blur the proper distinction between government and the private sector and are not ethical.

3.      What is the proper role for Foundations and quasi-governmental organizations to play in supporting entrepreneurial government programs: Lessons from historical precedents and a guide to the future.

4.   Select your own topic to be approved by Mr. Rubenstein.

READING LIST

1.      Reinventing Government by Osborne and Graeber and selected citations footnoted.

2.      Breakthrough, Inc. – High Growth Strategies for Entrepreneurial Organizations by Rubenstein and Grundy and selected citations from the annotated bibliography.

3.      Understanding the Federal Budget Process by the EOP Foundation, Inc.

4.      Is Public Entrepreneurship Ethical: A Second Look at Theory and Practice. by Steven Cohen and William Eimicke, Public Integrity III, May 18, 1998

5.      Entrepreneurial Government:  Bureaucrats as Businesspeople, Anne Laurent,  The PriceWaterhouseCoopers Endowment for The Business of Government, 2001

6.      Each student to provide 2 additional nominations for reading by Class 5.

WEBSITES OF INTEREST

1.      futureofgovernment.com, .net and .org (in construction)

2.      futureofvoting.com, .net and .org (in construction)

3.      accessamerica.gov

4.      fedworld.gov

5.      firstgov.gov

6.      state.co.us

7.      ncgov.com/asp/basic/citizen.asp

8.      state.ga.us

9.      indygov.org

10.  pen.ci.santa-monica.ca.us/cm/index.htm

11.  ci.scottsdale.az.us

12.  cit.org

13.  Each student to provide a list of ten additional websites of interest by Class 3

PERIODICALS

1.      Vital Speeches

2.      Harvard Business Review

3.      Fast Company

4.      Strategy and Business by Booz, Allen & Hamilton

5.      Future Survey by the World Future Society

6.      Government Executive

7.      Each student to provide a list of four additional periodicals of interest by Class 4

SPECIAL NOTES

1.      Student papers may be submitted electronically to: herb@growth-strategies.com.

RELATED BOOKS SUGGESTED FOR YOUR PERUSAL

1.                  The Trouble With Government by Derek Bok

2.                  Perverse Subsidies: How Tax Dollard Can Undercut the Environment and the Economy Norman Myers and Jennifer Kent

3.                  The Market System:  What It Is, How It Works, and What to Make of It by Charles E. Lindblom

4.                  Raiding Corporate Welfare by Ralph Nader

5.                  Saving Our Children from Poverty by Barbara Bergman

6.                  Libertarianism, by David Boaz

7.                  The State of the Nation by Derek Bok

8.                  The State of Public Management by Keith and Milward

9.                  Secrets of the Temple:  How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country by Grieder

10.              Democracy and the Market,by Prezworski

11.              Sustainable Democracy, by Prezworski

12.              Do I Stand Alone by Ventura

13.              The Future of Capitalism by Lester Thurow

MATRIX TO DESCRIBE ENTREPRENEURIAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAM