Areas of Entrepreneurship Development

The following three areas of development within the region have been established as the focus of the Enitiative program’s efforts.

Technology entrepreneurship Projects focus on transforming ideas and technologies into growth-oriented startup companies. Key resources include:

Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems a regional “innovation ecosystem” pursuing research and development of “green” technologies
The New York State Science and Technology Law Center (NYS STLC) at SU’s College of Law, a world leader in the commercialization of new technologies

Neighborhood entrepreneurship Projects foster the creation of local businesses, transform depressed neighborhoods, and create economically independent residents who are engaged in the community. Successful examples include:

The South Side Innovation Center a business incubator that provides office space and support for start-up businesses and budding entrepreneurs, sharing common costs and equipment to reduce the expenses incurred in starting new businesses
The South Side Initiative, a partnership between the Southside Community Coalition and Syracuse University’s Faculty for Community Engagement, a group of professors committed to participatory research that benefits the City of Syracuse. The goal of the initiative—which is part of the University’s commitment to “Scholarship in Action”—is to restore, revitalize, and rejuvenate Syracuse’s South Side neighborhood
The Northside Collaboratory, a community revitalization initiative led by the Franciscan Collaborative Ministries on the north side of the City of Syracuse, in partnership with Le Moyne College. The collaboratory is a coalition of diverse community stakeholders whose goal is to effect change through innovative neighborhood development projects
Stardust Institute for Entrepreneurship, the cornerstone of “The Creative Corridor” located on State Street in Downtown Auburn. The Institute plans to serve as a one-stop location for those seeking assistance in starting or growing businesses or programs and activities which benefit the community. The Institute will provide incubator space to nurture budding businesses while also developing and attracting complementary organizations and businesses to the strip
The Burton Blatt Institute, located at Syracuse University, will build the premier organization to advance civic, economic, and social participation of persons with disabilities in a global society by creating a collaborative environment—with entrepreneurial innovation and best business practices—to foster public-private dialogue, and create the capacity to transform policy, systems, and people through inclusive education, the workforce, and communities
The Partnership for Better Education helps Syracuse City School District students graduate and successfully pursue higher education by providing new opportunities for quality instruction through a formal working partnership between the District, Syracuse University, Le Moyne College, SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry, Onondaga Community College, and SUNY Upstate Medical University

Arts entrepreneurship Projects focus on building a revitalized urban center around an arts and cultural community (such as the Arts Quarter in downtown Syracuse). Ongoing local projects include:

The Connective Corridor, which will demonstrate that campus and community are interdependent and can thrive together. It will feature art, technology and sustainable designs developed by students and faculty working in partnership with community artists and residents
The Near West Side Initiative, which teams designers, architects, and engineers with a neighborhood group, several local foundations, and leaders of economic development in Syracuse, to make a concerted effort to take the abandoned houses and warehouses in the Near West Side neighborhood and attract artists from our region and elsewhere to live and work in Syracuse