
Driving Engagement & Innovation in Government
May 3, 2018
(updated on 4/9/2019) Declining Government Employee Engagement Employee engagement is a significant challenge for government agencies. In fact, employee engagement is lower in public sectors than in private sectors. And, while 71% of state and local government employees are not engaged in their work, 17% of those employees are actively disengaged, working against the mission of the organization. Actively disengaged employees are more likely to miss work, quit their job, have more accidents, and…
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Entrepreneurial Fab Labs Drive Rural Economic Development
April 4, 2018
Entrepreneurial activity is widely recognized as the primary engine of economic growth. By inventing new products and services or improving those that already exist, entrepreneurs create new jobs that generate wealth, revitalize communities, and improve the overall quality of lives. And, fab labs have emerged as a mechanism to stimulate entrepreneurial behavior by providing the community spaces with the equipment and tools needed for tinkering, experimenting, and building. One rural fab lab is “on track…
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An Interdisciplinary Approach to Creating Entrepreneurial Learning Environments
January 27, 2018
With technological advancements, changing job types, and a new world of work, education must think beyond preparing graduates for a traditional pathway to one career. Rather, it is critical that we empower all graduates to be entrepreneurial whether they work in existing organizations, create their own jobs, or become independent contractors in the “gig” economy. No matter their chosen path, graduates will need to create value by solving problems. Download the Paper
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An Entrepreneurial Drive to Be Better
November 27, 2017
In the fall of 2017, over 400 Algonquin students engaged in the Ice House Student Success Program, a course focused on empowering students with an entrepreneurial mindset at the onset of their academic journey. Sherryl Fraser, chair of General Arts and Sciences, led the implementation. “After training faculty to become Ice House Certified Facilitators, we embedded the Ice House Student Success Program in our curriculum and strove to instill the persistence and determination of an…
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Can Government Workers Learn to Think Like Entrepreneurs?
August 30, 2017
(Updated 12/16/2024 to reflect the current number of city employees that have been through the program) If you’re like most people, the word entrepreneurial is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of government employees. For many, the word ‘bureaucrat’ is often used as a derisive term to describe government workers who may be seen as lazy, unthinking, and unproductive. And, recent Gallup research seems to confirm some disturbing facts: unhappy state…
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