Accelerator failure and leaving communities behind

Accelerator failure and the need to measure

Every few weeks someone sends me a new link talking about why innovation hubs, accelerators, and labs don’t work.  Some recent highlights include:

The question of “Is this whole ‘innovation ecosystem’ thing really working?” should be asked. Anyone in a new field should ask:

Are we making a difference or are we making noise?

The criticism we all seek to avoid is that of “innovation theater”.

These articles and this line of thought underscores my focus on measurement. My own question for my PhD is “What is the role of the innovation hub in building community resilience?”

To get to the answer and address questions in the post above and have a conversation beyond opinion, we need better ways measure.

Technology challenges from chatting with my dad on Skype

One of the other driving thoughts behind my research and the need to measure is on how to not leave communities behind in technology advances.

My folks and I tried to video call this weekend. First we tried Skype, but the call would not connect.  Then we tried Google Hangout, and they got a message about outdated software. I was in the process of trying Zoom when they decided to call it a night and give it a shot later.

Apart from my highlighting my own limitations as remote tech support, I was again reminded that our technology advances can continue to leave segments of the community behind who are not actively involved in the space on a day to day basis.

At the risk of seeing the world through a single lens, the need again comes to measure the impacts of innovation on everyone, not just the few who create the value.

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