We Create Here was an initiative within the Gazette Company to develop evolving narratives and authentic conversations throughout Iowa's Creative Corridor. read more

The beauty of a true startup and innovation community is that anyone can be involved, however they want to.

Of course, we could debate whether that is the case in our community, especially when it comes to diversity of gender, race, income, age or thought - but, an ideal community would be open to everyone.

The beauty of a map is that it gives an overview. From 30,000 feet, it can help you see what's around, what obstacles may lie ahead, and what paths are available. A map stops being useful when it becomes too cluttered to give this quick overview.

So, how can we balance these two ideas in our community map? A desire to include everyone, but a need to curate?

I'm pretty sure that startups themselves need to be included - but beyond that, almost everything is debatable.

Here are just a few categories that come to my mind when I think of the innovation community in eastern Iowa:

Support organizations like the EDC or SBDC
Coworking spaces
Event venues - conference centers or places for less formal gatherings
Meetup groups where people swap ideas and get connected
Established companies - while not startups themselves, they can be a key feeder of entrepreneurial activity (and, they beg the question, when does a company stop being a startup?)
Venture Capital firms
Banks
Government offices and their programs
Angel investors and angel groups
Service providers - lawyers, accountants, marketers, consultants
Education - both formal institutions like our region's colleges and universities, and also short-term and alternative training options
Within a university - there are students and professors (talent), technology transfer and licencing offices, entrepreneurship classes and clubs, work spaces and event venues, etc.
Not to mention all of the hundreds of people who are involved with all of these organizations.
Resources that are valuable, but not physically located in our region (ie, online training or resources)
Startups that existed in the past, but have failed, moved away or been acquired
What else? Let me know in the comments.

All of these will probably be represented in some way - and, hopefully, you could zoom in on any one for complete detail. But when you zoom out, what needs to be front and center? What will be the most helpful?

Keep in mind that this "map" might not be geographic, and that there are many forms of community capital, that may not always be obvious.

I want to hear from you: What absolutely must be included in our map of the innovation community in the Corridor?

Let me know in the comments, or drop me a line at sarah.binder@sourcemedia.net.

Previously:

Community mapping update no. 2

How can we measure our innovation community?

Community mapping update no. 1

My goal for 2014: Context, context, context