E 7.10 - Regenerative Economic Development with Brian Sherman at the NSF Futures Engine in the Southwest

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Ecosystems For Change

Anika Horn, Social Venturers

75 episodes

1 month ago

Transforming communities is hard work. That may go without saying, but when your job is about helping your neighborhood, city or region thrive, talking about being underpaid, burnt out and frustrated with the slow pace of change is kind of frowned upon. As ecosystem builders, we amplify the work of local makers, doers and innovators by championing their efforts and rallying support around them. And maybe most importantly, we build a culture of trust and collaboration among all stakeholders, so that the doers and innovators among us have equal access to information, talent and resources when they need them. On Ecosystems for Change we'll explore how ecosystem building can help us unleash the full potential of the makers, doers, innovators and visionaries in our communities. And I’ll be talking with my guests about the tactics and practical skills they use in their everyday work and what they do to prevent burning the candle at both ends.

All content for Ecosystems For Change is the property of Anika Horn, Social Venturers and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

E 7.10 - Regenerative Economic Development with Brian Sherman at the NSF Futures Engine in the Southwest

Ecosystems For Change

49 minutes

5 months ago

E 7.10 - Regenerative Economic Development with Brian Sherman at the NSF Futures Engine in the Southwest

Today marks the final stop on our tour of the US National Science Foundation-funded Regional Innovation Engines. To round out our adventure, we’re headed to Tempe, Arizona to talk with Brian Sherman, CEO of the NSF Futures Engine in the Southwest.

The NSF Futures Engine represents three states–Arizona, Nevada, and Utah–with a diverse range of landscapes, a large population that includes fifty-eight tribal nations, and a variety of industries from semiconductors to ski resorts and the entertainment hub of Las Vegas. With its resources and environments, the Southwest has both incredible opportunities for rural and urban regenerative economic development and unique challenges.

Join us as Brian talks us through what the NSF Futures Engine in the Southwest is doing to address regional challenges in energy, water, and air systems through building an ecosystem in the American Southwest.

Brian Sherman joined the NSF Futures Engine in the Southwest (formerly the Southwest Sustainability Innovation Engine or SWSIE) as CEO in July 2024. Brian approaches economic development as a social entrepreneur, startup evangelist, and bureaucracy hacker. He believes human-inspired, market-leveraged, data-driven entrepreneurship can create a better world. His work is focused on technology-based economic development, entrepreneurship, early-stage capital formation, technology commercialization, and innovation in public policy, strategy, and finance.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

How the Futures Engine is building on Arizona’s history of maximizing efficiency and planning in water use and conservation
Why the Engine is investing in research on ozone, air quality, and direct air carbon capture
How the Futures Engine is collaborating with other Regional Innovation Engines to share information and resources as they address shared challenges
Why addressing the region’s environmental constraints is vital to unlocking economic opportunities that benefit both urban and rural populations
How the Futures Engine is facilitating market-driven research and capital investment to get innovation out of the lab and into the world
The challenges of aligning workforce development programs with the availability of those job opportunities

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