ISLAND DYNAMICS

Entrepreneurship and Local Development

Explorations in Practice

18‒22 March 2014, Unst, Shetland, UK

Building and sustaining communities.

Processes of globalisation are sharpening focus on economics at the local level. Local communities, whether urban or rural, are increasingly competing at an international scale, and the success of a community’s industries – tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, high-tech services, etc. – depends in large part on the ability of local businesses to adapt to challenging and ever-changing global markets.

This academic conference explores how private and NGO actors seek to create and maintain jobs  as well as how local governments can support skills development and innovation in new and existing businesses. We consider conditions affecting the prospects for entrepreneurship, such as the availability of housing, transport, and a skilled workforce, and we look at the formation of business clusters of entrepreneurs.

Rooted in the local.

This conference will investigate entrepreneurship in practice by visiting businesses and local amenities in the North Isles of Shetland. After touring Shetland’s main town of Lerwick on the afternoon of 18 March, we will travel north to our accommodation at the remote and windswept cottages in Saxa Vord. On 19-20 March, we will speak with business owners, self-employed entrepreneurs, and community development workers, representing such diverse industries as fisheries processing, hospitality, the arts, agriculture, and manufacturing. 21 March will feature presentations by conference delegates, and we will return to Lerwick on the morning of 22 March. Throughout the event, delegates will prepare and dine on locally produced food.

Attendance & call for papers.

Attendance is limited to around 20 delegates, accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you would like to give a talk, send an abstract (150-200 words) and biography (max. 100 words) to convenor Adam Grydehøj at agrydehoj@islanddynamics.org.

Expressions are interest are welcome, but you must register to save a place at the event. Write to Adam Grydehøj at agrydehoj@islanddynamics.org to learn more.