Tag: Economic development

Tracking Trends of Innovation and Entrepreneurship with The Draper Innovation Index

Posted on by Phil Satlof

Draper Hero Institute, Esri and Blue Raster team up to launch the Draper Innovation Index

Founded by legendary Silicon Valley venture capitalist and entrepreneur Timothy C. Draper, Draper Hero Institute (DHI) provides applicable and modern resources for future entrepreneurs globally and ensures inclusiveness and opportunities for all.

A key example of one of those modern resources is the recently launched Draper Innovation Index.

The Draper Innovation Index is a Hub for ArcGIS site that contains several ArcGIS Dashboards and a StoryMap that displays key success factors, metrics, and indicators that support the performance of local startups and facilitate the creation of new jobs and economic prosperity, such as employment creation, VC funding, startup culture, tax regulations, and IP creation. Additionally, it provides innovation data from an entrepreneurial/VC perspective as opposed to others that exist from an academic point of view.

Draper Innovation Index

When Esri looked for a partner to take over the project after they had built the initial Hub, Dashboards and StoryMaps collection of tools called the Draper Innovation Index – they tapped longtime collaborators and Esri Gold Partner Blue Raster on the shoulder.

The Draper Innovation Index (DII) was initiated by Draper Hero Institute as an index consisting of a series of data indicators on the state of entrepreneurial activity, environment, and drivers – nationally and globally. Under the leadership of Program Manager Phil Satlof ; GIS Analyst Mary Bracho and Visual Designer Manny Fleurival adapted and enhanced the Hub and tools and participated in the global launch event on March 25th, which was covered by the Wall Street Journal.

 

“With our goals to create a global index to foster the development of innovative technology and economic growth, Blue Raster and their team seamlessly achieved our vision. They transformed the complex data metrics and analysis into a user-friendly, visually aesthetic interactive tool. With the successful launch of our global index, we are excited to share this leading-edge tool with the world.” — Vivian Lufkin Executive Director, Draper Hero Institute”

We are now preparing for the launch of the USA Index on May 27th! Check index.draperhero.org for more news.

Draper Innovation Index

Track Industrial Spaces in the Mekong Region with the Updated Mekong Infrastructure Tracker

Posted on by Eric Ashcroft

The Mekong Policy Project aims to address the regional environmental and social impacts along the Mekong River to improve food security, stability and cross-country relations.

Launched earlier this year, The Stimson Center's Mekong Infrastructure Tracker offers unprecedented transparency into the financing and development of roads, rails, waterways, and power generation projects in the Mekong region. Funded by USAID and supported by The Asia Foundation, the tool allows users to search and filter for projects by type, operational status, funders, and more.

Mekong Infrastructure Tracker Updates

Now, with the latest release, the Tracker includes data on Industrial Spaces. In addition to major transportation hubs, such as railway stations, airports, and seaports, these include special economic zones, cross border economic zones, and industrial zones. These areas, with special tax treatment and other regulations, are key centers of economic activity and international investment.

mekong infrastructure tracker Industrial Spaces

"The Tracker's new industrial spaces dataset provides for the first time a visualization of 700+ completed and planned industrial zones, special economic zones, airports, train stations, and seaports in the Mekong region. We think the private sector, government stakeholders, and NGOs will find particular interest in viewing this data. When viewing the data on the Project Impact Screener, the connectivity of the region really come forward because these industrial spaces can be framed together with a comprehensive set of transportation routes and power generation assets."  -  Brian Eyler, Senior Fellow and Director at The Stimson Center

mekong infrastructure tracker Stimson Industrial Spaces 1

Leveraging ArcGIS Online and the ESRI JavaScript API, The Mekong Infrastructure Tracker builds on existing data to present a comprehensive source of information on energy, transportation, and water infrastructure in the Mekong countries. Additionally, there is an ArcGIS Survey123 link that allows users to submit more project data or provide updates to existing data.

The Mekong Infrastructure Tracker platform is the premier resource for researchers to track, monitor, and quantify the development of energy, transportation, and water infrastructure assets and the social, economic, and ecological changes they bring to South East Asia.

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