The Entrepreneurship Center Management Certificate Program includes four courses, each of which covers major topics  imperative to entrepreneurship center development and sustained operational guidance such as (but not limited to):

• Basics of entrepreneurial ecosystem development and how to properly position your center
• Marketing to potential clients
• Ideal executive management and/or coaching staff
• Initial and follow-on fundraising
• Building targeted programming/services for clients
• Identifying, and then acquiring facility and other tangible assets for clients
• Developing pricing models for clients
• Setting graduation policies

The content also includes access to the courses’ complementary resource library, available on InBIA’s I-Connect community, which is exclusive to members and course participants. In this library, attendees will gain unprecedented access to a wide array of case studies, templates, samples of agreements and models, resource handouts or guides for entrepreneurs, financial plan templates, and much more.

Course One: Fostering Your Entrepreneurship Center’s Role in Your Community

The first course in the program discusses the role entrepreneurship centers play in their local/regional ecosystems. The content focuses on interconnected networks and factors that support and drive entrepreneurial success, including: 

• The roles of stakeholders
• Funding mechanisms 
• Policy impact 
• Innovation 
• Collaboration 
• Global perspectives
• Learn how to navigate this complex landscape to thrive as an ECM and contribute to fostering innovation and economic growth.

Course One also explores how entrepreneurship center managers and staff can take advantage of a wide variety of programs and tools in their efforts to support successful entrepreneurial ventures. From hackathons to seed accelerators, attendees will discover how to best leverage these programmes to the benefit of the entrepreneurs they support.

Course Two: Building Profitable Programs That Serve Entrepreneurs

In the second course of the program, attendees will learn successful strategies for supporting entrepreneurs in their startup journeys. Instructors will explain the different stages of development and growth and help attendees understand how they can align their services and support across the entrepreneurial journey.

This course also introduces participants to value-added services and the key activities with which managers can create dynamic programs via training, events, mentoring, advisory services and more.

Course Three: Finance and Operations for Sustainable Entrepreneurship Centers

Entrepreneurship centers demonstrate a wide range of business models. Some are able to generate revenue through community services, whereas others are more limited. In this section, we examine the range of revenue-generating options for ECM professionals, including: 

• Rents and fees
• Sponsorships
• Grants
• Projects
• and more

Attracting and retaining quality leadership and support staff is a key part of an entrepreneurship center’s success.  The second half of course three examines the key staffing decisions EC managers and organizers must make. Attendees will also discuss how to implement an effective succession strategy.

Course 4: Space Design, Software, and Other Ways to Streamline Operations

Entrepreneurship centers  are most effective when they have clearly defined policies on who they serve and how they provide those services. This course examines several of these key policy areas, including:

• Board structure
• Recruitment
• Intake policies 
• Graduation

The ECM program concludes with a look at how entrepreneurship centers can track and evaluate their impact. This session looks at the key metrics that define a program’s success, and considers how a manager can create and track a meaningful set of key performance indicators, or KPIs.