How can governments help entrepreneurs?

Today at the 2015 Kauffman Foundation’s State of the Entrepreneur in Washington, D.C. I spoke about six new ways the Commerce Department is supporting American entrepreneurs.

The entire Administration wants to ensure that ALL of our entrepreneurs have the best opportunity to succeed – because start-ups are key sources of economic growth and job creation. In fact, across a wide range of sectors and regions, entrepreneurs and small business owners have generated more than 65 percent of net new jobs over the last two decades. Start-ups in high-tech hubs alone account for over 40 percent of new jobs each year – despite comprising only 1 percent of all businesses.

We know entrepreneurship is an essential – and fundamental – ingredient in our nation’s economic prosperity. That is why we know that government has a critical role to play in supporting America’s entrepreneurs.

Every day, the Department of Commerce serves as the driving force behind the Administration’s focus on entrepreneurship — and that our core responsibilities include supporting start-ups and empowering entrepreneurs. We issue patents, make investments in local economic development, collect and disseminate data to help inform businesses, and expand access to broadband.

But to succeed in our ever-competitive world, that isn’t enough. Since becoming Secretary, my team and I have expanded our work. For example, to inspire the next generation, I am proud to chair the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) initiative. With the launch of PAGE last spring, our dynamic ambassadors have been everywhere. I joined entrepreneurs like Steve Case on his “Rise of the Rest Bus Tour,” which raised the profile of entrepreneurship in nine up-and-coming startup U.S. cities. In the coming months, we will announce the expansion of PAGE – bringing new voices and initiatives into the fold to empower the next wave of entrepreneurs in the U.S. and across the globe.

Next, to provide companies with access to cutting-edge technology, our Department leads the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, or NNMI. This initiative creates ecosystems, where industry, academia, and government come together to help local manufacturers not only propose new ideas, but scale and implement their latest innovations.

From 3D printing to lightweight metals to photonics, NNMI can, and will, ensure that our entrepreneurs stay competitive in the global economy – and shape the next wave of advanced manufacturing in the 21st century.

To bring the best ideas to the table at the Commerce Department, we re-established the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, where top academics, business and non-profit leaders offer advice on innovation, entrepreneurship, and industry-driven skills training. In the group’s first meeting in December, these leaders identified tough issues from how to measure innovation to determining how to modernize labor market data that entrepreneurs find the talent they need to grow.

Finally, to strengthen America’s entrepreneurial ecosystems, our Economic Development Administration leads the Regional Innovation Strategies competition. This program advances innovation and capacity-building activities in regions across the country. Through this initiative, we are providing grants to reinforce infrastructure, investing in centers that help entrepreneurs move their ideas from the garage to production, and expanding aces to early stage capital to promising startups.

Because of this initiative, Georgia Tech was able to create a new center where entrepreneurs have resources to turn early-stage medical devices into prototypes that can attract capital and customers. Nationwide, these investments help entrepreneurs turn ideas into sustainable companies

In addition to these existing efforts, in the coming months, we will kick off the Startup Global pilot program in Cincinnati; Nashville; Arlington, Texas; and Washington, D.C. This initiative will help entrepreneurs and early-stage companies to think global from day one by providing the know-how and technical assistance they need in order to export their goods and services.

Startup Global will expand our International Trade Administration’s client base to include startups – a critical part of ensuring that Commerce partners with American firms, whether small businesses, medium-sized enterprises, or large multinationals.

That is why we are strengthening our work through a new partnership between the Census Bureau and the Kauffman Foundation. The goal of this partnership is to improve the way our government tracks entrepreneurship. Together, we will modernize the Survey of Business Owner, conduct the survey annually instead of every five years, and provide information that will provide critical insight into the health of companies of all sizes.

Despite all of the challenges we face today, the ingenuity, creativity, and optimism of our country’s entrepreneurs give us hope. I saw this spirit at The Idea Village in New Orleans, a business-led effort to cultivate the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The leaders of this incubator gave me one of my most prized possessions, a sign that sums up the true spirit of entrepreneurship: “trust your crazy ideas.”

That spirit has defined our nation’s history – carried forward by everyone from Ben Franklin to Steve Jobs to Elizabeth Holmes. That willingness to trust crazy ideas has been a source of strength to our economy. That courage – to try new inventions, even at the risk of failure; to challenge convention, even if you do not succeed at first; to dream big and ultimately achieve your goals – that is what makes our entrepreneurs agents of change and the living embodiments of the American dream.

At Commerce, we will continue to do our part. However, we want your continued guidance on where the federal government should improve and where we should get out of the way. Working together, we can shape the next great era of American entrepreneurship and innovation.

This article is published in collaboration with LinkedIn. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Author: Penny Pritzker is the Secretary of Commerce at U.S. Department of Commerce.

Image: Two silhouetted cogs are held and placed together. REUTERS.