Initiative: Southeast Indiana Small Business Development Center
Location: New Albany, Indiana

Promoting Small Businesses

IU to Co-host Small Business Development Center in Southeast Indiana

Indiana University is joining with Purdue University and Ivy Tech to co-host a new Southeast Indiana Small Business Development Center (SEISBDC) in New Albany. The center will provide low-cost assistance and consultation to promote the growth of small businesses throughout the southeastern part of the state.

“This initiative with Purdue, Ivy Tech, and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) complements IU’s statewide engagement activities—known as Innovate Indiana—in a key area of the state that can benefit directly from the application of business-focused resources,” says IU Vice President for Engagement Bill Stephan.

The center, located at Purdue Technology Park in New Albany, will offer resources from IEDC and the three academic institutions to assist owners of small businesses. “This is a first-of-its-kind collaborative partnership between three institutions of higher education and IEDC to co-support a regional Small Business Development Center,” says David Gard, executive director of the IU Office of Engagement. “It brings a greater array of resources to bear and delivers them in a more cost-effective manner, and it has potential to serve as a model for other areas of the state.”

“The IU Southeast campus will play a key role in the new partnership,” says Lawrence R. Mand, vice chancellor for information technology and community engagement at the campus. “The partnership will amplify programs we have under way, including our Regional Economic Development Resource Center and initiatives funded by the Lilly Endowment to support internships and job placement, promote economic development, and encourage an entrepreneurial spirit.”

“Faculty and students all across the campus—from business to computer science to the liberal arts—have expertise and resources that can enhance the development of small business in the area,” says Mand. For example, one ongoing study at the campus compiles aggregate information on economic drivers for Southeast Indiana as a single region—data that is essential to the area’s new business development. In addition to faculty and student engagement, IU Southeast will provide entrepreneurship training and CEO roundtables, among other services.

The Southeast Indiana office will serve 13 counties including Bartholomew, Clark, Dearborn, Decatur, Floyd, Franklin, Harrison, Jefferson, Jennings, Ohio, Ripley, Scott, and Switzerland.

“IU is pleased to participate in this partnership, which leverages our expertise in business development,” Stephan says. “It demonstrates the value that higher education can contribute to creating and supporting an entrepreneurial culture essential to the state’s economic growth.”

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