Members hone staff skills via professional development
Professional development is an important undertaking for incubation programs of all sizes. This article provides an overview of incubator manager professional development needs and preferred professional development activities for both small and large staffs, based on the experiences of several NBIA members.

Leading and innovating from Fort Wayne, Ind.
NBIA's foremost proponent of professional development – including building leadership skills – is likely Karl LaPan, president & CEO and "Certified Dream Manager" of the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center in Fort Wayne, Ind. LaPan takes seriously managing dreams and building a culture that will help him and others succeed.

Incubators innovate to diversify income streams and increase program sustainability
Incubation programs encourage clients to diversify their customer base, markets and investments to improve long-term sustainability. In much the same spirit, incubators themselves seek ingenious ways to increase program revenues and maximize available resources and skills.

Engaging stakeholders through reports and activities yields real benefits
Whether the audience is grantors, local government or community members, keeping stakeholders engaged and informed greatly benefits an incubation program. Well-informed stakeholders are often more invested in incubator operations, which means they are better able to advocate for a program's effectiveness and more committed to its success.

Going beyond best practices: The cutting edge of entrepreneur support
Whatever stage you are at with your incubation program or career, there's always something new to be learned. That's why each year NBIA scours presentation proposals to bring you top-notch programming for its international conference. Fittingly, Beyond Best Practices: The cutting edge of entrepreneur support is the theme for NBIA's 26th International Conference on Business Incubation, scheduled for May 6-9 in Atlanta.

How Venture Development Organizations relate to the incubation industry
The U.S. Economic Development Administration recently funded a project by the State Science & Technology Institute of Westerville, Ohio, to create the Regional Innovation Acceleration Network to establish and support a virtual community of Venture Development Organizations across the United States. But what exactly are VDOs? And how do they relate to traditional business incubation programs?

Innovation begins during high school in Kansas
Entrepreneurship begins early in Overland Park, Kan. That's where high school students may spend half of each school day their junior and senior years in the Blue Valley School District's Center for Advanced Professional Studies.

New Hampshire incubation program reinvents itself
It has been a year of significant changes at abi Innovation Hub in Manchester, N.H. In February 2011, the Amoskeag Business Incubator, a mixed-use incubation program with a 14-year history, announced its rebranding as abi Innovation Hub.