Small businesses in the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle, WA | Photo by Carol M. Highsmith

Entrepreneurial Capital

Small businesses foster innovation, economic dynamism, and community prosperity. But for many small businesses and entrepreneurs – especially those in low-wealth communities – capital to start and grow a business is out of reach. The Nowak Lab provides research, tools, and analysis to help expand access to capital for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Our work helps policymakers and small business support organizations organize capital, leverage programs, and deploy innovative financial products to reduce barriers to capital. Past and current projects include:

• Innovative Finance Playbook (funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration)

• Supporting the State Small Business Credit Initiative (supported by the Kauffman Foundation and the Initiative for Inclusive Entrepreneurship)

• EDA Revolving Loan Fund Community of Practice (funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration) 

Infrastructure

Recent years have seen an unprecedented influx of federal investment in infrastructure maintenance and development – with investments reaching all states and impacting distinct infrastructure sectors. Since 2022, the Lab has been tracking and disseminating funding opportunities as they open through the Infrastructure (+IRA) Funding Tracker. More recently, the Lab, with Accelerator for America and the Local Infrastructure Hub launched the Funding Pathfinder – an innovative tool to support local leaders in matching their projects to distinct programmatic funding streams.

In addition, the Lab, in collaboration with Accelerator for America, is identifying and disseminating best practices in infrastructure projects and finance through a series of Transformative Projects case stories with the Local Infrastructure Hub. Currently, the Nowak Lab is also producing a series of resources to support local communities looking to design, finance, and execute infrastructure projects.