Project I: Energy Booms and Resilience

This project explores how energy booms impact entrepreneurship and economic resilience in rural areas.

Focus Areas:

• Energy Booms and Entrepreneurship: Examining how energy booms affect conditions for entrepreneurship.
• Entrepreneurship and Resilience: Studying how entrepreneurial activity strengthens or weakens rural communities’ ability to adapt to economic changes.

Data and Methods:

Using various datasets and advanced analytical tools, the study aims to uncover the complex relationships among energy booms, entrepreneurship, and resilience.

Project II: Policymakers as Cultural Entrepreneurs

This segment investigates the role of policymakers in shaping community narratives and possibilities during energy booms.

Hypotheses:

• Policymakers influence community possibilities through effective communication.
• Policymakers are bound by their beliefs and community stories.

Research Approach:

The project conducts interview-based case studies in Texas communities affected by energy booms to understand the leadership dynamics and policymaker roles.

Expected Insights:

The research seeks to reveal effective leadership strategies for managing economic shifts and challenge conventional theories of entrepreneurial behavior.

This IC2 research project informs policymaking and community adaptation strategies during economic transformations.