UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In line with Penn State’s efforts to increase equity in the private sector, the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center’s Health and Human Development Design for Impact Lab (HUDDIL) and the Evidence-to-Impact Collaborative (EIC) has formed a new partnership with the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center to support a more equitable future for the business community.

An independent non-profit organization, the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center was established in 2015 through a generous grant from the Nasdaq Education Foundation, with ongoing support from Nasdaq. This partnership showcases an ongoing commitment to advancing inclusive growth and prosperity as highlighted in Nasdaq’s recently launched Purpose Initiative and December’s widely reported proposition on proposed requirements for diversity on all boards listed on its exchange.

This funded partnership between the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center and Penn State will engage EIC researchers with real-world data on entrepreneurial activity to better understand the outcomes of existing programs aimed at supporting minority and female-led start-ups. Additionally, the EIC will partner to develop and evaluate Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center programs.

The partnership will build dynamic data infrastructure for the field as aims to generate real-time insights, inform the investor and policy communities through scientific research, narrative storytelling, and relationship building. Collectively, this process will drive individual transformation for female and minority entrepreneurs and relational change for employees, while laying critical foundations to support sustained systems change.

Max Crowley, director of the EIC, said “This partnership highlights the growing value for social science in the private sector and how the science of investing in healthy development can translate into innovation, the accumulation of wealth and a more equitable economy.”

According to Meg Small, director of the HUDDIL, a key partner in the collaboration, the innovative partnership is a great opportunity for researchers and program developers to translate the science about human flourishing into the workplace, the economy, and ultimately our culture.

“Penn State has made a commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship through Invent Penn State,” said Small. “Our new partnership will increase opportunities for human development research to expand its role in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.”