McNair Topic Areas

A Topic Area is defined by the McNair Center as an ongoing, research-driven, and materials-producing focus of effort. The Center currently devotes resources to five foci:

• Economic and Business Trends - an investigation of U.S. economic and business trends related to entrepreneurship and innovation such as the decline of business dynamism in high tech industry or the trend of leveraged buyouts.

• Entrepreneurship Ecosystems - an effort to identify and explain fundamental components of an entrepreneurial ecosystem and research the shared characteristics of successful startups.

• Patents and Innovation - an ongoing report on the current issues facing America's patent system, specifically investigating current and proposed reform acts and the effects of patent trolling in litigation.

• Small Business - a campaign to inform the public on the details of small business, the best practices for maintaining and or growing one, and how government regulatory and supporting bodies effect them.

• Social Factors in Entrepreneurship - a mission to identify and share information on the effects of social factors and broad sweeping policies on the entrepreneurial and small business world, such as the role of the 144th Congress and female entrepreneurs.

Summary Data

Further information on each topic area may be found in the table below.

	Keywords
Economic and Business Trends	Business Finance Economic Trend
Entrepreneurship Ecosystems	Incubators Accelerators Venture Capital Angel Investor Startups Crowding-out Social-Media Houston
Patents and Innovation	Pool Thicket Reform Patent Innovation Policy Patent-Troll Acts Prize System
Resources and Tools	Database Resource Tool
Small Business	Entrepreneurship Small Business
Social Factors in Entrepreneurship	Reform Women Entrepreneurship Policy Regulation Immigration Presidential Race Female Minority Health Care Gender Social Small Business