Candida Brush, Babson College; Nancy Carter, University of St. Thomas and Catalyst, Inc.; Myra Hart, Babson College; Elizabeth Gatewood, Wake Forest University; and Patricia Greene, Babson College received the 2007 FSF-NUTEK Award on May 21 from NUTEK, the Swedish Business Development Agency, and FSF, the Swedish Foundation for Small Business Research.

The FSF-NUTEK Award is given to a person (s) who has produced scientific work of outstanding quality and importance, thereby giving a significant contribution to theory-building concerning entrepreneurship and small business development, the role and importance of new firm formation and Small & Medium Enterprises' role in economic development.

Greene is the Provost at Babson College.  Brush is the Entrepreneurship Division Chair and holds the Paul T. Babson Chair in Entrepreneurship. Carter is the Richard M. Schulze Chair of Entrepreneurship at the University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota and Vice President of Research at Catalyst, Inc. Gatewood is the Director of the Office of Entrepreneurship and the Liberal Arts at Wake Forest University.  Hart is former MBA Class of 1961 Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School, and is currently a visiting scholar for the Center for Women’s Leadership at Babson College.

Professors Brush, Carter, Gatewood, Greene and Hart have made significant contributions to entrepreneurship and small business research over their careers, both individually and as a research team. As founders and partners of the Diana Project, established in 1999, their research has spotlighted the upside potential of women led businesses,  Policy makers, practitioners, investors and educators have responded by using the research findings to develop programs and initiatives that have enhanced women entrepreneurs’ access to and attainment of growth capital. The research was funded by the Kauffman Foundation, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the U.S. National Women’s Business Counsel.

To leverage the impact of their research globally, the Diana Project team, in partnership with ESBRI (Entrepreneurship and Small Business Research Institute, Sweden), convened international gatherings of scholars to develop a collaborative agenda. Over the last three years more than 35 researchers from 20 countries have met at annual conferences to present significant research that can be used as an impetus and foundation for the implementation of policy, training, and resources that help advance the state of practice of women entrepreneurs.

The FSF-NUTEK is an international award and is worth half a million Swedish crowns. This is the second time that Babson faculty has received the Award; Paul Reynolds was the Babson recipient in 2004. The Diana scholars will receive $50,000 and a bronze statuette by the late Swedish sculptor, Carl Milles entitled, “The Hand of God.” The formal award ceremony took place in Stockholm, Sweden.

Diana Project team accepts award in Stockholm on May 21.

Provost Greene and Prof. Brush with their awards.

Blog coverage.

Brusch/Greene podcast.