Immersive economic development

Consider this economic impact snapshot from the first Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities conference in Kingman, a population of just over 3,000 people.

During a two-day period in summer 2025, more than 130 attendees, including entrepreneurs, small business owners and rural community leaders from across Kansas gathered in downtown Kingman.

Rather than attending a conference in an urban hotel ballroom, they attended more than 35 embedded sessions in eight nontraditional venues along Main Street — from a local art gallery to a coffee shop.

They networked with like-minded entrepreneurs and industry experts and participated in educational sessions focused on marketing, finances, legal assistance and other topics for small businesses.

But the true success goes beyond the numbers. A downtown shop recorded its best single-day sales ever, and other conference connections helped a couple secure a USDA grant to start their own incubator kitchen. Those are just a few stories of the real results of this kind of rural economic engagement.

Now the Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities conference — led by Nancy Daniels, K-State Extension community vitality specialist and conference organizer — is being recognized with the Kansas State University Excellence in Innovation and Economic Engagement Award.

"We know that our work as K-Staters extends beyond our laboratories, studios, seminars and projects. Our Next-Gen K-State strategic plan challenges us to be a positive force for Kansans," said Hans Coetzee, vice president for research. "Nancy Daniels and the Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities team show what it means to put that into practice."

The award recognizes K-State faculty and staff, centers, institutes and units who are leading the way in innovation and economic engagement. The award focuses on exemplary economic engagement and the intersections of several categories:

• Talent: focus on education and workforce development.
• Innovation: focus on innovation and technology-based economic development.
• Place: focus on social, cultural or community development.

The Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities, or CEC, conference takes place in communities with populations of fewer than 10,000 people and focuses on engaging with small communities and highlighting businesses and the people who live and work there. Every session, meal and overnight stay circulates dollars directly through the host community's economy.

"CEC is more than a conference: The event itself is economic development," said Jessica Gnad, director of economic development. "Our selection committee was especially impressed by the CEC model’s strong alignment across talent, innovation and place, as well as its clear and measurable impact on rural communities."

Daniels and the Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities conference were recognized with the Excellence in Innovation and Economic Engagement Award at the April 20 Research Connections event, part of One K-State Research Week 2026.

Daniels has built the conference as a true cross-sector collaboration, bringing together multiple K-State units and statewide partners, including K-State Extension; Network Kansas; the Kansas Department of Commerce Quality Places Division, including the Office of Rural Prosperity and Kansas Main Street; and Thrive Kansas.

"The Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities Conference is a wonderful opportunity to focus on the talent, innovation and entrepreneurial energy of Kansas communities," Daniels said. "When we partnered local communities with multiple state resources to produce the conference, a bit of magic happened."

As part of the award, a $1,000 grant will support future Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities conferences. The 2026 CEC conference will be Courtland, Kansas, June 24-26.

Learn more about the 2026 conference.