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Rodrigo Frías
Doctoral Researcher in Entrepreneurship Policies at Durham University Business School. Former Deputy CEO at Start-Up Chile
Rodrigo Frías is a seasoned entrepreneur with a vast expertise in entrepreneurship and innovation policies, as well as startup acceleration processes.
He has a remarkable background, having served as the Deputy CEO at Start-Up Chile, a pioneering public business accelerator, where he successfully accelerated more than 200 startups annually with a substantial budget of USD 7,000,000.
With his role as Head of Early-Stage Investment at the Chilean Economic Development Agency (CORFO), Rodrigo supported over 400 new businesses each year with a budget of USD 10,000,000.
Rodrigo Frías is currently dedicated to academic pursuits, pursuing a PhD in Management at Durham University Business School, with a research focus on entrepreneurship policy design processes.
His educational achievements include an MSc in Innovation Policy from SPRU at Sussex University, UK, an MA in Applied Communications from Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile, and a background in publicist training from Universidad del Pacífico, Chile.
Rodrigo has been globally recognized for his outstanding contributions, being a finalist in esteemed awards like the UK Alumni Awards 2020 and Apolitical's Global Public Service Team of the Year 2020 in the COVID-19 Rapid Responders category.
He has garnered various scholarships for his academic endeavors, such as from the Centre of Innovation and Technology Management at Durham University Business School, the Chilean Government through Becas Chile Scholarship, and a master's scholarship from the University of Sussex.
With a diverse organizational background, Rodrigo has held roles in prestigious institutions including positions at Durham University Business School, CORFO, Start-Up Chile, Universidad Diego Portales, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, and Universidad del Desarrollo, among others.
His professional experience ranges from being an executive director to digital coordination and communications management roles, showcasing his versatile skill set in various domains.
Rodrigo Frías's rich academic background, coupled with his hands-on experience in entrepreneurship and innovation, cements his position as a prominent figure in the realm of startup acceleration and policy formulation.
Highlights
Last week, I had the great opportunity to participate in the PhD Workshop 'Design Science (DS) in Entrepreneurship and Innovation' in Berlin. The DS:E - Center for Design Science in Entrepreneurship organised the course, which was an enlightening experience. We spent three days exploring new ways to apply DS to create useful research.
As a practitioner in entrepreneurship policies for the past decade, I have been deeply involved in this field. Currently, as a future scholar, I am trying to connect entrepreneurship, public policy, and design science to create policy artefacts that could help redesign entrepreneurship policies, combining theory and practice.
Since starting my research last year, I have focused more on rural enterprises rather than high-growth firms. I have found it fascinating to see the possibilities that lie ahead of us as a society in terms of how we formulate entrepreneurship policies. These policies can help debunk myths, embrace diversity, and encourage a more balanced approach to entrepreneurship without sacrificing rigour and relevance. In this space, DS has an important role to play.
I would like to thank Christoph Seckler, Hannes Rothe, René Mauer, and Jan vom Brocke for letting us join the DS:E community. It was a truly wonderful experience! Also thank you to Pablo Munoz for supporting this academic journey.
See you next year!
Reflecting on a remarkable week.
As a Durham Enterprise Centre (Durham University Business School) team member, I joined our journey to Birmingham, visiting the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship (CREME) at Aston University. Engaging in discussions, we tackled challenges and opportunities in current social sciences and management studies.
Focused on understanding crises at the intersection of Social Sciences and Entrepreneurship Research, we explored the dynamic nature of entrepreneurship and its ties to the evolving societal landscape.
It's time to dispel the illusion of stability in our theories and embrace the complexity of entrepreneurship. Let's foster adaptability and context in our research approach.
Together, scholars from Durham University (Edgard Barki, Pablo Munoz, Jeni Smith, Grant Murray and Jeffrey Hughes), Aston University (Nicolle Mudzongo, Eva Kašperová, Monder Ram, Shuai Qin, Fahmida Choudhury and Daniel Musa Mafulul) and University of Leeds (Lee Wainwright), we explored new approaches to improve our understanding of entrepreneurship and its complex relationship with social sciences.
#EntrepreneurshipResearch #SocialSciences #ResearchJourney #BetterEvidence
