Dr Yvonne von Friedrichs is professor in Business Administration and Entrepreneurship at Mid Sweden University, she also holds a position as associate professor in Tourism studies at the same University and as associate professor in Marketing at Umeå University. She has devoted her research to the understanding of entrepreneurship and small business in regional and local development from different perspectives and contexts. The main focus in her research is to further the knowledge on how social entrepreneurship, social innovation and gender equal entrepreneurship may contribute to local and regional development. The approach include studies on how cross-border collaboration and close cooperation between different sectors of society may be organized to enhance the prerequisites for social entrepreneurship and social innovation in regional and local settings.