Today is the launch of the application period for INNOVATE NYC !
Fordham and eight other NYC institutions — including Columbia, Cooper Union, CUNY, New School, and NYU — have collaborated with the DO School to create this pilot program that offers students a unique opportunity to launch their careers as changemakers. Participants will gain hands-on entrepreneurial and innovation skills as they collaborate on a group challenge. The experience will provide students exposure to some of NYC’s most renowned social innovation practitioners and the DO School’s mentor network.
The Shared Resource Challenge
New York City is a global center of social entrepreneurship and philanthropy, where over 30,000 non-profit organizations work alongside hundreds of emerging social enterprises to provide solutions to the City’s – and the world’s – toughest challenges. From some of the most reputable international human rights organizations to community-based groups offering critical services and opportunities across five boroughs, this mission-driven sector is one of the most critical in New York City, employing well over 600,000 people.
The Shared Resource Challenge is given by The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) to help amplify the impact of non-profit organizations and social enterprises and address one of these mission-driven businesses’ most pressing challenges: access to affordable space and resources, such as back-office support, high-level strategic counsel, and technology infrastructure. In the technology sector, the co-working model has taken off and provided many companies affordable space, a suite of shared services, and/or access to social networks at cost-effective prices. In the non-profit sector, there is an opportunity to build upon successful models and existing resources in New York City so that mission-driven businesses can further their missions in sustainable ways.
The challenge will be to develop an innovative product or service that improves access to critical resources for nonprofits and social enterprises in New York City.
Structure of the program
A core group of 20 students will be selected from across participating universities. After the kickstart event on December 6, this group of 20 program participants will work together in two phases:
Kickstart of the program: Sunday, December 6, 2015. To kickstart the program, the DO School will host a one-day DO-a-thon. This skill building session will focus on developing students’ ideation skills. The first 150 students who apply to join Innovate NYC will be invited to participate in this day-long workshop, free-of-charge.
Monthly workshops: Jan 24, Feb 21, Mar 6 and Apr 17, 2016. Emphasizing leadership and ideation skills, these workshops encompass the basic toolkit all changemakers need to find their passion and turn their ideas into action.
Full-time daily workshops across three weeks (Mon-Fri): June 6-24, 2016. Serving as the capstone experience of the program, students will be brought together for an intensive hand-on experience. At the end of these three weeks program participants will have co-created a tangible result that they deliver to the City of New York for use by NYC communities in the months and years ahead.
Innovate NYC is supported by Newman’s Own Foundation.
Participating universities are: Borough of Manhattan Community College, Brooklyn Law College, Columbia University, The Cooper Union, Fordham University, Guttman Community College, Macaulay Honors College (CUNY), The New School, & New York University.
Community partners include the New York City Economic Development Corporation, City University of New York – Office of Research, Evaluation & Program Support and 92nd Street Y.