Reinventing Educational Impact in the U.S.

In Collaboration with Ashoka U

 

Background

Higher education is experiencing an unprecedented crisis of identity, relevance, and responsibility. Launched in 2008, the Ashoka U initiative seeks to develop the next generation of social entrepreneurs and changemakers – and to leverage the entire higher education ecosystem (e.g. admissions, research, career services, and alumni) to catalyze large-scale social impact. 

 

Intent 

Ashoka U works with faculty, administrators, students, social entrepreneurs and employers who all share a vision for transforming the university experience into a world-changing experience. Collectively, Ashoka U strives for universities to become hubs of social innovation that leverage the entire spectrum of institutional resources for social impact. To get there, the Ashoka U network focuses on three systems-change goals:


1) Develop and Empower Higher Education Change Leaders: Change Yourself 
2) Advance Universities as Campus-Wide Hubs of Social Innovation: Change Your Campus
3) Catalyze Universities as Co-Creators of Social Change: Change Your World

 

Impact Goals

ChangeLabs worked with Ashoka U in a cross-sector collaboration to find ways to enable higher education to play a more significant role as a driver of positive social change and innovation.

 

Approach 

A team was tasked with creating an actionable paradigm and strategy for an academic institution to become an agent of large-scale change (social and environmental). The team focused on formulating, initiating and launching a new ChangeMaker location for Ashoka U.

 

The team crafted a strategy, vision, and a plan to delivers lasting and increasing value at a large scale on the social, economic and environmental vectors.