Elective:
Innovating for Social Impact
This course was perhaps the most anticipated part of my I&E journey. Examining and evaluating ways companies and organizations use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), I engaged with ways innovation and collaboration with the private sector can support international development work. The consulting work with the I&E department enhanced my client-focused, innovative problem-solving abilities.
The "Innovating for Social Impact" course focused on innovative ways that individuals, influencers, and the private sector are creating change along with the reasons driving their desire to do so. We looked at how collaboration across sectors can lead to real progress. By studying the various ways that these sectors are leveraging their talents, time, and treasure to have an impact on social good, students saw there is no one way to be a change-maker.
The first thing I learned in this course is SDGs (but more in-depth). Specifically, I wanted to focus on the last of the 17 SDGs: Partnerships. In researching and presenting my learning to my classmates, I was most intrigued by the creative potential opportunities this cross-sectoral, cross-regional, and cross-disciplinary collaboration can bring to the international development scene.
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Another important component of the course was tracking down a famous company on its initiatives and actions to promote any of the SDGs. I chose Victoria's Secret & Co. with a keen interest in how the company would have been able to change its notorious reputation for setting unrealistic body standards for women as well as for its CEO being involved with Jeffrey Epstein. Unfortunately, the company did not seem to show significant changes in its business model and new projects to demonstrate real social impact beyond symbolic, nominal announcements. Nonetheless, this was a valuable case study that allowed me to develop a critical lens in evaluating real impact of social innovation.
In doing so, I learned and completed tasks toward solidifying the idea into an actual business such as the executive summary, strategic plan, logic model, business plan, budgeting, and fundraising.
Figure 1. Presentation slides for evaluating Victoria's Secret & Co.'s innovation for social impact
Beyond this semester-long project, I also had opportunities to absorb lessons through multiple mediums. We watched the documentary Girl Rising (2013) which told stories of girls around the world striving beyond their circumstances and achieving their dreams. We read books such as The Originals (2016) by Adam Grant and Contagious (2013) by Jonah Berger. We had guest speakers who are practicing social innovation in their respective fields such as Garima Verma for political campaigning, Tom Medema for the National Park Service, and Paula Alexander for Burt's Bees. Through these exposures, I honed my marketing and communications skills related to engaging people and organizations in important issues; strategic thinking and action skills to impact policy; and entrepreneurial mindset through the exploration of the role of ethics, empathy, and creativity.
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Another important component of this course was consulting-like interactions with the Duke I&E department. With goals of increasing the visibility, branding, and support services of the department to Duke's undergraduate students, we as a class were tasked to create recommendations and prototypes. One of those was a graphic representation to de-mystify what the I&E certificate stands for: inclusive, flexible, fun experience customized for every student. With my limited Canva skills, I created the following pamphlet to represent the certificate journey.
Figure 2. Pamphlet prototype reflecting diverse I&E certificate journeys
Another simpler recommendation was a series of social media posts "I am I&E," which would showcase diverse I&E students from all personal, academic, and career backgrounds and interests. I also created the visual template using Canva. Here is an example of my profile.
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My most memorable I&E experience was DukeEngage in Detroit last summer. Co.act Detroit, an innovative nonprofit that promotes collaboration among nonprofits in Detroit for more effective social impact work, highlighted the flaws of some existing organizational structures in the social impact world—more specific to nonprofits. The project especially emphasized the importance of a sustainable, internal leadership pipeline with emerging leaders with diverse experiences including entrepreneurial ones. Furthermore, conversations with nonprofit professionals demonstrated social innovation as a process, a continuous re-direction, based on the core purpose: a positive social impact. There may be no single, tangible product. There may be no sign of impact for several weeks, months, or even years. Nonetheless, social innovation persists. Its direction may have changed appropriately based on the observed circumstances. But it maintains its target of achieving social good.
These case studies, interactions, and applications centered around social innovation and entrepreneurship established a strong connection between my I&E journey and my passion for international development.
Taught by: Dani Zapotoczny
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Sr. Director of Partnerships & Communications at the United Nations Foundation (2014-present)