Visioning Meeting
“Universities are increasingly realizing that if they want to be part of the solution to the most pressing problems we face around the globe, they need to promote creative interdisciplinary problem solving among their faculty and students. Ashoka U is the perfect partner to stimulate faculty and students to break out of old categories in search of new solutions.”
—Greg Dees
Director, Duke Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship
Case Study: Tulane University
Tulane University brought together 20 change leaders, consisting of faculty, student affairs, administration, and students. As a consequence of this retreat:
• A new student group was established with clear roles and responsibilities
• A structure was created for students and the administration to work together
• A mission statement was established, including student led classes in social entrepreneurship and a student social innovation boot camp
• Key senior leaders heard the final presentation and committed funding and support of the new team’s goals
How do we think bigger about changing the university? How do we bring all the right people together to work towards a common vision?
Build a community of champions for changemaking on campus.
What It Is
A 1.5 day cross-campus multi-stakeholder gathering of the top change leaders on campus.
Needs Addressed
The visioning meeting focuses on institutional change for social innovation at your campus, looking at the overall university strategy, vis-à-vis one area of change, i.e. building faculty engagement or mobilizing students. This is an advanced forum for universities ready to change the culture and focus on the university at large. This meeting convenes the most dynamic, influential, and committed individuals, a smaller cohort than our other convenings, to build trust and build the team of campus change leaders. The focus is less on training, and more on dialogue, discovering synergies, and helping everyone see their work as part of a common vision.
Ashoka U brings historical context to social entrepreneurship in higher education and a benchmarks of other universities. Based on campus needs and interests, we can coordinate having an Ashoka Fellow and/or change leader from a Changemaker Campus join for an additional fee, ensuring the spirit of social entrepreneurship is infused in the strategy.
Goals
Customized to your context, goals include:
- Ground work for a vision statement, key priorities, and goals for the year
- Clear accountability for a plan of action
- New structure for student leaders to organize, faculty and administration to build alliances across divisions, and for both groups to coordinate
Content
Elements of previous meetings have included:
- Assessment of current ecosystem
- Visioning, goal setting
- Action planning: partnerships, funding, etc.
- Team building, establishing team norms
- Practicing your pitch – refining the message
- Campus wide presentation and/or presentation to the University President
Partnership Fees
We recommend a 1.5 day retreat which costs $5,000 with Ashoka staff facilitating, plus other expenses covered by the university, including travel, accommodation, meeting rooms, and food. The residency fee includes preparation and coordination. Additional guests can be invited and coordinated for an additional fee.
If you are interested in hosting a Visioning Meeting, please contact Beeta Ansari at bansari@ashoka.org.
