ISIRC 2023 Conference Reflections

ISIRC 2023 Conference

Ashoka U Change Leaders from University of California San Diego, Georgian College, University of Evansville, Rollins College, Royal Roads University, Tec de Monterrey – Guadalajara Campus, Universidad de Monterrey, Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla and Tulane University, as well as Eidi Cruz-Valdivieso, Director of Strategy and Engagement at Ashoka U, presented at the 15th International Social Innovation Research Conference (ISIRC) 2023 in Portugal, earlier this month. This year ISIRC was organized by Jorge M. Oliveira Sá Cunha from the University of Minho and held from 6 to 8 September this year in Guimarães, Portugal. 

This opportunity allowed our Change Leaders to share our passion for the changemaking work that takes place at the intersection of Higher Education and Social Innovation, connect with this wonderful community of social innovators and academics, and learn more about all the research taking place around the world in this field.

Ashoka U presented a session named Outpacing 21st Century Challenges: Cultivating New Skills and Measures of Success in Higher Education and Beyond, speaking on how the Ashoka Changemaker Index is being used by Change Leaders in their strategies at their colleges and universities. This presentation also highlighted how Change Leaders together with Diana Wells, President Emerita of Ashoka and Eidi Cruz are designing a research project around the insights that the CMI provides at Changemaker Campuses and their ecosystems.

We are grateful for this time where many heard about the important, diverse and fascinating research work that Ashoka U Change Leaders are developing at their institutions. We look forward to learning more about all this research in future convenings. Please find below a list of the different topics that were addressed by Change Leaders at ISIRC 2023:

  • Mindsets, Mapping, and Meaning Making: Social Innovation Education in Higher Education. By: Anne Stone PhD and Melissa Nelson
  • Facilitating Changemaking: Using a Tool Designed to Nurture and Measure Growth in Social Innovation Skills and Mindsets. By: Tracy Mitchell-Ashley, Isabelle Deschamps, Dale Boyle, Christopher Robert Michael, Sarah Hunter.
  • Community-Centered Design: Humility, Immersion, and Coalition Building in Social Innovaton Education. By: Mandy Bratton PhD, Lin Thu Hein.
  • Social Innovation & Sustainability in Management Education: A Model to Maximize Impact. By: Lois Fearon) 
  • Cultivating Changemaker Competencies: A Theory of Change Tool for Embodying the “Social” in Social Innovation. By: Máille Faughnan, Rebecca Otten, Marguerite Sheffer) 
  • Engaging Restaurants in the Development of Social Innovations for Healthier Community Food Environments: Reflections on processes and initial lessons learned for public health. By: Melissa Fuster
  • Institutional Incentives for Interdisciplinary Collaboration. By: Kenneth Schwartz.
  • Agency and Immersion: Design Build & Social Innovation. By: Kenneth Schwartz.