Systems Change Leadership: Redefining Social Entrepreneurship

Almost all social and environmental problems exist as part of a system of interconnected communities, actors, and incentives. And yet, often when we set out to tackle problems, we don’t start by understanding the complete system in which we are operating. On April 23, join educator and entrepreneur Daniela Papi-Thornton to hear how she is working to change this approach. She will share innovations designed to explore how a deep understanding of social and environmental systems can lead to better solutions, and as a result, lasting change.

In this talk, Papi-Thornton will share lessons learned from both her time running a social enterprise in Cambodia and her work at the University of Oxford’s Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship. She will share her Impact Gaps Canvas, a practical system mapping tool designed to help people better understand and contribute to tackling their chosen challenges.

This event is cohosted by the Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship at Illinois Institute of Technology.

In her work at the University of Oxford’s Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, Papi-Thornton found that in order to create positive social impact, “we need to help people work toward collective impact, give them the tools, accolades, and incentives to apprentice with problems they didn’t live before asking them to solve them, and support people to understand and build upon the existing efforts of others rather than ‘innovating’ in a vacuum.” Hear more from Papi-Thornton at this practical and engaging talk.

A reception will immediately follow the program.

About the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship

With a focus on building an innovation mindset and transitioning new ideas into products and processes, the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship at Illinois Institute of Technology is envisioned as a platform to implement novel educational and entrepreneurial strategies. It will be the new home of the Institute of Design (ID) on the historic Mies Campus in Chicago. ID’s pioneering design thinking, combined with cutting-edge science, engineering, and humanities research will serve as the foundation for interprofessional programming, classrooms, collaborative hubs, emerging technologies, and “maker spaces,” all designed to enhance innovation and entrepreneurship on the Illinois Tech campus.