Description:

November 15-17 Northwestern Buffett will host its inaugural Idea Incubation Workshop, and we hope you will be able to join us for interactive opening and closing plenaries. 

One of the goals of the workshop, and of Northwestern Buffett more broadly, is to encourage faculty to work beyond their usual academic communities to build innovative collaborations to develop impactful questions for research and plans for action. Over the course of the three-day workshop, three “Idea Streams,” or thematic groups addressing critical global challenges, will develop a specific plan for collaborative research, identify target audiences for research outputs, and define post-research action steps necessary to ensure that the results achieve social impact, culminating in a pitch competition to an audience of faculty peers and global experts. Groups with the strongest ideas and associated research and action plans coming out of the workshop will be invited to continue their collaborative work for two years with Northwestern Buffett administrative and funding support. We invite you to join us on this journey from idea incubation to action!

On the final day of the inaugural Idea Incubation Workshop, each idea stream will present a concrete proposal for collaborative research and action. A selection panel of faculty peers and global experts will assess the merit and potential for societal impact of each group’s proposal, and the strongest proposals will be invited to continue as Northwestern Buffett-supported working groups. Judges include:

·       Bonnie Daniels, Chair of the Weinberg College Board of Visitors, and Northwestern Trustee​

·       Sarah Fodor, Executive Director, Northwestern University’s Office of Foundation Relations and Corporate Engagement

·       Henry Godinez, Professor, Northwestern University’s Department of Theatre, and Resident Artistic Associate, Goodman Theatre

·       Ravina Shamdasani, Deputy Spokesperson, United Nations Human Rights Office

·       Larry Irving, Founder and President, The Irving Information Group, and Northwestern Trustee

Idea Streams:

·       Censorship, Propaganda, and Persecution of Journalists

·       Palliative Care in Humanitarian Crises

·       Disproportionate Impacts of Environmental Challenges

Schedule of events:

·       ​​11 am – 12:30 pm​ Pitch competition presentations: Each idea stream group pitches it’s action plan to a panel of judges and a public audience

·       12:30 pm – 2 pm Judges privately deliberate the strength of each proposal, while public audience has opportunity to dialogue with idea stream participants over lunch

·       2 pm – 2:30 pm Closing ceremony: Judges announce their selection and provide feedback on proposed research projects

If you are interested in attending, please RSVP here.