Net Impact Updates for January 2016
Happy 2016! The first few weeks of 2016 have been marked by extremes: Extreme winter weather; extreme presidential candidates; extremely white Oscar nominations. The start of the year makes me think that we’re in for a year that will be extremely interesting. Let’s hope with good results for all the issues our community cares about.
It’s anything but boring here at Net Impact as well. We’re committed to doing more for our members and chapters than ever before, whether that’s bringing our annual conference on the road through our NIx initiative, bringing new people into the mix with our Impact Design expansion, and redoing our website. (Again). Read more below, and let me know your thoughts (email: lmaw@netimpact.org or Twitter: @lizmaw).
To 2016! The year of extremes.
Impact Design
You’ve heard the buzz words – Design thinking. Innovation. Prototype. Net Impact is bringing these skills to our network in two important ways. First, we are launching new chapters at design programs, such as the Rhode Island School of Design, Pratt, Olin Engineering, Savannah College of Art and Design, and the Art Center College of Design. Our 8 new design programs are off to a strong start – last fall, three chapters at UC Berkeley held a full day design hackathon where members dug into water scarcity issues and prototyped solutions to implement on campus, like an interactive sink monitor and a 3D modeled sprinkler head.
Second, we are bringing new design programming to our existing MBA, undergrad, and pro chapters. 10 chapters have joined the Impact Design Initiative. The New York Professionals chapter has been exploring ways for its members to engage in design thinking. Presidio, the University of San Francisco, and California College of the Arts are collaborating on a regional 3-day design thinking sprint for a local nonprofit. To support our other MBA chapters in bringing the initiative to their members, we're developing a design challenge event toolkit, job portal content on impact design, and presentations on the practice and context of the impact design field. Learn more about our Impact Design program here.
Act Local with NIx
This spring, we’re bringing Net Impact to a city near you. Through our new NIx initiative, in partnership with our chapters, we’ll be holding 3-5 regional events to bring the spirit of Net Impact across the globe. Chapters are vying now to take part in our inaugural class of NIx events, and we plan to hold dozens more in late 2016 and early 2017. Visit the NIx page to learn about our upcoming events and find out when NIx is coming to a community near you.
Netimpact.org Gets a Facelift
As we develop more and more ways for our members to act locally, Net Impact is also enhancing the ways our members can connect with each other globally. First up, we’re excited to announce a new and improved website is on its way. Our team is working hard behind the scenes to design and build this brand new website. It’ll be faster, easy-to-use and include a lot of new, engaging content. Make sure to keep an eye out for the new Netimpact.org this spring.
