Ideas to Serve

What is Ideas to Serve?

Ideas to Serve (I2S) focuses on community collaborations and promotes an in-depth understanding of social and environmental issues locally and globally. We take a comprehensive approach to social innovation, encouraging students to do the following:

Be compassionate listeners
Identify and build on the assets of the community
Research the solution landscape to learn from both what works and what failed
Take a systems approach to identify the root cause versus the symptoms of the issue

Students who aspire to work closely with and learn from a community partner/civic entrepreneur, those who want to affect change in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), and those who are wondering how they can make a real, lasting, and appropriate difference in other people’s lives are ideal candidates for I2S.

In the 2023 season, student teams learned from and worked with our Atlanta area community partners and civic entrepreneurs. We are continuing the same approach in 2024. A series of hands-on workshops and discussions, complemented by conversations with experts from the frontlines, will equip participants with broadly relevant problem discovery tools and skills that they can apply in any field and career. The weekly workshops (Mondays, 5:30 to 7:45 pm) are offered as part of the MGT4189 Social Impact course and they are open to any interested student and community partner, but please note that only students who register for the course will be placed in a team and paired with a community partner for I2S participation. Others are welcome to attend the workshops of their choice for their personal development, to learn about useful problem-discovery tools that they can apply in any field, and to get connected to leaders in the social impact space.

We also welcome those teams that are registered for the Global Development Capstone course (with Dr. Kumar’s advisement) to attend these workshops and present at the Showcase.

The deliverable for I2S is a stakeholder map of the social issue student teams explore with their community partner's guidance. The I2S Showcase will take place on April 15, where teams will present the outcome of their work to an audience of practitioners, community leaders, faculty, and students.

Reach Out With Questions

2024 Ideas to Serve

Now - January 8	Register for the Social Impact course (MGT4189)
January 8	First Day of Class
January 8 - April 22	Workshops (as part of MGT4189)
April 15	I2S Showcase and Partner Celebration

January 22	Active Listening
January 29	Community Partner Presentations
Febuary 5	5 WHYs
Febuary 12	Finding Data With Social Explorer
Febuary 19	Presenting Data For Storytelling/Data Visualization
Febuary 26	Asset Based Community Development
March 4	Mapping (Part 1): Introducing the Tool
March 11	Mapping (Part 2): Creating Your Map
March 25	Persuasive Presentations
April 8	Mapping (Part 3): Peer Feedback and Finalizing Your Map
April 15	I2S Showcase and Partner Celebration
April 22	Reflections and Team Awards

We are honored to learn from and work with this diverse group of civic entrepreneurs. We thank them for their time, for sharing their expertise and knowledge, and for guiding our outstanding students in their problem discovery journey.

List of 2024 Partners will be announced in January

Previous Partners

Mapping Tools:

Canva: Create beautiful designs
Infogram: Create engaging infographics and reports
Kumu: A powerful data visualization platform that helps you organize complex information into interactive relationship maps
MindMup: Create, share, and publish mind maps, hassle-free
Piktochart: A simple, intuitive tool that helps you tell your story
Plectica: Helping people visualize and connect information so they can get on the same page
Venngage: Tell your stories and present your data with infographics

5 Whys and Iceberg Models Workshop:

Presentation

What is Systems – Thinking:

What to Consider When Conducting Stakeholder Interviews:

Map the System Submission Guidelines:

Submission Guidelines

2024 Awards

We believe in equitable funding principles and are providing investments to all of our participating community partners. Their time, guidance, and lived experience are crucial for our students' learning journey.

Student Team Awards

People's Choice Award
Best Video Award

Supporters

Center for Civic Innovation
The Cecil B. Day Program for Business Ethics
Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems
Center for Serve - Learn - Sustain
Denning Technology & Management Program
Center for International Business Education and Research
Design Bloc
VentureLab
Global Development Program @ Sam Nunn School of International Affairs
Scheller College of Business
Mosley Ventures
Speechworks
Ted Munchak Chair in Entrepreneurship
The Woodall Servant Leadership Endowment

Ideas to Serve

What is Ideas to Serve?

2024 Ideas to Serve

Key Dates

Workshop Schedule

Community Partners

Resources