TEACHERS’ AID Dr. Faith Freeman works with Asheboro City Schools teacher Brianna King.
SOCIAL INNOVATION A Catalyst for Positive Change in NC Imagine a place where scholars are encouraged to teach, research, and publish – and translate that work into practical solutions that can scale up quickly and effectively. While many universities reward faculty members who pursue patents, license agreements, and industry collaborations, it’s less common to find an institution that also invests in social innovation and entrepreneurship. “Social innovation is the intentional development of creative solutions to society’s problems to create positive change,” explains UNCG’s Chief Innovation Officer Dr. David Wyrick. “It refers to the development and implementation of new ideas, products, or services that can be applied across the non-profit, public, and private sectors. Social entrepreneurship is similar, but there is an additional focus on applying entrepreneurial principles and generating revenue to achieve sustainability and scalability.”
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uncg research spring 2024
UNCG is building a deliberate culture of both social innovation and social entrepreneurship – and North Carolina communities are reaping the benefits. It starts with the desire to solve an acute community problem. The need for trauma training among counselors and teachers. To address COVID-19 learning losses in K-12. To effectively recruit and retain teachers, who are currently leaving education in droves. It’s facilitated by UNCG’s critical partnerships in our communities. Community leaders communicate needs and work with UNCG researchers to design and refine solutions in real-time. It’s possible because UNCG encourages its faculty to engage in creative thinking and collaboration across disciplines, most recently by bringing them together through idea incubators. Thanks to this expanding collaborative infrastructure, UNCG is advancing knowledge and making tangible, meaningful impact beyond campus borders.