FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

DEFINITIONS

PROGRAM BENEFITS

ELIGBILITY AND SELECTION CRITERIA

REQUIREMENTS AND EXPECTATIONS

WHY NEW ORLEANS?

MENTORSHIP

HEALTH

PUBLIC EDUCATION

URBAN REVITALIZATION

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Apply by December 1st, 2010 to win $45,000 stipend and one year fellowship

DEFINITIONS:

What is the Urban Innovation Challenge (UIC)?

The UIC seeks to identify and support the next generation of urban social innovators who have ideas to solve systemic social challenges in the areas of sustainable urban development, public education, health, and economic development.

Through a competitive process, four "Urban Innovators" will be selected to research, test, and further develop their solution to a systemic social challenge. Innovators will be supported and their ideas incubated at Tulane University for one year under the mentorship of either the Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives, the Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship at the A.B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane City Center at the School of Architecture, or the Tulane Community Health Center network.

What do you mean by system-level change?

For the UIC, system-level change refers to the level of impact/change the proposed initiative would have on the city of New Orleans.  To create impact that can improve the entire city, we are looking for initiatives that affect an entire system, rather than just an individual or stand-alone program.   In other words, this is your time to think big!  For example, rather than an initiative to improve one housing project in one neighborhood, the competition encourages you to think about how to revolutionize affordable housing throughout New Orleans.

 Who is an urban innovator?

Urban innovators develop new approaches to tackling society's greatest challenges in radically new ways. They drive compelling improvements in urban environments with outcomes that create system-level change.

For example, the Tulane Community Health Center network works to address one of the most challenging national issues of our time – how to provide culturally appropriate, community centric, high quality, cost-effective care to all, particularly those at most risk such as minorities, the poor and patients with multiple medical conditions.  Tulane University has gone from providing urgent care services to people on the streets in the days after Katrina to operating eight community health sites ranging from an adolescent health program to mobile medical units, school health sites, and comprehensive neighborhood health-care centers.  These health care delivery models are nationally recognized for innovation, community engagement and workforce development.  They are helping to heal the New Orleans community.

Another example is the Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives, which takes Tulane University beyond the typical framework in which higher education institutions traditionally interact with preschool-12 public education systems.    It is currently piloting an advanced placement training and incentive program in several public high schools in New Orleans. This initiative infuses these high schools with a new culture and direction based on improving post-secondary education awareness, preparedness, and success. It is premised on proven strategies using a philosophy of high expectations and incentives for performance. Research has shown that the main components of this initiative – providing at-risk students access to advanced placement courses, extensive professional development opportunities for school personnel, and performance-based financial incentives for students and teachers – drastically increase the number of students (especially minorities) who are prepared for and graduate from college.

PROGRAM BENEFITS:

What type of training and support is provided throughout the year of the program?

Urban Innovators will receive a $45,000 stipend to develop their solutions for one year, with exclusive mentorship from Tulane's current innovators in these four areas.  Innovators will have access to Tulane resources, including office space, e-mail, and the library for research purposes. 

At successful completion of the incubation year, innovators may also be introduced to prospective launch and development-stage funders, including Echoing Green, the Draper Richards Foundation, Investors Circle, as well as relevant stakeholders in the mayor's office.

Urban Innovators will also receive professional development and technical assistance support by Tulane's Social Entrepreneurship Initiatives.  Urban Innovators will have several unique opportunities to present and get feedback on their innovative solutions to students, community partners, funders, and potential investors through exclusive partnerships with Idea Village and Tulane's Center for Public Service AmeriCorps VISTA Program.  

Tulane University will also coordinate appropriate networking opportunities with relevant community partners to ensure that initiative gets the community support it needs to be successful.

 What is the total compensation an urban innovator will receive during the one year program?

Innovators will receive a $45,000 stipend, and will receive these funds on a quarterly basis.   Taxes will be deducted from this stipend amount.  Applicants will be asked to provide a budget for the use of these funds during the second round of application, but the stipend can be used for anything related to developing the initiative, including salary, living expenses, transportation or other expenses related to the year of work. 

 Do urban innovators receive office space at Tulane University?

Yes, innovators will be given work space at the centers in which they are mentored. 

When do selected Urban Innovators begin their year of work?

Urban Innovation Challenge winners will need to begin working with Tulane mentors on March 1st, 2011.  Program will end March 1st, 2012. 

ELIGBILITY AND CRITERIA:

Who is eligible to apply for the Urban Innovation Challenge?

The Urban Innovation Challenge is open to people of all ages, backgrounds and experience levels.

We are seeking individuals who are impatient for change and passionate about transforming New Orleans. Urban Innovators create radical new solutions to society's greatest challenges.  

They drive compelling improvements in urban environments with outcomes that create system level change.  If these qualities sound like you, and you want to work on developing, researching, and testing your innovative solution with funding and mentorship from Tulane University - then you are eligible to apply for the Urban Innovation Challenge. 

What criteria will be used to select the four Urban Innovators?

The UIC seeks to identify and support the next generation of urban social innovators who have ideas to solve systemic social challenges.   Therefore, we are seeking proposals that have:

• An innovative and sustainable idea that addresses system level social challenges in one of four areas:
• • Housing and Urban Development
  • Health
  • Public Education
  • Economic Development
• Reflect the needs of the community and would benefit from being incubated and supported by Tulane mentorship for one year
• A direct, positive impact on the greater New Orleans area

 Applicants that fulfill the criteria above, will be selected based on the following criteria:

Objective Criteria:

• Idea addresses system level problem.
• Solution reflects the needs of community.
• Solution will have an impact on New Orleans.
• Solution is viable, and can be measured and tested.
• Innovator will benefit from being incubated for one year at Tulane.

Subjective Criteria:

• Strong, succinct presentation of an innovative idea that would benefit from being incubated within the Tulane network.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Potential for assuming leadership roles as evidenced by prior experience, accomplishments, membership on external boards and committees, references, etc.
• Past evidence of entrepreneurial behavior, including risk-taking and perseverance.
• Proven commitment to serving vulnerable populations and improving their outcomes.

Who is part of the Selection Committee?

• Shannon Jones, Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives
• Karen DeSalvo, Tulane Community Health Center
• Scott Bernhard, Tulane City Center
• John Elstrott, Levy-Rosenblum Institute
• Vincent Ilustre, Tulane Center for Public Service
• Tim Williamson, Idea Village
• Yvette Jones, Tulane Administration
• Michael Bernstein, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
• Selected speakers from Urban Innovations Conference (TBD)
• Four community experts and experienced entrepreneurs representing each target field (TBD)

REQUIREMENTS AND EXPECTATIONS:

What is the application process?

Step 1 - Statement of Intent: All Applicants Applications
Due by 5pm on Dec 1, 2010

This initial step provides an introduction to your proposed venture. It will be used to determine which candidates will be invited to submit a full application.

The online application form requires the following:

• Contact Information
• Gender
• Date of Birth
• Education Level
• Resume
• 3 page abstract/ proposal:
• • Please clearly explains your initiative and how you will use the year long program to develop (or further develop) and launch it.
  • Please include how New Orleans will be a part of the initial growth plans of your initiative.

Step 2 - Full Application: Invited Applicants Only
Due January 15, 2011

Select applicants will be asked to present full project proposal by January 15, 2011. 

Full proposal should include:

• Blueprint of plans for year, including more detailed goals and objectives, implementation plan, project deliverables, and evaluation methodology.
• ResumeWriting sample
• 3 references
• Proposed budget for year of work

What is the deadline for application?

All Applications are due by 5pm on Dec 1, 2010.   From there, invited applicants will be asked to present a full project proposal by full project proposal by January 15, 2011 at 5pm.

What can an Urban Innovator expect in terms of mentorship from Tulane experts?

• Technical support, expert advice, networking and one-on-one mentorship with a university advisor
• Connections with local, regional and national stakeholders and experts
• Advice, review and guidance from mentor on a consistent basis
• Follow up and review of assessment plans
• Office space, e-mail account, access to library, and other support services from Tulane University
• Other:
• • Opportunity to present work/host workshop two times during the program year to selected audience of experts, community partners and students
  • Monthly meetings/workshops with other innovators  and AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers
  • Access to workshops and networking opportunities hosted by Tulane's Social Entrepreneurship Initiatives and Idea Village 

Who employs the Urban Innovators, and are innovators eligible for employee benefits?

Urban Innovators will not be employees of Tulane University, and therefore will not receive benefits.

Innovators may be employed by another entity, but they must have written permission  from current employer to work on this innovation project for the year.  

Innovators will be considered visiting research fellows.

Innovators will receive a $45,000 stipend, and will receive these funds on a quarterly basis.   Taxes will be deducted from this stipend amount. 

Upon completion of the program, what do Urban Innovators go on to do?

At the end of the year (March 2012), innovators and their initiatives are expected to no longer be reliant on Tulane funding.

The purpose of the UIC is to give urban innovators an opportunity to design, test, research, and develop solutions to systemic social challenges that will be sustained over an extended period of time, with support from Tulane's network of experts. 

While financial support of the innovator ends when the program is complete, the network, relationships, and experiences gained should support innovators far into the future.

Does Tulane University oversee and evaluate innovators work over time?

Each innovator is required to draft an accountability plan that provides both a high-level overview of his or her project as well as specific benchmarks and implementation measures necessary for success. 

Release of stipend funds will be contingent on executing deliverables and benchmarks determined by accountability plan.  A key purpose of the accountability plan is to ensure that the innovators' initiative can stand on its own by the end of the program.

Each innovator is required to make quarterly presentations to Tulane staff, advisers, and other innovators on their progress and to elicit guidance and constructive feedback. Innovators must make substantial and sustained progress toward implementing their ventures in order to retain the stipend and will be expected to submit quarterly reports. 

Does an Urban Innovator's idea for a new initiative remain the innovator's intellectual property during the program or does the idea become Tulane University's intellectual property?

Urban Innovator's ideas and initiatives are their own.  Innovators own their initiatives and are ultimately responsible for the success of their initiatives. Upon completion of UIC, the Innovator has no ongoing responsibility to Tulane University; however, it is Tulane's expectation that the innovators will continue to lead the initiative that he or she incubated and developed with the support of Tulane.

NEW ORLEANS:

To participate in the Urban Innovation Challenge, do I have to live in New Orleans?

You may not live here yet, but you will be required to reside in New Orleans if selected.  We are seeking individuals who can commit to residing in New Orleans for the program. 

Urban Innovators will be asked to participate in numerous events, workshops, and regularly scheduled meetings with Tulane mentors.  Innovators will have access to Tulane resources, including office space, e-mail, and the library for research purposes. 

Does my initiative need to include New Orleans?

Yes.  The goal of this program is to support the next generation of urban innovators whose work may help transform New Orleans into a model city.  Therefore, their initiative must have a direct impact on the New Orleans community.  Ideally, these initiatives will become system changing and therefore scalable to other cities and communities in the future.   

MENTORSHIP:

Health:

Tulane Community Health Center

The Tulane Community Health Center works to address one of the most challenging national issues of our time – how to provide culturally appropriate, community centric, high quality, cost-effective care to all, particularly those at most risk such as minorities, the poor and patients with multiple medical conditions.  Tulane University has gone from providing urgent care services to people on the streets in the days after Katrina to operating eight community health sites ranging from an adolescent health program to mobile medical units, school health sites, and comprehensive neighborhood health-care centers.  These care models are nationally recognized for innovation, community engagement and workforce development.  They are helping to heal the New Orleans community. Tulane has also expanded services in the community through partnerships with other organizations.  Increasingly, Tulane is being called upon to advise and guide neighborhoods, leaders and organizations in ways that improve community health and increase access to quality community health care.  In addition, Tulane has developed a line of high quality, community-based research that is providing an evidence base to develop new models of care and assess the impact of existing care.  Finally, the university is widely considered to be the area expert on community health through its efforts to inform local, state and national policy. 

Lead Mentor:  Karen De Salvo, Professor of Medicine

Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc is Professor of Medicine at the Tulane School of Medicine and holds the C. Thorpe Ray Endowed Chair in Internal Medicine.   She serves as for Vice Dean for Community Affairs and Health Policy at Tulane University School of Medicine and has responsibility for implementing the Medical School's mission to build healthier communities, including oversight of the community health center programs. She also has served as the Section Chief of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics since 2000.  Dr. DeSalvo's research and policy interests focus on advancing policy and practice aimed at improving care quality and effectiveness with a particular focus on vulnerable populations. Dr. DeSalvo has been a leader in health sector recovery and health care reform efforts in Louisiana since Hurricane Katrina.  She also led the development of a replicable model of a neighborhood based medical home for the medically under-served which is now a Tier 3 NCQA Patient Centered Medical Home.  She was selected as a founding member of the Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum Board and chairs its Medical Home Committee.  She a member of the Louisiana Medicaid Technical Advisory Committee and is Vice Chair of the Louisiana Health Care Commission. 

Dr. DeSalvo was recognized the Woman of Excellence in Health Care by the Louisiana Legislative Women's Caucus for her health care reform efforts in 2008. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts in Biology and Political Science.  She matriculated to Tulane University Health Sciences Center where she simultaneously received her Medical Doctorate and Masters of Public Health.  She remained at Tulane as a resident, Chief Resident and Innovator in Internal Medicine.  She participated as a innovator in the Program in Clinical Effectiveness at Harvard University where she received a Masters in Clinical Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health in May of 2002.

Public Education:

The Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives

The Cowen Institute takes Tulane University beyond the typical framework in which higher education institutions traditionally interact with preschool--12 public education systems.  Using a multidisciplinary approach, the Cowen Institute aspires to pioneer a new model for the role of major research universities in public school systems. The Cowen Institute's initiatives, priorities and programs are guided by research, accountability to the community we seek to serve, and a desire to foster sustained long-term positive change.  In order to achieve our goals for the public education system, we situate our efforts in the context of larger social policy, encourage grassroots advocacy, and collaborate with partner organizations, particularly Tulane-affiliated partners, to draw on our collective strengths. 

Lead Mentor: Shannon Jones, Executive Director, Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives

Shannon Jones is the founding director of the Cowen Institute, which opened its doors at Tulane University in March 2007. She oversees the Institute's staff, activities, and budget. Shannon, a New Orleans native, holds a Bachelor's degree in Media Arts and Information Technology from Tulane University. Prior to her current position, Shannon handled project management for the Bring New Orleans Back Commission's Education Committee and was responsible for coordinating Tulane President Scott Cowen's efforts to effect systemic change in the public school system of the city of New Orleans. Prior to venturing into the nonprofit sector, Shannon spent five years as the Product Manager for Broadband Products at Cox Communications, a national telecommunications firm. At Cox, Shannon managed product strategy, development, marketing, communications, and finance for the company's broadband products, including high-speed internet and telephone services. Prior to that, she coordinated communications for the New Orleans Superdome, as well as assisted in the development of the brand strategy for the New Orleans Arena when it opened in 1999. She currently serves as a board member for the Louisiana SPCA, Louisiana Appleseed, and the Foundation for Math and Science Education, which supports two New Orleans charter schools (New Orleans Math and Science Charter High School and New Orleans Math & Science Academy). She is also on the advisory board for Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans and Educate Now.

Housing and Urban Revitilization:

Tulane City Center

The Tulane City Center is devoted to producing tangible results that are well integrated into their community context and that answer real needs defined by the involved constituents. We are looking for a innovator who is committed to addressing the real challenges and obstacles that exist in our broadly defined fields of community design and community development. New Orleans has seen many speculative proposals developed that while exciting and visionary, stand little chance of being implemented. We would like to support a innovator who is striving to strike the balance between reaching for excellence and innovation and being grounded in political, fiscal, environmental and cultural realities.

The successful applicant will have the opportunity to work alongside the TCC team on many of the active projects in our office. Such experience will help a innovator to understand how urban development projects of various scales are playing out over time and how various projects bring different constituencies together.

Lead Mentor: Scott Bernhard, Director Tulane City Center

Scott Bernhard is the Director of the Tulane City Center at the Tulane School of Architecture in New Orleans where he has been a member of the faculty for 20 years. Scott holds the Jean & Saul A. Mintz Professorship in Architecture and has served as both Associate Dean and Interim Dean. He is the recipient of numerous teaching awards including the "Inspirational Teacher Award" and the "Excellence in Teaching Award," University wide honors bestowed by Tulane, and others from the ACSA and TSA. He was the 1995 Tulane School of Architecture Professor of the Year, and won the Malcolm W. Heard Teaching Award in 2001 and again in 2007. He is a licensed Architect and a principal of Prosus Design—a small, private research and design practice focused on building in the climate and context of New Orleans. He has built more than a dozen residential additions and minor buildings in New Orleans and the surrounding region, winning an AIA Honor Award and other local awards for his work.

Since 2001, he has taught studio and seminar courses investigating the subject of multi-family housing which has become the basis of his current academic production. He was the Graphic Designer for The French Quarter Manuel and other books on New Orleans architecture. He is the co-author of a forthcoming book on New Orleans housing typology and principal investigator on numerous grants investigating the past and future of New Orleans housing typology and urban morphology. Scott recently became president of the Lime Agency for Sustainable Hot/Humid Design - a new non-profit organization dedicated to green building practices in the hot/humid tropical and subtropical zones, such as New Orleans. In his current position as Director of the Tulane City Center, he is responsible for all aspects of the Center's operation, planning, and design quality. He works with program directors, project coordinators, co-lateral organizations and institutional partners to create the context for successful outreach and research efforts. In this role he has overseen the completion of more than 60 successful design and construction projects working with dozens of community partners throughout New Orleans.

The work of the Tulane City Center has received many National awards including ASLA and AIA awards and has received more than a dozen large grants and private donations totaling over two million dollars in the past three years.

Economic Development: 

Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship

The Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship trains and inspires entrepreneurs through coursework, community service projects and internships. The Institute provides the opportunity to work with experienced faculty members of entrepreneurship, network with a regional board of entrepreneurs and participate in a entrepreneurial association which provides a training ground for business development. An Urban Innovation Challenge proposal in the area of economic development must demonstrate alignment of stakeholder interests, sustainability from the perspective of each stakeholder, and the formation of a for-profit or nonprofit entity to effectively address the identified social need in a financially sustainable manner within 3 years.

Lead Mentor: Dr. John Elstrott, Executive Director of Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship

Dr. John Elstrott is a Professor of Entrepreneurship and the Executive Director of the Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship at Tulane University's Freeman School of Business in New Orleans, LA. He holds bachelor and master's degrees in economics from Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge and a doctorate in economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Dr. Elstrott teaches courses in entrepreneurship and has research interests in the areas of entrepreneurship, family business, strategic planning, regional economic development, technology commercialization, and the environment. He has won numerous teaching awards including the National Freedoms Foundation Leavey Award for Excellence in Private Enterprise Education, the Edwin Appel Prize for bringing Entrepreneurial Vitality to Academe, and the James T. Murphy award for Teaching Excellence. He was named the Ernst and Young Louisiana Entrepreneur of the Year in 1997 for his support of entrepreneurship education.In 2007 Dr. Elstrott was awarded the Howard W. Wissner Award in recognition of a professor who has displayed excellence in teaching, interest in students, and their activities and exceptional efforts to improve the A. B. Freeman School of Business.

As Executive Director of the Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship, Dr. Elstrott manages entrepreneurship research projects and programs designed to train and inspire entrepreneurs. The institute also contributes to regional economic development through the coordination of joint academic, government, and business initiatives that stimulate private enterprise. Dr. Elstrott is a consultant to family businesses and profit and not-for-profit corporations. He is the Director of the Tulane Family Business Center. He has also served as an economic development and strategic planning consultant for state and municipal governments. Prior to joining the Tulane University faculty, Dr. Elstrott was Chief Financial Officer for Celestial Seasonings, Inc. He is an active entrepreneur in the venture capital, wetlands mitigation banking, music, pharmaceutical, financial services, natural food, and authentic herbal remedy industries. Dr. Elstrott serves on the boards of several public and private corporations and non-profit community service organizations. He serves as the lead director and is past chair of the audit committee for Whole Foods Market, Inc., a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company.

Program Manager for Innovators

Stephanie Barksdale, Special Assistant to President Cowen for Social Entrepreneurship Initiatives at Tulane University.

After working in the diplomatic field for several years, Stephanie received her MPA, with a concentration in non-profit management, from NYU Wagner School of Public Service.  Stephanie has also worked for The Low Income Investment Fund, Upwardly Global, and the King Hussein Foundation International. Currently, Stephanie is helping Tulane build upon its strengths in service learning and civic engagement to develop a university-wide, interdisciplinary social entrepreneurship program. Current initiatives include the NewDay Speaker Series and the NewDay Social Entrepreneurship Challenge, the AshokaU Changemaker campus partnership, and searches for an Endowed Chair and faculty professorships to develop an undergraduate major.