KC Social Innovation Center kicks off with $100K
June 23, 2016 | Kat Hungerford
Education in Kansas City is receiving an innovative boost.
Village Capital, a global entrepreneurial development organization, recently announced that Kansas City will be one of its pioneer “VilCap communities.”
The KC Social Innovation Center, or KCSIC, will manage Kansas City’s VilCap community. The organization — launched by Think Big Partners in May — focuses on education as a means to fuel economic development, said Kari Keefe, executive director of the KC Social Innovation Center.
The program opened its doors to 16 U.S. cities, inviting entrepreneurs in each community to tackle hot-button issues. Each city has an assigned focus. Kansas City will be the only education-focused community, while other metros will work on health, water and energy, food and agriculture, financial technology and minority entrepreneurship.
“We provide a central hub for social innovation to amplify and open the community of innovation to initiate and establish new methods in economic development, tech, education and learning in digital cities,” Keefe said. “We’re not only creating spaces where change happens, but leveraging the co-work and co-design models to produce a network of networks with innovative actors and ideas that work together for the public good.”
Growing education innovation efforts sets the stage for the area becoming a national innovation leader, Keefe added.
“Kansas City’s education sector is rapidly evolving,” she said. “It is progressive and innovative, and VilCap has recognized our capacity to lead the nation as a catalyst for education innovation and ed entrepreneurship.”
To become a VilCap community, KCSIC secured $50,000 from the City of Kansas City, Mo., and partnered with The Lean Lab to match an additional $50,000. The Lean Lab will also provide curriculum and other support for VilCap efforts.
“This is exciting for Kansas City, and VilCap Communities is just the beginning,” Keefe said. “With the financial boost from the City of Kansas City, Missouri, now we can continue developing superior education innovations and entrepreneurs throughout the region.”
The non-profit hopes to provide much-needed structure to fully develop education efforts for the region, said Keefe.
“My hope is that KCSIC provides the infrastructure and network needed to actualize the advancement of education innovations, learning and workforce development in digital cities,” she said.
2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
New collaboration will help OP startup 3D bioprint, scale its next-gen biotech solution
A Kansas biotech startup’s new manufacturing partner will boost efforts to automate and mass produce Ronawk’s headline-grabbing Bio-Block technology — a platform that has already accelerated medical advancements in tissue therapy. “Collaboration is critical for turning research advances into commercial therapies rapidly. The complexity and diversity of modalities is so big that nobody can do…
Museums shouldn’t feel like artifacts, KC firm says; Here’s how Multistudio uses analog experiences to build buzz
Multistudio doesn’t exclusively design museums, but the Westport-based architecture firm — along with Kansas City itself — certainly is having a museum moment, shared Robert Riccardi. The firm’s local portfolio includes a growing number of new-era museums, including The Rabbit Hole, the Laugh-O-gram animation studio, and the Satchel Paige House. They’re not your traditional museums…
Back2KC sets return date for its 2024 homecoming effort, scouting familiar faces to build an even stronger KC
When Back2KC returns this fall, the homegrown talent recruitment initiative will lean on unexpected connections to entice former residents — now out-of-town professionals — to give Kansas City’s recent Golden Age another look, organizers said. “The biggest win we can have is if these expats and ex-Kansas Citians come back, move their families here, move…
‘A piece of something bigger’: Makers help raise fabric of community with Union Station quilt project
A trio of Kansas City maker businesses wove together their talents this spring in support of a new, local health initiative — culminating in a towering expression of hope and healing at Union Station. Ampersand Design Studio, Tia Curtis Quilts, and Collective EX spent the past three weeks designing, fabricating, and displaying a colorful quilt…