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
$17M Operation Breakthrough expansion to bridge Troost, boost STEM and maker skills
An Operation Breakthrough expansion from the east side of Troost Avenue to the west is about more than jumping across the street, said Mary Esselman. The move will literally bridge a racial and economic dividing line that has persisted for decades. “Bridging Troost is not only a legacy to our founders, but is huge symbolically,…
ClusterTruck sizzles on KC food delivery scene with ‘ghost kitchen’ concept
The innovation cooking within ClusterTruck’s technology makes the rapidly expanding Indianapolis company a fresh take on the restaurant-quality food delivery scene, Christian Moscoso said. “We are a software company with our own ghost kitchens, if you will,” said Moscoso, general manager for ClusterTruck’s new River Market kitchen, which opened in mid-December without a public entrance…
Innovation Exchange returns in 2018 with new partners, topics
One of my favorite parts of journalism is the “Hm!” moment. They are the occasions when reading, watching or listening to a story whose details yield an inborn reaction of fascination or intrigue. They can’t be stopped. When your curiosity piqued, “Hmm!” is an impulse. “The SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket produced 5 million pounds of…
Sickweather storms market with overfunded $1M crowdfunding campaign amid flu season
An illness forecaster is never more valuable than when the threat of a widespread virus is high. This year’s severe flu season, however, is only one of the leading contributors to Sickweather’s uptick in interest — and its recent oversubscribed $1 million crowdfunding campaign, said founder Graham Dodge. “We learn a lot every cold and…