Social Entrepreneurship in Health

Dear Champion Supporter,

The Transdisciplinary Service-Learning program, focused on Fiscal Health in Franklin Field, that we have shared with you is now underway! We will use this medium to send you updates as the project moves forward.

Also, we invite to you send us inquiries or comments and to participate in this process…attend a session, talk to participants about their experiences, or join us for the final presentations in May 2009.

Click here for more details about the Project on Fiscal Health in Franklin Field.

Project Orientation

On Saturday Feb. 7th and Sunday Feb. 8th, the Transdisciplinary Social Impact Team met for the first time at the program orientation. The two-day orientation featured an introduction to the Codman Square and Franklin Field communities, a variety of team-building exercises, and a meeting with many of the project stakeholders: BU faculty, local physicians, community residents, local police officers, and representatives from community organizations. By the end of an intense 10 hours of orientation activities, the team had established their vision for the project:

To generate a sustainable model and transdisciplinary partnership to empower and inspire the community towards unimpeded independence to shape our shared destiny.

Working through a leadership development curriculum created using materials and guidance from Management Sciences for Health, the team also produced their first measurable result:

To identify three priority actions for at least two cases and complete the first priority action for each case by March 27th, 2009.

Meet the Transdisciplinary Team

The team consists of six graduate students from the Boston University Schools of Education, Law, Medicine and Public Health. Although the students come from a variety of backgrounds, they are united by the spirit of service. Over the rest of Spring Semester, the team will be meeting every Friday for 2 hours to complete an alternating series of service and learning modules intertwined with leadership development exercises.

The team has already completed one learning module on Feb. 13th about “Income: A Root Cause of Health Disparities?” facilitated by Doreen Treacy (CivicHealth Institute & DotWell), one service module on Feb. 20th hosted by Kathy McKenzie-Johnson, the DotWell Fiscal Health Case Manager, and a second learning module on Feb. 27th about “Undoing Racism” facilitated by Adam Gibbons. In the service module, the team met with residents of Franklin Field with whom they will be working for the rest of the semester. They used the opportunity to get to know one another and to start to determine the priority actions for each resident household.

Your Role in this Process

You are free to choose your level of involvement as this program moves forward. From attentive observer to active participant and everything in-between, your support has been and will continue to be invaluable. Thank you.