Leading with Innovation

This course will train students in how to initiate strategic innovation within large organizations (especially nonprofits and government). It is intended for students who want to build a career in organizational strategy and innovation in any sector, but specifically within an existing organization (not as founder of a new one). This course will teach a skillset, mindset, and team-based model for evolving and deploying innovation approaches within social sector organizations. Having learned this approach, students will address challenges in Chicago in a fast-paced, rotating team structure. Demands for out of class work will be high. Throughout the course, students will engage in strategic conversations on themes surrounding innovation including: the inclusion of data and AI systems, public-private partnerships, technology modernizations, and disruptive service contexts (healthcare, education, security, etc). We’ll discuss how each of these conditions requires adapting the deployment of innovation practices and how to adapt strategies within such contexts.