By Jamie L. Freedman
After months of behind-the-scenes discussion and analysis, the Innovation Task Force will present its top-ranked innovation ideas to the GW community next week at two “showcases of ideas.”
The university-wide forums, scheduled for April 17 on the Foggy Bottom Campus and April 19 on the Virginia Science and Technology Campus, will feature brief overviews of phase four leading proposals, followed by breakout sessions focusing on individual initiatives. Utilizing community-wide feedback garnered at the showcases, the ITF will subsequently winnow down the list to six initiatives on which to move forward.
After the community meetings, the top proposals will be presented to President Steven Knapp and his council of senior administrators for final selection, followed by implementation planning in the next fiscal year.
The ITF has made swift progress since its October 2009 launch. Implementation planning is well underway for the 17 leading innovation ideas selected during the first three phases of the initiative. To date, $43.3 million in recurring annual savings and revenue enhancements has been identified toward the ITF’s $60 million goal, and $11.2 million of ITF funds has been budgeted for investment in the university’s top academic priorities this fiscal year.
The initiative, established by Dr. Knapp to help make university operations more effective, efficient and innovative, generates six top ideas every six months. Nearly 500 ideas have been generated, analyzed and vetted since the ITF’s establishment two and a half years ago.
“I am very thankful for the exceptional efforts put forth by the phase four exploration team,” says Dave Lawlor, senior associate vice president for finance and co-chairman of the Innovation Task Force Steering Committee.
“This group of distinguished individuals, many of whom have now served for multiple years, labored to explore new territory and come up with a robust list of new ideas. After vetting hundreds of ideas, one can imagine it is no easy task to generate a new batch of compelling ideas. The team has delivered in typical GW fashion. We are looking forward to sharing these ideas with you at the upcoming showcases.”
For more information on the leading proposals, visit innovation.gwu.edu and register for one of the showcases.