Deliverables

Bringing into Focus: Strategic Communication Plan. Based on the data we collected, this plan will provide recommendations and strategies for creating stronger mission centered messaging across IW’s key voices.

Communication Resources

1. The Bold Mission Video: Mission Messaging. This video will outline Innovation Work’s mission through the words of community members
2. Walking Beside: The Mentor Network. An in depth look at the mentor network through mentor-mentee relationships.
3. Innovation that Works: A Short Documentary. The documentary will portray the collaborative relationship between Innovation Works and key social entrepreneurs igniting change in Baltimore today.

Mission

The mission of Innovation Works Baltimore is to reduce Baltimore’s neighborhood and racial wealth divide by teaching and accompanying members of disinvested communities to build and own successful social enterprises.

Challenge

Create a strategic plan for the implementation of cohesive communication resources.

Research Activities

Innovation Works seeks to better engage their stakeholders through refined communication. We conducted a total of 25 Zoom and face-to-face interviews with employees, mentors, community partners, and social entrepreneurs. In addition to this qualitative data, we curated a digital survey which was disseminated to the newsletter audience. Our 93 responses provided crucial information about the values, needs, and communication habits of each audience.

Key Findings

1. The work of many hands (Network) Diversity in passion and participation throughout the network create different opportunities for the mission to be shared.
2. Speaking from the same page (Employees) Cohesion in communication messages will create one amplified voice.
3. Everything comes back to the entrepreneurs (Entrepreneurs) All other stakeholders such as mentors, community partners, and investors are centered around their commitment to the social entrepreneurs.

2021

Social Enterprise:
Innovation Works Baltimore

Fellows:

Hannah Miller
Communication
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Nat Gilmore
Communication
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Ángel Macías
Ethnic Studies, Political Science
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