VILLANOVA SOCIAL IMPACT COMPETITION

The Impact Competition is a collegiate case competition that addresses a unique social issue each year by directly partnering with an area nonprofit organization. Teams of students develop effective solutions for the most pressing issues affecting the communities they live in, with the winning team receiving funds that allow them to fully implement their idea.

The Villanova Social Impact Competition is an annual case competition hosted by the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE). Each year, we partner with a local nonprofit organization whose mission addresses a pressing social issue and aligns with Villanova’s Augistinian values. Together, we develop a problem statement that outlines a specific challenge that faces the nonprofit. Students work on teams to develop ideas that address the problem and pitch their idea to a panel of judges from Villanova, the partner organization, and Impact Competition. The team that presents the most compelling, sustainable idea receives $10,000 towards bringing their idea to reality with the partner organization and a work stipend. The competition is a mandatory assignment in several business and engineering courses, but is open to any undergraduate, graduate, or law student at the University.

This year, we're partnering with Philadelphia nonprofit, Inner Strength. A bit about them:

Our mission is to empower teens to realize their higher potentials by teaching them skills that cultivate calm, curiosity, and care.

Inner Strength Education’s innovative program combines the best evidence-based, trauma-sensitive mindfulness and self reflection tools with systems or contextual thinking, evolutionary brain science, and an understanding of the interplay between the world around us and our personal experience. In-school programs embed whole-person mental and emotional wellness with academic learning. This creates environments where teachers and students can regulate, bringing curiosity and joy back into the classroom. Working in under-resourced schools with the latest evidence-based wellness tools opens access to these supportive strategies.

Eligibility

This competition is a graded assignment in VSB 3900 - H01, VSB 3900 - H02, and EGEN 2200 - 001, but is open to any undergraduate, graduate, or law student.
If you are entering this competition outside of a class, your team will meet regularly with IIE to ensure you're on track and ready for Pitch Day.

Student Registration and Submission

Register your team here. NOTE: You do not need a fully formed idea to register; we'll work with you throughout the semester and provide resources to help prepare you for Pitch Day.
Submit your pitch deck here by date.

Problem Statement and Supporting Materials

Competition Resources
Inner Strength Resources

Peer Reviewed Research Articles & Book Chapters

Razza, R., Bergen-Cico, D., Reid, S., & Uveges, R. L. (2021). The Benefits of Mindfulness for Promoting Resilience Among At-Risk Adolescents: Results From the Inner Strength Teen Program. ECNU Review of Education, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/2096531120982254
Zhang, Y., Razza, R., Wang, Q. et al. Mechanisms of Change Underlying Mindfulness-Based Practice Among Adolescents. Mindfulness 13, 1445–1457 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01881-z
Razza, R., Edelstein, A., Lacher, A.P., Promising Results from Mindfulness-based Cognitive & Emotional Wellness Supports for Urban Adolescents During the Pandemic. Critical Volume Series, Wan, Guofang Ed., Information Age Publishing, Inc., forthcoming 2023.
Edelstein, A., and Razza, R., Cultivating Calm, Curiosity, and Care among Urban Adolescents: Exploring the positive impact of mindfulness-based practices in under-resourced schools, Supporting Children and Youth Through Spiritual Education, Chapman, Amy Ed., IGI Global, forthcoming 2023.