BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – In mid-March, faculty at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business organized a three-day “virtual idea blitz” to address impacts of COVID-19 across the arenas of health, education and small business, in communities and through changed purchasing behaviors.
Led by Regan Stevenson, assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship and the John and Donna Shoemaker Faculty Fellow in Entrepreneurship, and Matthew Josefy, assistant professor of strategy and entrepreneurship, the initiative resulted in 21 ideas with corresponding pitches were developed in five thematic areas: health needs, education, small businesses, community, and purchasing.
Josefy and Stevenson documented their reflections in an article published in Business Horizons, an academic journal published at Kelley.
Impressed with the effort, the IU Office of the Vice President for Research funded a proposal to provide multiple mini-grants of up to $2,500 to accelerate entrepreneurial responses coming out of the “Idea Sprint Weekend Against COVID-19″ initiative. It complements other support from within the Kelley School.
They are inviting applications for ideas that were developed in March and new ideas that are now being pursued. Those who did not participate in the original event but have a team member or other substantial connection to IU are also eligible to submit applications. The initial deadline for full consideration is May 31.
Those who did not participate in the original program are encouraged to watch a video about the project.
Links to the application and criteria are available at https://www.covid19ideas.org/. To ensure an equitable process, Stevenson and Josefy will be unable to correspond or provide feedback while applications are being prepared. Submitted applications should be submitted to Tammy Rader at tkk@indiana.edu.