SUMMER 2007
Sustainable Business Enterprise Development
GoChicago
How can we redevelop businesses to be socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable? Are there ways to create profit while building social capital in communities and improving the environment? These were two of the foundational questions asked during the development of a new business called GoChicago, an experiential gift company which aimed to create a new niche market within the gift giving industry. Students researched a variety of models for businesses and social venture enterprises, visiting and interviewing other sustainable business leaders in Chicago in order to develop a sustainable business plan. The final product was a comprehensive business plan for an experiential gift giving company. The company’s goal was to provide meaningful gifts in the form of crafted experiences which would highlight social and environmental sustainability organizations and activities in Chicago.
Sustainable Presidential Campaigns
Plant a Tree for Obama
What should the goal of a presidential election be? Are they simply to get one person elected, or can they do more; increase civic engagement and voter turnout? Do you think the four billion dollars spent on the 2004 presidential election was a big waste of money? So did we, and investigated presidential campaigns and ways value might be added to that system. Research focused on understanding the complex system of election laws and the regulations governing campaign contributions, and by interviewing political consultants and environmental Political Act Committees we developed a broad understanding of election politics and finance. Our research led us to focus on grassroots campaign strategies, and the creation of campaign field guides for precinct captains. One such guide was for an event where neighbors would plant trees in neighborhood green spaces, adding aesthetic and environmental value to community while engaging people in the campaign process in a non conventional way.
Development of a Local Food System
Bridging the Gap
What is sustainable agriculture mean in an urban context? How is access to fresh food linked to the rise in obesity and other health problems in Chicago? How does local food fit into the solutions toward global climate change? Can urban agriculture provide enough food to feed a growing city, and reverse the trend of farm land homogenization? Bridging the Gap was a project focused on the local food system, and in particular how fresh affordable food might be made universally accessible. With these questions as a starting point we researched and investigated a broad spectrum of issues, everything from the effectiveness of community gardens and the emergency food system to the role that multinational food conglomerates play in influence national agricultural policy. From this we hoped to identify areas for opportunity, and catalog how a variety of efforts in Chicago might be coordinated to make a more unified and effective movement. Of the areas of opportunity identified, expanding nutritional and growing education in schools, and introducing more local foods purchases into city programming showed substantial promise. Other efforts to improve the local food system include; developing a two tier pricing program with local farmers in order to sell at wholesale prices, and creating a how-to guidebook regarding building urban farms.
SUMMER 2006
Inaugurating a new eight-week version of the course, the 2006 summer USDS project brought nine participants together from across the United States. Field trips and guest speakers were similiar to those of past programs. The group undertook several different projects, including a major consulting assignment from the City of Chicago Department of Environment.
City of Chicago, Department of Environment
How can design inform the development of public policy? What is the role of city government with regard to the development of more environmentally friendly enterprises? What is being done elsewhere in this regard? These and other questions were deeply explored by USDS participants at the request of Chicago's Department of Environment. A challenging assignment, the project involved regular meetings with senior City policy directors, extensive research, brainstorming, program recommendation development, information organization and design, the compilation of a major report, and a final presentation to senior representatives from several City departments. The resulting document has since been cited frequently by city officials, and has served as the basis for ongoing policy development.
The Enterprising Kitchen
A social venture enterprise located close to Foresight's studio, The Enterprising Kitchen (TEK) produces hand-made soaps and candles while also serving as a job training program for lower-income women striving for self-sufficiency and economic independence. USDS partcipants had the opportunity to learn about TEK, meet some of the women who work there, and then to provide a range of pro bono design services. These included the design of new door signage and a special fundraising appeal, ideas for a revamped office lobby area, and development of a new "signature" product.
Access Living
A major Chicago disabilities rights and service organization, Access Living has been planning the construction of their new headquarters for several years. Program participants undertook an extensive exploration of the function and potential design of a user-centered information system for the building's lobby. Incorporating universal and values-based design principles, team members envisioned an approach that would encourage informal interaction and provide relevant information to people with differing limitations.
Green Museum Project
A team of USDS participants further developed work exploring the potential implications for major museums engaging sustainability principles, a project begun for the Museum of Science and Industry by participants in the January 2006 program. A variety of aspects were examined, including exhibit development, design and installation; facility operations; visitor transportation; and communications.
JANUARY 2006
Urban Sustainable Design Studio
This year's group of nine participants worked on five different projects, including three for outside clients. As in previous years, they also read selected books and articles and had extensive meetings with local sustainability leaders, including Ken Dunn, Director, The Resource Center; Kevin Pierce, Principal Architect, Farr Associates; David Hudson, Executive Vice President, Congress for New Urbanism; Michael Berkshire, Green Projects Administrator, City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, and Sadhu Johnston, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Environment. The studio concluded with well-developed public presentations on the projects detailed below.
Museum of Science and Industry
One of Chicago's most popular cultural attractions, the Museum of Science and Industry asked Foresight to define some key principles of sustainability as they would pertain to its mission and suggest ways in which they could be incorporated in current and future exhibits. USDS participants explored the museum thoroughly, intensively researched pertinent issues, and closly considered the visitor experience before presenting the museum's Design Development Department with a concise and well-researched design brief that exceeded expectations.
City of Chicago, Department of Planning and Development
Charged with formulating a definition and then criteria that the city could use to determine if a business was committed in its pursuit of greater sustainability, USDS participants had only four days to prepare their first presentation. Delivered to a group of local business owners and city officials, their ideas established the foundation for the city's ongoing effort to develop, attract, and retain these types of businesses. The students were also asked to develop concepts for incentives the city could offer to these enterprises. Their proposals are currently being considered and developed with the goal of implementation in the coming months.
Consolidated Printing Company
One of the state's most environmentally progressive printing companies, Consolidated Printing asked USDS to review its marketing efforts with a particular eye to how it might better leverage its sustainability initiatives in the marketplace. Students toured the facility and met with key staff members as they developed their final design brief. Research into the printing industry, marketing strategies, and green business concepts were also undertaken.
Rethinking Stick-On Nametags
Foresight consumes more than a thousand stick-on name tags a year through its monthly events. USDS participants dug into the challenge of coming up with a better way to accomplish the same purpose, conscious of following a sustainable design methodology that considers the entire system before focusing in on specifics. The journey toward a solution was an adventure, as students researched, prototyped, and considered a wide-range of alternatives. The final design brief and presentation reflected their quest, and the process of seeking sustainable innovation in an apparently mundane and yet, in many ways, complex product.
Fundraising
Recognizing the need for students to gain experience not only in the practice of developing sustainable innovations, but also in their implementation, USDS participants were assigned to develop and implement a fundraising campaign for their own program. For the first time in its history, Chicago Green Drinks offered actual "green drinks," the proceeds from which were part of a campaign that also involved a raffle, an online appeal and public presentation. In about seven days, students realized (and grappled with) several significant fundraising principles, challenging themselves to be resourceful and creative . . . and raised $1800 in the process.
JANUARY 2005
Urban Sustainable Design Studio
This year's group worked on five different projects. They also read selected books and articles and had extended meetings with local sustainability leaders, including Ken Dunn, Director, The Resource Center; David Hudson, Executive Vice President, Congress for New Urbanism; Michael Berkshire, Green Projects Administrator, City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, and Greg Petersen, Director, Planet Access. Sadhu Johnston, Assistant to the Mayor of Chicago for Green Initiatives, and his wife, Manda Gillespie (formerly of EcoCity Cleveland), hosted a mid-term reception for the interns that was attended by Foresight Board members and many other members of the Chicago sustainability community. The studio concluded with well-developed, public presentations on the projects detailed below. Each enterprise has either been implemented or is in the process of being launched.
BelieveChicago.org: An online sustainability portal for Chicago that combines Foresight’s Sustainability Action Guide and the Greening Chicago weekly events calendar. Prior to launch, participants helped envision subsequent phases of the site that could include, among other things, a local experts list, press release posting and distribution service, job/volunteer/internship board, and organizational news archive, as well as links to participating organizations.
Chicago Sustainability Scavenger Hunt: Participants devised a city-wide team "scavenger hunt" intended to raise awareness, promote the city's sustainable assets, and raise funds (through sponsorship/entry fees). This event was held in Fall 2005 and again in 2006.
Foresight House : A model green residential structure demonstrating a range of affordable, high-efficiency, eco-friendly building features and products, Foresight Housewill be open to the public and will provide low-cost housing to student interns who will inhabit and staff it. Participants researched the project and developed and delivered a high-powered, multi-media presentation to local government leaders and potential partners. Additional use of the presentation is planned.
Sustainable Design Initiative--Plastic Grocery Bags: Following Foresight's sustainable design methodology, participants researched issues associated with the environmental impact of plastic grocery bags, examined the geographical, physical and economic context in which they are used, considered consumer habits and approaches to reducing their use elswhere, and devised strategies (a combination of product, communication and policy) to reduce their use in Chicago. Participants compiled their research and ideas in a detailed design brief and public presentation. Several of these recommendations are in the process of being implemented.
Eco Business Ideation: Participants worked with a local entrepreneur interested in launching an environmentally responsible business with limited start-up capital. After reviewing initial plans, conducting user research, and some extensive brainstorming, they compiled their innovative ideas into a design brief and final presentation. The business is in the process of being launched.
JANUARY 2004
Picking up where the 2003 team left off, the 2004 participants took the initial draft of the Eco-Office Assessment business plan and worked toward identifying barriers to implementation and how to overcome them. They also undertook many of the same field trips. In addition to the Heskett's Toothpicks & Logos, they read Design for the Real World by Victor Panek and Cannibals With Forks by John Elkington.
Read an article about the 2004 internship published on Oberlin College’s website.
JANUARY 2003
Four students from Oberlin College teamed up with two students from the Institute
of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology for an intensive 3.5 week
program to research and develop a business plan for the Eco-Office Assessment
service. In addition to completing the plan, the interns travelled across the
greater Chicagoland area visiting sites relevant to sustainability, including
the Chicago Center
for Green Technology, the French
Paper Company in Niles, Michigan (an early producer of recycled
paper), the eco-office of the Center for
Neighborhood Technology, the green architectural firm Farr
Associates, and the Museum
of Advertising and Design in Milwaukee, WI, among others. The interns also
read and discussed several books about design and sustainability, including Toothpicks
and Logos by John Heskett, excerpts from Nature’s
Metropolis by William Cronon, and Design
For Society by Nigel Whiteley.
Read an
article about the 2003 internship published on Oberlin College’s website.
