Reserve Your Spot Today: Workshop Series for Social Good Leaders

Are you ready to make a meaningful impact in your community? Florida Community Innovation (FCI) invites you to an five-session workshop series, led by the award-winning educator and civic tech leader, Caroline Nickerson. Whether you’re a student, nonprofit professional, or community advocate, this series will give you the skills to tackle social issues with research, technology, and collaboration.

This workshop series is meant for everyone: whether you graduated high school or you have a PhD, whether you’re just starting your career or you’re volunteering as a retiree, whether you’re currently in a leadership role or you’re an entry-level intern — we believe that we all have something to learn from each other and everyone can benefit from this workshop series.

This workshop is an especially good fit for someone who has been pondering a societal problem (food insecurity, homelessness, human trafficking, and more) and wants to scope out some piece of the problem they can address with their community, through their employer, and/or as part of their coursework (think: senior thesis, Master’s thesis, PhD dissertation).

That being said, workshop participants are not required to launch a project, and if you attend, you could jump on someone else’s team and help them accomplish a goal. We will be with you every step of the way, to learn and grow together.

Workshop Series Details

Dates: Thursdays, starting January 9, 2025
Time: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM ET
Cost: $500 for the full series (scholarships available by request)
Location: Virtual (details provided upon registration)

What You’ll Learn:

This comprehensive series covers the essential skills and knowledge needed to design community-focused solutions:

Session 1: Understanding Wicked Problems and Building Foundations
Learn to address complex social challenges with an introduction to “wicked problems,” the policy process, nonprofits and social enterprises, and tech for good. Participants will identify and workshop a social issue that resonates with them.

Session 2: Researching Social Problems and Engaging Communities
Develop skills to conduct literature reviews, interview experts, and engage in community listening. This session will include practice designing protocols for citizen science or community-based research, with hands-on exercises in question and protocol creation.

Session 3: Data Analysis Made Simple
Discover how to create surveys and analyze data using SPSS, and learn to code qualitative interview data. Special guests will share expert strategies for leveraging data to drive social impact.

Session 4: Scoping and Managing Projects for Success
Learn project management techniques to create actionable plans in partnership with community leaders. Special guests will guide participants in designing sustainable civic tech or community solutions — building with, not for, communities.

Session 5: Launching Your Project
Take your project from concept to reality in a collaborative workshop setting. Participants may choose to launch their projects or support peers. Select projects may receive additional FCI support following a board vote.

Why Attend?

Hands-On Skills: Gain practical experience in civic tech, research, and project management.
Community Impact: Learn how to co-create solutions with communities to ensure lasting, positive change.
Inspiring Leadership: Benefit from Caroline Nickerson’s extensive expertise and engaging teaching style.

About Caroline Nickerson

Caroline is the co-founder of FCI and has facilitated over 500 webinars for global audiences via SciStarter, working with organizations including NASA and NOAA. A Rally Fellow (the social enterprise accerlerator supported by Orange County and the City of Orlando) and award-winning educator with a PhD from the University of Florida, she has been recognized by organizations including the North American Association for Environmental Education, Miss Earth USA, and Arizona State University. Caroline’s innovative approaches and deep commitment to social good have earned her accolades across fields.

About Florida Community Innovation

FCI is a nonprofit dedicated to solving Florida’s most pressing challenges through civic technology. We’ve partnered with institutions like the Central Florida Foundation, the University of Michigan, the Community Foundation of North Central Florida, Florida Humanities, CodeGNV Georgetown University, and American University to empower young innovators and create scalable solutions like the Florida Resource Map.

Registration

Proceeds from this workshop series directly support FCI’s student-led initiatives, including the Florida Resource Map, which is poised to be the first-its-kind resource helping social workers find and manage information about food banks, job resources, and more. To be clear: this money you pay will go to a $500 semester honorarium for a student actively building tech for good.

Need a scholarship? Email info@floridainnovation.org.

Reserve your spot today through our fundraising partner, Tuesday. Once you donate $500, you have your spot in this limited edition workshop series! Join the movement to solve social problems with research, technology, and community collaboration.

Florida Community Innovation