Projects

“Small Businesses as a Foundation for Creating Local Community Wealth”

A collaborative research project with the University Of Maryland’s College of Information Studies’ iConsultancy Experiential Learning Program and the Robert H. Smith School of Business’ Center for Social Value Creation. Completed May, 2021

“What will the world look like when the number of Virtual Reality Headsets outnumbers cars?”

A collaborative research project with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business’ Center for Social Value Creation. Commenced June, 2021

“Silos Belong On Farms, Not Cities”

Inspired by a Data Driven Ecosystem Model created by Dana French in 2018, Two teams of UMD students chose to take on this topic as a Capstone project and to utilize Frederick County, MD as the test case community. The iSchool Student team put their focus on building a database of organizations including non-profits, agencies, educational institutions and businesses that comprise the Frederick supportive ecosystem. The Smith School ICF Team focused their work on the economic, health and societal benefits of forging collaboration between the resource organizations in order to solve community problems faster and more efficiently.

“Communities depend on the agencies that offer supportive services to its citizens to solve its problems and improve lives. When these agencies combine their resources (time, people and money) as well as their data, efficient and effective solutions can be created and undertaken to provide housing, education, employment opportunities and environmental sustainability…..” Commenced August 2021

“The Flow of COVID related Federal Funds to the small and micro business end users”

A collaborative research project with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business’ Center for Social Value Creation. Completed May, 2021

“Big vs Boutique”. The impacts of Covid - 19 have shattered established norms of doing business. Big firms have released considerable talent from which many have reconstituted into boutique firms. These boutique firms are now competing with the big firms. Which is economically better?

A collaborative research project with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business’ Center for Social Value Creation. Commenced June 2021

“Workforce Training and MOOCs in the Post Covid Economy”

EIS once again brings together the UMD iSchool and Smith School ICF programs to explore the pathways to good and sustainable jobs. Students consult with senior executives at MOOC giants such as edX (now TU), major regional employers and local workforce development agencies to determine how advances in technology and virtual learning platforms are changing the way people prepare for running and working in business.

Students ask the questions ” are certifcates comparable to degrees and valuable to employers? Are instructors able to connect with and effectively teach and train students virtually? Will the students be able to match skills learned to employment opportunities. “ Commenced August 2021