The back-to-school honeymoon phase is over at our house. We’re now diving head first into the myriad of multi-month projects that will takeover the remainder of the school year.
Our middle and high schools participate in the National History Day (NHD) competition, using the annual NHD themes as springboard for students’ development of research papers, displays, drama and media presentations and websites. With Project Outline Step One due to the teacher this week, we spent our weekend brainstorming on possible topics to fit this year’s theme – “Innovation in History: Impact and Change” (pdf.)
NHD always does a great job of provoking students’ thinking about historic, cultural and social aspects related to the theme. Here are a few nuggets related to innovation:
- Innovation involves some sort of change, but not all changes are innovations.
- With innovation, you should be able to say what previous ideas, objects, actions or institutions were replaced.
- Innovation is the result of human ideas or actions.
- The short term is the impact of the innovation, and the long term is the change over time brought about by the innovation.
- To help put the innovation in historical context and discern its legacy, ask “why?” and “so what?”
It was this nugget that got me thinking about innovation in philanthropy: Innovation suggests creative new approaches to any facet of life. Innovation is creative individuals who set out to solve a problem, take advantage of opportunities, or build on the development of other innovators.
I thought that some sort of link to philanthropy would be a great take on the NHD theme, but this didn’t fly with my child, so she’s pursuing another topic.
But, you and I can keep the conversation going via this blog.
If we were to look back at the history of philanthropy, what innovations have most impacted and changed our field?
- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate
