Major Projects Lab – Ward 8

The MPL[W8] summit on job creation was held in GW’s Jack Morton Auditorium on Tuesday, September 20th, 2011. It was a unique opportunity for Change Agents, Thought Leaders, Community Stakeholders, Policy Wonks, Innovators, Neighborhood Activists, Educators, and Citizens to converge and discuss alternatives to traditional job development.

The first segment of MPL[W8] included remarks by Steven Knapp, President, The George Washington University (GW) and presentations by Steve Moore, President and CEO, Washington, DC Economic Partnership; Susan Jones, Professor of Clinical Law, GW Law School; Director and Supervising Attorney, Small Business & Community Economic Development Clinic; Catherine Buell, Attorney, Patton Boggs LLP; Liesl Riddle, Associate Dean for MBA Programs, The George Washington University School of Business (GWSB); Associate Professor of International Business and International Affairs, GWSB; and Sudhir Venkatesh, William B. Ransford Professor of Sociology, Columbia University.

The second segment of MPL[W8] included remarks by the Honorable Vincent Gray, Mayor, Washington, DC and presentations by Scheherazade Rehman, Director of the European Union Research Center, GW; Professor of International Finance and Business, GWSB; Stan Voudrie, Principal, Four Points LLC; Scott Osman, Global Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, Landor Associate; and Doug Guthrie, Dean, GWSB; Professor of International Business, GWSB; Professor of Management, GWSB.

Major Projects Lab – Ward 8

Activate
MPL[W8] seeks to galvanize business, education and community leaders to accelerate “transformer” opportunities intended to grow the economy in Ward 8. It is the launch pad for stakeholder led economic development projects in support of small business development, jobs and job training.

Collaborate
MPL[W8]’s projects are viewed as “joint ventures” between organizations and private and public partners. These projects will be conceived, launched and where possible completed within a 100-day project period.

Innovate
MPL[W8] is a “lab” environment where new ideas, new solutions and new thinking is encouraged and celebrated. This “lab” will tap the talents of some of the best thinkers in the business and academic realm to solve problems and create new opportunities where none exist now.

Reinvest
The goal of MPL[W8] is to catalyze new investment of resources, community support and human capital in specific projects in DC in Ward 8.