Ellen Marrison’s Post

Big #news in tiny Williamsburg...sending a shout-out of thanks to William & Mary and an anonymous donor who chose to invest $30 million to fund a physical space to fuel collaborative #research to address pressing global challenges--from promoting #sustainable #development and curbing #inequality to navigating great power #competition and preventing #conflict. The new initiative brings together three research institutes under one roof: Institute for Integrative Conservation, William & Mary Whole of Government Center of Excellence, & William & Mary Global Research Institute. I couldn't be more delighted to see W&M students, scholars, and staff working on these issues come together to produce the next generation of data, tools, and evidence to help us tackle some of our world's most intractable challenges. Even better...this is all in honor of a great leader and problem solver, former US SecDef and W&M Chancellor Robert M. Gates. Learn more about the project in the article below. https://lnkd.in/ee9egJvG

Tutoring programs backed by research evidence hold the greatest promise of impact. Report about how bipartisian support has helped drive #data use in education! The Power of Evidence to Drive America’s Progress: A Decade of Results and Potential for the Future @Results4America

I am so thrilled to be a judge at this year the 2024 Global Economic Symposium will be held at Northeastern University, at the John D. O’Bryant Building, on March 7th and 8th. High school and middle school teams from Washington, D.C., Brockton, Chicago, and New Orleans will demonstrate their knowledge of both economic concepts and STEM by applying them to a solution for a global issue. We hope some of these young men and women will become apart of a cohort of Cleantech Open Northeast / NECEC. The competition tests not only their grasp on economics but also their ability to critically think in devising and defending their solution, while also promoting skills such as public speaking, research, and team building. The Global Economic Symposium nurtures the next generation of global leaders. It is a team-based and research-based learning experience for secondary students that requires them to identify a burning global issue, research the challenges this issue presents to nations, and recommend economic actions, policies, and practices that have helped mitigate the impact of this challenge on a global and local level. Students present their findings and defend their recommendations to a panel of industry executives, national thought and policy leaders, and post-secondary academicians. For more information please check out #Equality #energyequity #energyprofessionals, #energypolicy #workforcedevelopment, #energyinnovation, #engeryleadership

Very excited to have been invited into a new #CollectiveImagination cohort to explore what a more collaborative, symbiotic and equitable relationship could look like between citizens and government. With UK national elections today and a shift in government looking likely, this is a very timely moment to reflect on big questions about our public services and imagine a better world. From now until autumn I will be part of a learning community of collective imagination practitioners and local government workers led by Christina Watson in Huddlecraft style. My research focus will be exploring inertia and momentum in government, specifically the issues turning policy into action. I will be exploring this through the lens of #somatics and #embodiment. Inspired by some of the work coming out of Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley - especially the recent seminar led by Jose Richard Aviles attended by an international group of people working at the intersections of local gov/planning/embodied practice. All funded by Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) who are doing such positive work to support unlearning and challenging systems of power and control. This is especially important to me given my research into the role of local governments and time spent with municipal teams doing things differently - especially in Minneapolis and Detroit - as part of my Churchill Fellowship. For more read: https://lnkd.in/et9xgyW8 Can't wait to see where we go.

Navigating the financial aid landscape can feel like solving a puzzle. Here are 3 additional keys to unlock your financial aid potential: https://www.profellow.com/ https://lnkd.in/d5y_cKP https://lnkd.in/ejdtKWst

Whether our work is in policy, program development, or direct practice... as professionals in the social service sector and beyond, we must have an understanding of the "fundamental importance of the early years."

The case for businesses to step into the conversation about the importance of early childhood and care supports applies to businesses of all sizes, everywhere. If you think that you are too small, or that this problem is just too big, reach out. Creative Child Care Solutions and help you identify something that your business can do to make a difference in the lives of your parenting workers!

“Early childhood development represents one of the best investments we can make for the long-term health, wellbeing and happiness of society. The benefits of investing in young children and their families are well documented – for the here and now, as well as for their future life outcomes and society as a whole. No single sector can shoulder sole responsibility for improving the lives of all children, particularly because prioritising early childhood development requires the alignment of multiple interacting influences, including public opinion, a complex economy, and a lively political environment. Businesses have much to gain (and potentially contribute) by supporting greater societal attention to the early childhood period—particularly as it affects their ability to recruit and retain a productive workforce that includes parents of young children. Progress in achieving larger positive impacts on the current well-being and future life prospects of all children would be enhanced by using advances in the science of early childhood development to stimulate fresh thinking. Ambitious goals also require the bold leadership of change agents who can work across sectors to drive a shared vision for the future. Business is an exceptionally well-positioned and relatively untapped source of creative ideas and “can-do” leadership that is vital to accomplish lasting change.

When I look at this report, not sure if I feel like a pioneer or just too old! But wow, finally it is getting properly recognized and deemed important to introduce #systemsthinking in the classrooms! It was 2011 when I taught my first course at Harvard University and it was on systems! Those were the earlier days... How many people have gone through and grown out of that course. Some became friends for life, such as Dr. Giorgos Dimitriou, Ayesha Khalid, MD, MBA, Luciana Carvalho Se, Jessica Muehlberg, Ph.D. , Paolo Salza, Hugo Caicedo, PhD, FBA and more... and some were inspired and generated opportunities larger than just the course to pivot in the outside world, as Joe Curtatone in his systems initiative in Somerville changed the local community and some others took it to the macro level, like Martin Schulz who led the initiative from the stage of the European Parliament. And the list can go on. I salute this report from the friends at the World Economic Forum and Breanne Pitt who led this effort in this white paper, together with Abhinav Chugh. And for those of you still uncertain about the value of #systemsthinking , then check the paper and the research here. it is worth it https://lnkd.in/eDktr-3y #complexsystems #educationpolicy #paradigmshift #petersenge #sustainability

Looking forward to speaking this Tuesday at the University of Virgina Darden School of Business for the 2023 Resilient Virginia Conference! I'll be talking about the International Economic Development Council's recent report, Economic Development in a Changing Climate, and strategies for EDOs to help prepare and support their communities. The report can be accessed here: https://lnkd.in/erZVWinb, and you can learn more about the conference below! #econdev #economicresilience