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Grand Challenge Competition

Grand challenge competition graphic

GRAND CHALLENGE COMPETITION

Sponsored by the Richard and Jule Salem Scholars’ Fund for Disability, the Judy Genshaft Honors College Grand Challenge Competition empowers students to create real, feasible solutions to problems facing people in the disability community.

GRAND CHALLENGE 2023

Access to Meaningful Work

In this Grand Challenge, students will research the specific barriers preventing employment for people impacted by disability in our local community, then work together to identify ways to leverage the ideas of social entrepreneurship to address one or more of these barriers.

2023 GRAND CHALLENGE TIMELINE

Grand Challenge Announcement: Friday, Sept. 8 | Tampa Honors Convocation
Grand Challenge Workshop: Tuesday, Sept. 19 | 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. | HON 3040
Grand Challenge Proposals Due: Sunday, Oct. 8 at 11:59 p.m. | Submit through Microsoft Forms
Grand Challenge Winning Teams Notified: By Monday, Oct. 23
Grand Challenge Final Pitches: Tuesday, Nov. 7 | 6 - 7 p.m. | HON 3040

2023 GRAND CHALLENGE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

8. Decent work and Economic Growth
10. Reduced Inequalities
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities

Click here to learn more about the UN sustainable development goals.

United Nations sustainable development goals graphic

UNDERSTANDING THE BARRIERS THAT EXIST

With disability encompassing a broad range of impairments that impact an individual’s ability to engage in the world around them, it is important to recognize the physical (ex. stairs and narrow walkways), social (ex. attitudes and expectations), and institutional barriers (ex. policies that restrict access) a person may face.

In some cases, multiple disabilities along with multiple barriers can create frustrating, expensive, and confounding situations for people impacted by disability.

When it comes to accessing work, physical, social, and institutional barriers make employment nearly impossible for many people impacted by disability, resulting in a significant employment gap between people with disabilities and those without.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, only 21.3% of people with disabilities are employed as opposed to 65.4% of people without disabilities.

UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Social Enterprise in its simplest definition is a business that puts social, cultural, community economic and/or environmental outcomes as the primary objective of their operations. Regardless of tax distinction (i.e non-profit or for-profit), social enterprises seek to maximize profits while maximizing benefits to society and the environment, and the profits are principally used to fund social programs.

Social entrepreneurship focuses on individuals who develop solutions to social and environmental problems using existing business techniques and strategies. Social entrepreneurs seek innovative ways to drive change. Social enterprise, and social entrepreneurship seek to create meaningful work and innovative, sustainable solutions for our communities.

HOW DOES GRAND CHALLENGE WORK?

Your challenge is to form a team of 3 to 4 students to research the specific barriers preventing employment for people impacted by disability in our local community.
From the information you learn, work together to identify ways to leverage the ideas of social entrepreneurship to address this problem.
Create a proposal for a program, model, or concept that can be feasibly implemented within the local community using existing resources and minimal funding.

The top proposals will receive feedback from a panel of judges and, using that feedback, will be developed into short, live presentations to be pitched at the final Grand Challenge Pitch Competition in November.

During Spring semester, the winning team will receive a paid internship with a local community organization working in the space of disability and social entrepreneurship. Under the guidance of local experts, the winning team will have the opportunity to work towards implementing their proposal.

SUBMITTING YOUR PROPOSAL

Submit Your Team's Proposal Here

Opens Sept. 8 at 2 p.m., closes Oct. 8 at 11:59 p.m.

Grand Challenge Rubric
	1	2	3	4
Feasibility (weighted double): Can a group of students complete this project in a one-semester internship?	This proposal does not seem to be feasible in terms of implementation or completion	I have several questions, but it is possible this could be implemented with either minimal cost or existing resources	I have some minor questions, but I believe this can be implemented with either minimal cost or existing resources	This proposal is thorough and can be implemented with minimal costs and existing resources
Problem Identified Clearly	The problem or issue being addressed by the proposal is not clear	The problem is mentioned in the proposal, but it is not well supported or lacks enough evidence to be convincing	The problem statement is clear and some good evidence is provided, but more is needed	This proposal states a well-supported problem to which a solution is clearly needed
Social Entrepreneurship & Disability	This proposal only addresses one (or no) issue relevant to the challenge	This proposal relies heavily on one issue with minimal attention paid to the other	This proposal addresses both issues, but it does not bring them together well	This proposal connects the and clearly addresses them
Overall Project Rating	Poor	Fair	Good	Excellent

Feasibility: Can this project be done? (i.e. are the students coming up with plans that are way too much to accomplish/super intricate or is it easy enough to accomplish given the available resources). Please note, the winning team will have access to mentorship, paid time to work on their project, and potentially a small amount of money.

Problem Identified Clearly: Does this proposal seek to address a clear problem that is supported by evidence?

Social Entrepreneurship and Disability: How well does this proposal address both the issues of disability and social entrepreneurship?

HELPFUL GRAND CHALLENGE RESOURCES

Seeking additional guidance for your proposal? Explore these links to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and obstacles faced by the disability community, and to discover valuable insights into grassroots efforts aimed at creating inclusive work opportunities for individuals with disabilities.