The UMD School of Public Policy won the inaugural Voinovich Public Innovation Challenge at the NASPAA Annual Conference on October 13. The pitch competition, established to honor the memory of Senator George V. Voinovich, encourages champions of creative problem-solving approaches to social innovation in education. The University of Maryland School of Public Policy, NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and the LBJ School of Public Affairs University of Texas Austin were selected as the three finalists from submissions entered prior to the conference.
Presenting the Do Good Campus on behalf of the School at the final pitch competition, was Robert T. Grimm Jr, director of the Do Good Institute.
Finalists were given 10 minutes to pitch their idea and then answer questions from the panel of judges who are experts in social innovation, nonprofit management and public sector value creation. Following the pitches, the judges announced that the UMD School of Public Policy won the competition. The prize money will go toward scaling up the Do Good Campus efforts.