April Events 2023

Join the School of Public Policy (SPP) this month for a variety of events!

 

A view of the UConn Hartford campus on Aug. 22, 2017. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

GAPPS-ICMA Career Panels: April 4th, April 18th and April 26th

Join GAPPS-ICMA from 7-8:30pm for an upcoming alumni career panel. Registration is now available!

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Chao Guo of The University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice

The Social Entrepreneur’s Dilemma? Entrepreneurial Strategy & Charter School Performance: April 6th

Professor Chao Guo, School of Social Policy & Practice, Univ. of Pennsylvania

Thursday, April 6, 2023

1:00pm-2:30pm, via Zoom

Register today!

About the Event & Speaker

Social entrepreneurial ventures aspire to generate both social and economic value. Yet their ability to actually do so has hardly been theoretically justified or empirically validated. We address this gap by examining how a social venture’s strategic choices that lead to stronger social performance tend to negatively affect economic performance, and vice versa. We focus on two choices related to the fundamentals of business strategy: competitive scope of activities and source of competitive advantage. Using a unique panel data of charter schools in Texas (1997-2007), we find evidence that both a broader scope and a differentiation strategy improve a school’s academic performance, but reduce its economic performance. The trade-offs from the opposing effects become even more pronounced in a more turbulent environment: the positive impact of differentiation on academic performance would vanish, whereas the negative impact of scope expansion and differentiation on economic performance would increase even further. Our findings provide insights on how theories of strategic management and the public and nonprofit management literature can illuminate the challenges of performance in social entrepreneurship.


Chao Guo is Professor and Faculty Director of Master’s in Nonprofit Leadership (NPL) Program in the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. Chao’s research interests focus on the intersection between nonprofit and voluntary action and government. He has many published articles in highly respected and influential journals, and has published two books: Social Entrepreneurship: An EvidenceBased Approach to Creating Social Value (Wiley, 2014; co-authored with Wolfgang Bielefeld); and The Quest for Attention: Nonprofit Advocacy in a Social Media Age (Stanford University Press, 2020; co-authored with Gregory D. Saxton). His research has been recognized by his peers and won awards from multiple disciplines.

Chao is actively involved in professional and community service activities. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) (2009-2015). He has also served as a co-Editors-in-Chief of Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Quarterly, the premier journal in the field (2016-2022). Globally, he has helped ARNOVA create a regional conference series in Asia (ARNOVA-Asia). In 2019, he received the Distinguished Achievement and Service Award from ARNOVA. At Penn, he serves as Faculty Director of Penn Restorative Entrepreneurship Program (PREP), an innovative program geared towards helping formerly incarcerated individuals become entrepreneurs, participate in civic engagement, and advocate for social

coffee-in a county

Coffee in a County: April 14th

Join the Alumni Council at 8AM! They will be meeting at Perkatory Coffee Roasters (725 Main St, Suite 23, Middletown CT 06457).

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MPA’s 50th Anniversary Gala: April 22nd

We can not wait to celebrate the MPA's 50th Anniversary! Currently we are sold out. Please email Operations Coordinator Maura Maloney regarding waitlist options.

Scott Gaul

Scott Gaul

Rachel Leventhal-Weiner

Rachel Leventhal-Weiner

Pursuing the Digital Frontier: Data Management and Digital Government Functions: April 28th

With Scott Gaul, Chief Data Officer, and Rachel Leventhal-Weiner, Director of Evaluation and Impact, Federal Funding, CT Office of Policy and Management

Friday, April 28, 2023
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM (with 30 minute break)
Hartford Times Building, UConn Hartford Campus

Register Today!

About the Program

Building a data culture in government requires innovation in the use of data and analytics. Whether it is strengthening data literacy, developing new ways to use analytics to allocate resources and understand program effectiveness or providing residents increased transparency on what government is doing, comfort with data is a necessary piece of public service. This session will cover fundamental topics for data and analytics, such as data governance, developing maps and data visualizations, and use of administrative data and measuring impact. (updated February 2023)
UConn Hartford campus on September 5, 2017. (Bri Diaz/UConn Photo)

Upcoming Info Sessions

Program Date Time (EDT) Location
MPA, MPP & Fast-Track April 11 4-4:30pm Virtual
MPA Fellows April 13 4-4:30pm Virtual
Survey Research and Data Analysis (M.A., Certificate & Fast-Track) April 17 12-12:30pm Virtual
MPA Fellows April 18 12-1pm 165 Capitol Ave
MPA, MPP & Fast-Track April 18 4-4:30pm Virtual
MPA Fellows April 18 12-1pm 450 Columbus Blvd
MPA Fellows April 20 12-1pm 470 Capitol Ave
MPA Fellows April 24th 12-12:30pm Virtual
MPA, MPP & Fast-Track April 25th 4-4:30pm Virtual
MPA Fellows April 26 12-1pm 55 Farmington Ave
Survey Research and Data Analysis (M.A., Certificate & Fast-Track) April 27 12-12:30pm Virtual

Check back for additional sessions in the coming weeks. Learn more and register on our Meet With Us page!

Posted by Kish, Lian in Events