Aspen Challenge Playbook 2018

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4 6 10 14

STEP ONE: YOUR TEAM AND WHAT TO PREPARE Getting to Know You Your Team Charter What is in a Solution?

Community Discovery Survey

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STEP TWO: GET INSPIRED Judging Criteria Note-Taking Guide

28 30 31 32 34 35

STEP THREE: SELECT YOUR CHALLENGE Select Your Challenge Vision Statement Determine Your Goal and Objectives Timing is Everything A Checklist for Success The Work Plan

38 39 40

STEP FOUR: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT YOUR SOLUTION Creating Your Solution Identity Your Pitch: The Elevator Speech Documenting Your Solution

43 46 48 50

STEP FIVE: OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT The 5 M’s of Successful Communication Creating Powerful Materials Harnessing Social Media Measuring Your Impact

52 52 55 58

STEP SIX: THE PRESENTATION Framework: Content and Style Written Report The Presentation The Exhibit

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WELCOME 2 Overview 2 The Aspen Challenge Staff

STEP SEVEN: REFLECT AND LEARN 61 Reflection Meeting & Continuous Learning

APPENDIX 64 Program Policies 65 The Honor Code

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OVERVIEW

Your voice matters.

Your solutions will make an impact.

OVERARCHING GOAL AND OBJECTIVE

Your goal is to collaboratively identify an opportunity for change in your community and to engage others to make it happen. Your team’s objective is to design a solution that addresses the challenge you select and present your work at the competition.

THE PLAYBOOK We want to hear your fresh, unique, and creative ideas. There is not an exact template for this work. The purpose of the Playbook is to clarify expectations and offer tips, tools, and resources to teams as they create solutions. It also offers project guidelines, milestones, and contact information to set you up for success.

ASPEN CHALLENGE STAFF The Aspen Challenge is a part of the Youth & Engagement Programs (Y&E) portfolio; a new division of the Aspen Institute. Y&E empowers generations of thoughtful, socially-conscious, and diverse young people by engaging them in solving the critical issues of the day.

Zachary Epps zachary.epps@aspeninst.org o. 410-963-0027

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Katie Fitzgerald katie.fitzgerald@aspeninst.org o. 970-544-7915 c. 970-390-9259

Cara Minardi cara.minardi@aspeninst.org o. 202-736-3595 c. 845-721-2968

Timeline: Before the Opening Forum Details: Make sure your team is strong and includes a range of skills. Successful teams embrace leadership roles and value unity, curiosity, and creativity. Your team will need to come together to craft the vision for your project and set clear and concise goals and objectives.

STEPONE

Step One: Your team and what to prepare

Tools to guide you • Getting to Know You • Your Team Charter (online submission) • What is in a Solution? (online submission) • Community Discovery Survey

John F. Kennedy High School, Los Angeles 2013

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STEPONE

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

Bringing together people who have different perspectives is powerful. It ensures that good ideas do not go untapped, and that team members learn from and respect each other. The trick is getting to know your team members and identifying each member’s interests and skill sets.

In order to get a sense of who everyone on the team is, and how valuable each member’s contribution will be, each individual team member can fill out the form below and then share their responses with the team.

1. What is your favorite food?

2. If you were stranded on a desert island, what is the one object you would want to have and why?

3. Who do you love most in the world?

4. If you are learning something new, do you prefer to read about it, listen to a story about it, or watch a performance depicting it?

5. What talents do you have that make you smile most?

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7. What is your biggest pet peeve?

8. What is one thing your teammates would find surprising to learn about you?

STEPONE

6. Which class is your favorite and why?

9. What do you hope to gain from working on the Aspen Challenge team? How do you believe your teammates can help you achieve it?

10. How do you define leadership?

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STEPONE

online YOUR TEAM CHARTER

Your team charter is a vital foundation to guide how your team will implement your solution. It ensures that everyone has clear roles and responsibilities. Effective teams don’t just happen; they are formed through collaborative leadership and thoughtful work. Draft a team charter for how you intend to work together, make decisions, and hold each other accountable. The questions below can give you a starting point. Please submit your team charter online and consider the following: How will you decide roles for each team member?

How will you make decisions (e.g., consensus, vote, or elected leadership) to ensure all team members’ voices are heard?

How can you anticipate and plan for disagreement or conflict resolution?

How will you effectively communicate with your team members throughout the work period?

List five words that will represent your team’s commitment to work together.

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For example, the core values of Youth and Engagement Programs are the following:

We argue joyfully.

We are equals.

We boldly seek excellence to transform society.

We act with graciousness and gratitude in all that we do.

STEPONE

As you begin to develop your team charter, identifying core values will communicate what is important and establish a shared vision for how to operate. As a team, hold each other accountable to model the values you establish in all that you do.

As a team, come up with a list of core values that you will aspire to embody.

List your team values.

Philadelphia 2017 AS P E N C H A L L E N G E .O R G

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STEPONE

TIPS FOR THE WHOLE TEAM Share the Vision: You share a common sense of purpose and agree on the vision statement and goals.

Delegate Effectively: You delegate responsibilities according to team members’ strengths and interests. Everyone on the team understands their own responsibilities and the work of others on the team.

Communicate Openly: The team develops effective ways to communicate and agrees on procedures for settling a disagreement, making decisions, etc.

Demonstrate Leadership: You lead by example with hard work, openness, positive attitude, trust, and fairness.

Meet Often: You have frequent and scheduled meetings to celebrate progress, solve problems, clear the air when needed, and communicate fully about every aspect of the solution you are creating. There must be open communication and constant feedback from all team members. Your meetings should focus on forward progress and sustaining momentum.

Be Flexible: Exciting, unplanned opportunities might arise! You will likely hit a snag that requires clever planning for an alternative. This is why flexibility is key.

Follow the Honor Code: Understand the Aspen Challenge guidelines and expectations and abide by the Honor Code (found on page 65).

TIPS FOR STUDENTS

1. Inspire the team to see the big idea when addressing the challenge.

2. Simultaneously focus on the “big picture” and the “nitty-gritty.”

Gain attention and support and generate buzz when planning your solution.

3. Recognize what you most enjoy and figure out how to contribute — often what you enjoy is your natural talent! Share leadership and thoughtfully delegate work according to individual strengths.

4. Get people excited about your team’s long-term vision!

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TIPS FOR COACHES 1. Ensure that the team has access to all available resources (within the school and the community at large).

2. Be a constant sounding board.

Provide support and coaching when the team hits a snag.

3. Share insights to ensure that the solution addresses the challenge in a compelling way.

4. Be an advocate for your team in the school and community.

Lincoln Park High School, 9 Chicago 2017

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STEPONE

online

WHAT IS IN A SOLUTION?

The Aspen Challenge is an opportunity for teams to work together to design powerful solutions. To best prepare for the journey ahead, watch three presentations (links provided online) by former teams. This will prepare you for understanding what your team will ultimately develop together.

As a team, discuss the following questions after each presentation to help you understand just what a solution is.

Overall, what was your first impression?

Did the team make you laugh?

Did the team make you feel strongly about the issue they addressed?

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STEPONE Northeast High School from Philadelphia Aspen 2017

Did you find the media they created easy to understand?

What did you learn that you did not know before?

Based on the videos you watched, how would you define a solution?

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STEPONE

Think about the judging criteria: originality, feasibility, sustainability, teamwork, and community engagement. Did you see clear examples of the team demonstrating that in their solution?

Was the idea original?

Was it able to be completed? Or, will it be completed in a reasonable time frame?

Will the project continue?

Did each member play a role?

Did the solution engage community members and external partners?

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Chance the Rapper, Chicago 2016 AS P E N C H A L L E N G E .O R G

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STEPONE

COMMUNITY DISCOVERY SURVEY

Engaging your community before the Opening Forum will allow your team to select a challenge that is meaningful and relevant to those you wish to impact. Selecting a challenge that resonates with community members ensures your project is feasible, inspires passion, and is likely to be sustained over time. At the end of the work period, you will administer a set of key questions that will measure the impact of your project (during step 5). These are all criteria that judges will consider during the competition.

CREATING EFFECTIVE SURVEYS Creating a set of simple questions to ask different members of your community can help you get to know them and, in turn, help you understand what type of solution your team might create. Have your team divide into pairs and visit places in your defined community and ask questions.

What questions should you ask? Think about your community. Who lives in it? Are there many families? Are there elderly people? Where do people hang out? Where do they buy food? How do they get around? What challenges do they face? What language(s) do they speak? Are there other things you want to learn about?

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•

Start questionnaires with a demographics section. Ask questions on age or grade level, gender, neighborhood, etc. This will help to organize and analyze your results.

•

Incorporate measurement-scale questions. For example, a scale question could have a range such as: strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree.

•

Aim to keep questions and surveys brief, especially if participants will be completing it at an event/in person. A brief survey will increase the likelihood that it will be completed.

•

Include a question at the end to encourage participants to get engaged. For example: “Are you interested in learning more?” or “Are you willing to support this project?” and “If yes, please provide your contact information (name, email address, phone number).”

STEPONE

CRAFTING A SURVEY

TOOLS AND TIPS There are many ways to distribute a survey.

• Online: Survey Monkey [www.SurveyMonkey.com] is a free online tool that helps distribute a survey to your audience and automatically aggregates findings to help you assess survey results quickly and efficiently.

•

Paper/in person: You can type up your survey and distribute it in person.

Remember to keep the surveys brief and include space to respond.

•

Tip: Separate pre- and post-surveys to help measure the impact you make both before and after your solution design. If you wish to understand your impact, ask questions that will yield different answers in the beginning versus the end of your project timeline. What do you want to measure? What can you ask now that will you help you understand if there is a change later on?

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Step Two: Get Inspired

Congressman John Lewis, Chicago 2016

Timeline: Opening Forum All team members must be present!

Details: During the Opening Forum, all teams will convene to learn from leaders who will 1) share their experiences on tackling some of our society’s toughest problems and 2) issue a challenge asking YOU to create an innovative solution. Throughout the event, you will have the opportunity to brainstorm with your team, reflect on presentations, and begin thinking about which challenge your team will select.

Tools to guide you • The Judging Criteria • Note-Taking Guide 16

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Teams should use the following criteria to guide their work (associated questions serve as a guide for judges to allocate points). Final scores will reflect teams’ written reports, presentations, and exhibits.

Addressing the Challenge [5 possible points] •

Did the team’s solution address the challenge in a well-articulated and ambitious way?

Potential for Impact: Community Engagement [10 possible points] • •

Is there proof that the team’s work resonated with their community?

Did they implement a variety of communication tactics to reach their target audience (e.g., community meetings, social media, posters, etc.)?

•

Did the team engage community members (e.g., businesses, relevant organizations, etc.)?

STEPTWO

A SNEAK PEEK AT THE JUDGING CRITERIA

Creativity and Originality [10 possible points] •

Was the team’s solution creative? Did they think big or play it safe?

•

Does the solution demonstrate original thinking?

Feasibility and Sustainability [10 possible points] • • •

Is the team’s solution big enough to make a difference but focused enough to be effective?

Has the team articulated how their solution is sustainable?

Will their solution have a life beyond the competition? Will it potentially be replicated and expanded?

Presentation Delivery [10 possible points] • • •

Did the team effectively communicate their passion, vision, successes, etc.?

Was their presentation inspiring? Was their narrative compelling?

Was there a balance between multimedia features (e.g., video, photos, etc.) and public speaking?

Teamwork [5 possible points] • • •

Did the team adhere to the program policies (page 64)?

Is there evidence, particularly from the final written report and discussions at the exhibit, that shows every member played a key role?

Did team members appear to collaborate effectively within their team and with peers outside the team?

Special Awards •

Would you like to nominate this team for a special award?

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Note-Taking Guide [Use this guide to keep notes on the presenters.]

Challenger’s Name:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Challenge Posed:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rate what you’ve heard! On a scale of one to five (with five being the “most passionate”), how passionate are you about the challenge you heard?

1 2 3 4 5

On a scale of one to five (with five being “significantly resonate”), how well would the challenge or issue resonate with, or speak to, your community?

1 2 3 4 5

Start Brainstorming!

What was the presenter’s main point? ___________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Can you already think of some potential solutions that you could explore with your team?

What are they?___________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ While listening to the presenter’s story, what captivated you most, and how could you develop your own narrative to captivate others?_____________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ What three things do you really want to remember from this presentation? _______________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Challenger’s Name:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Challenge Posed:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rate what you’ve heard! On a scale of one to five (with five being the “most passionate”), how passionate are you about the challenge you heard?

1 2 3 4 5

On a scale of one to five (with five being “significantly resonate”), how well would the challenge or issue resonate with, or speak to, your community?

1 2 3 4 5

STEPTWO

Note-Taking Guide [Use this guide to keep notes on the presenters.]

Start Brainstorming!

What was the presenter’s main point? ___________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Can you already think of some potential solutions that you could explore with your team?

What are they?___________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ While listening to the presenter’s story, what captivated you most, and how could you develop your own narrative to captivate others?_____________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ What three things do you really want to remember from this presentation? _______________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Note-Taking Guide [Use this guide to keep notes on the presenters.]

Challenger’s Name:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Challenge Posed:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rate what you’ve heard! On a scale of one to five (with five being the “most passionate”), how passionate are you about the challenge you heard?

1 2 3 4 5

On a scale of one to five (with five being “significantly resonate”), how well would the challenge or issue resonate with, or speak to, your community?

1 2 3 4 5

Start Brainstorming!

What was the presenter’s main point? ___________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Can you already think of some potential solutions that you could explore with your team?

What are they?___________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ While listening to the presenter’s story, what captivated you most, and how could you develop your own narrative to captivate others?_____________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ What three things do you really want to remember from this presentation? _______________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Challenger’s Name:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Challenge Posed:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rate what you’ve heard! On a scale of one to five (with five being the “most passionate”), how passionate are you about the challenge you heard?

1 2 3 4 5

On a scale of one to five (with five being “significantly resonate”), how well would the challenge or issue resonate with, or speak to, your community?

1 2 3 4 5

STEPTWO

Note-Taking Guide [Use this guide to keep notes on the presenters.]

Start Brainstorming!

What was the presenter’s main point? ___________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Can you already think of some potential solutions that you could explore with your team?

What are they?___________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ While listening to the presenter’s story, what captivated you most, and how could you develop your own narrative to captivate others?_____________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ What three things do you really want to remember from this presentation? _______________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Note-Taking Guide [Use this guide to keep notes on the presenters.]

Challenger’s Name:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Challenge Posed:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rate what you’ve heard! On a scale of one to five (with five being the “most passionate”), how passionate are you about the challenge you heard?

1 2 3 4 5

On a scale of one to five (with five being “significantly resonate”), how well would the challenge or issue resonate with, or speak to, your community?

1 2 3 4 5

Start Brainstorming!

What was the presenter’s main point? ___________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Can you already think of some potential solutions that you could explore with your team?

What are they?___________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ While listening to the presenter’s story, what captivated you most, and how could you develop your own narrative to captivate others?_____________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ What three things do you really want to remember from this presentation? _______________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Challenger’s Name:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Challenge Posed:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rate what you’ve heard! On a scale of one to five (with five being the “most passionate”), how passionate are you about the challenge you heard?

1 2 3 4 5

On a scale of one to five (with five being “significantly resonate”), how well would the challenge or issue resonate with, or speak to, your community?

1 2 3 4 5

STEPTWO

Note-Taking Guide [Use this guide to keep notes on the presenters.]

Start Brainstorming!

What was the presenter’s main point? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Can you already think of some potential solutions that you could explore with your team?

What are they?___________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ While listening to the presenter’s story, what captivated you most, and how could you develop your own narrative to captivate others?_____________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ What three things do you really want to remember from this presentation? _______________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Note-Taking Guide [Use this guide to keep notes on the presenters.]

Challenger’s Name:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Challenge Posed:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rate what you’ve heard! On a scale of one to five (with five being the “most passionate”), how passionate are you about the challenge you heard?

1 2 3 4 5

On a scale of one to five (with five being “significantly resonate”), how well would the challenge or issue resonate with, or speak to, your community?

1 2 3 4 5

Start Brainstorming!

What was the presenter’s main point? ___________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ CCan you already think of some potential solutions that you could explore with your team?

What are they?___________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ While listening to the presenter’s story, what captivated you most, and how could you develop your own narrative to captivate others?_____________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ What three things do you really want to remember from this presentation? _______________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Challenger’s Name:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Challenge Posed:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rate what you’ve heard! On a scale of one to five (with five being the “most passionate”), how passionate are you about the challenge you heard?

1 2 3 4 5

On a scale of one to five (with five being “significantly resonate”), how well would the challenge or issue resonate with, or speak to, your community?

1 2 3 4 5

STEPTWO

Note-Taking Guide [Use this guide to keep notes on the presenters.]

Start Brainstorming!

What was the presenter’s main point? ___________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Can you already think of some potential solutions that you could explore with your team?

What are they?___________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ While listening to the presenter’s story, what captivated you most, and how could you develop your own narrative to captivate others?_____________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ What three things do you really want to remember from this presentation? _______________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

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STEPTHREE

Step Three: Select Your Challenge Timeline: Week One Details: Now that you have a good sense of the challenge that resonates most with your team, make sure that the challenge you select has the following key components: Passion:

The issue is something that excites your team.

Relevance:

The challenge can be described in a way that will educate and excite your community.

Feasibility:

Your team feels confident in developing a solution that is thoughtful, creative, and viable within the time given and with the resources made available to you.

Sustainability:

Your team envisions a way for your solution to last beyond the competition.

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Tools to guide you • • • • • •

Select Your Challenge Vision Statement Determine Goal and Objectives A Checklist for Success Timing is Everything The Work Plan

STEPTHREE

In this first week, you will submit The Work Plan that outlines your solution’s vision, goal, objectives, and process. This is a critical step in the process for your team to receive valuable feedback.

(online submission)

Urban Prep AcademiesBronzeville Campus, Chicago 2017 AS P E N C H A L L E N G E .O R G

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STEPTHREE

SELECT YOUR CHALLENGE

Challenge

Solution

Call to Action

There are many other aspects you will need to think through while coordinating your efforts. The three overarching categories are below:

1. Challenge: Which challenge are you addressing? At the Opening Forum, you heard from some of the greatest minds of our time.

Each expert told you about a problem that they are committed to addressing. They challenged you to design a solution to address that issue. When selecting a challenge, ask yourself if it has: Passion: Are you and your team passionate about this issue? Can your team mobilize around this issue? If you really care about the topic, your passion and vision are easier to sustain and communicate to others.

Relevance: Will your idea engage your peers, parents, and the community at large?

It is often easier to motivate and inspire people if they feel a pressing need around your challenge.

MK Asante, Philadelphia 2017

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it? How can the challenge be solved? Over the course of the program, your team will design a solution, engage your community, and mobilize and encourage them to take action. In the eighth week, you will prepare your presentations for the competition. When creating your solution, make sure it has: Imagination: What creative methods can you apply to accomplish your goals?

How can your big ideas make an impact? In what ways are you expanding upon existing work, if at all?

Inspiration: You know your community best. What are the most effective ways you can engage and mobilize your community? How can you make sure everyone feels enthusiastic and ready to tackle the challenge?

STEPTHREE

2. Solution: What are you going to do about

Creativity: To captivate your audience, be clever, be unexpected, and be memorable. Your solution can be a program, a campaign, a powerful collaboration or partnership, a business, a summit, or a hybrid. If you’re expanding upon existing work, how is this solution unique to that work? Get creative!

Feasibility: How will your big ideas be designed and implemented in your community?

Sustainability: Can your solution continue beyond the competition?

How will this be possible?

Community Engagement: How will you measure the impact of your community engagement?

3. Call to Action: What do you want to see changed? What do you want your audience, or community, to do? A call to action asks your community to commit to, or demonstrate support for, your solution. When developing your call to action, make sure it is: Compelling: What are the most compelling things you can ask your community to do? Communicate – with specifics – about how someone could help address this challenge.

Clear: List three very specific and simple things community members can do to help make a change.

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STEPTHREE

VISION STATEMENT

Your vision represents your anticipated future reality. It should answer the question: “What will be different as a result of our solution?” A great vision is reflective of your goal, core values, and has the following characteristics: • Inspiring, aspirational • Motivating but still possible within a time frame • Achievable within your resources • Focused • Memorable and/or unexpected

The following questions may help you to focus your work: How will your vision speak to and resonate with your community?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What will be different in your school and/or community as a result of your solution?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Who will be your partners or collaborators in this effort?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TAKE NOTE: You will need to write a concise vision statement for The Work Plan.

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Your goal should be the overarching thing you want to accomplish. An objective is a measure for getting there. You should outline three to five objectives that identify progress toward your goal.

Establishing your goal and supporting objectives will help you garner support and stay on track as you build a plan to present your solution. Your goal and objectives should be SMART.

Specific Measurable Actionable Realistic Time-bound

STEPTHREE

DETERMINING YOUR GOAL AND OBJECTIVES

For example, if your challenge is “to improve reading levels in your community,” your SMART goal might be: To improve reading levels by 25 percent among all first-graders in the town of Pleasantville

by June 15, 2018.

Your three SMART objectives might be: • Increase the in-class reading time for first-grade students

at Pleasantville Elementary School.

• Develop a reading buddy system with the nearby

high school and Pleasantville Elementary School.

• Expand local library’s reading program to include 100

more students.

TAKE NOTE: You will need to write your goal and 3 - 5 SMART objectives in The Work Plan.

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STEPTHREE

TIMING IS EVERYTHING Designing a solution to a real challenge and testing it in your community is a big task!

You will have a very tight time frame to learn, collaborate, present, and compete.

Below is a template for a timeline with some key milestones identified. Let this inspire your team’s own personalized timeline. As a team, fill in the relevant dates and use this to stay on track. * Items in bold require mandatory submission for the participation in the Aspen Challenge.

WHEN? WHAT?

HOW?

STEP ONE: CREATE TEAM AND PREPARE Date:

Coaches submit team roster, headshots, and media release forms Team members get to know each other and identify collaborative working dynamics

Submit forms online Complete Your Team Charter, Getting to Know You, What is in a Solution, Community Discovery and Aspen Challenge Surveys

Team members watch past solution presentations and reflect on what makes an effective solution

STEP TWO: GET INSPIRED Date:

The Opening Forum: where speakers issue challenges to teams

Time:

Teams meet leaders who are pioneering change in their fields and reflect on various challenges issued by those leaders

Use Note-Taking Guide to take notes Refer to the Judging Criteria

Teams think about which challenge resonates with them and how the judging criteria would be met if they design a solution to it

STEP THREE: SELECT CHALLENGE AND PLAN Due Dates:

Work with your team to reflect on the Opening Forum and select your challenge

Review Note-Taking Guide Watch recordings of speakers Use Select Your Challenge to guide your process Share your perspectives and submit your reflections online

Due Dates:

Teams write a vision statement, goal and objectives, and make plans for the solution design and implementation

Revise Vision Statement Consider A Checklist for Success to determine your team’s plan Use this calendar to plan online

Due Date:

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Teams submit The Work Plan

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Complete and submit The Work Plan and incorporate lessons from Step Three

WHEN? WHAT?

HOW?

STEP FOUR: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT SOLUTION Due Dates:

Teams design and implement solutions and share progress with the Aspen Challenge staff

Dates:

List any planned events for solution implementation here

Date: Time:

Coaches Check-In Meeting Aspen Challenge staff host a meeting with coaches

Follow weekly lessons and attend weekly virtual check-in meetings Tools to guide teams include Creating a Solution Identity, Determining Your Goal and Objectives, Your Pitch, and Documenting Your Solution

Convene with coaches from other teams to share best practices

STEP FIVE: OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Dates:

Teams refine communication for target community and engage them in implementation and events Teams share stories from events and progress of their work on media channels

Tools to guide teams include the 5 M’s of Successful Communication, Creating Powerful Materials, Harnessing Social Media, and the Power of Partnerships

STEPTHREE

* Items in bold require mandatory submission for the participation in the Aspen Challenge.

STEP SIX: PRESENT AND COMPETE Dates:

Teams prepare materials to showcase their work

Determine narrative about your solution that demonstrates the judging criteria has been met Use Presentation Framework: Content & Style as a guide

Due Date:

Teams submit written report for judges’ review

Submit written report online

Due Date:

Teams provide all files (e.g., video, Prezi, PPT) that they will need projected during their on-stage presentation

Upload presentation media online with instructions for technical requests as needed

Date: Venue: Time:

The Competition: teams present solutions to judges

Teams present their solutions on stage

Competition Day and beyond

Plan for sustainability: teams develop a plan to keep solutions going

Determine who can carry the work forward and how

Ongoing

Teams share photos, videos and quotes that we can promote on digital media sites

Stay in touch online and through Aspen Challenge media outlets

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STEPTHREE

A CHECKLIST FOR SUCCESS

Throughout the process of developing and implementing your plan, continually review and address the following checklist as a team (think of this list as a way to ensure you are always on your way to achieving your goal): Teamwork

Every member of the team plays an important role and puts their unique talents to work.

Your team exhibits thoughtfulness, creativity, and collaboration.

Every team member provides evidence of growth in leadership qualities.

Your team identified core values that set guidelines for how the team conducts business

Feasibility

You bring your global issue to scale in your local community.

Your plans and solution design are feasible.

You identify a specific market and audience and provide evidence of how

you will win their support.

You reach your intended audience and get the word out about your solution (e.g., you make fliers, posters, digital channels, included a mention in a school newsletter or the local newspaper, etc.).

You articulate a clear “ask” of your community.

The community values your efforts around this issue, provides feedback, supports your solution throughout the process, and you incorporate documentation of their support (e.g., quotes or survey results).

Community Engagement

Communications Planning and Delivery

You select a challenge and create a solution with substance and relevance for your school and community.

You provide a clear, coherent, and compelling story about why your issue matters to your community.

It’s evident that your solution is SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound.

Your solution or approach to your challenge illustrates thought, creativity, and is compelling.

Sustainability

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Your solution generates so much excitement that it can be replicated or scaled in other settings (for example, forming a club at your school where students receive credits for participation).

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online

To outline the team’s ideas, answer the questions below in detail and use the tools available in step three. Please submit The Work Plan on time in order to receive constructive feedback to guide your process and to receive your team’s seed funding.

1. Challenge: Which challenge from the presentations given at the Opening Forum will you address? (Refer to: Selecting Your Challenge: Key Components)

2. What is your vision statement? (Refer to: Vision Statement) 3. Goal & Objectives: Please articulate your goal and top three to five objectives (make them SMART). (Refer to: Determining Your Goal and Objectives)

STEPTHREE

THE WORK PLAN

4. Solution Overview: How do you propose solving the problem your team has identified? (Refer to: A Checklist for Success)

5. Team: Who is on your team and why do you think you will be successful?

(Refer to: Your Team Charter)

6. Feasibility: How will you tackle your team’s challenge within the seven-week work period? How will your team maximize the eighth week to prepare your presentations?

7. Sustainability: How will your solution continue beyond the work period?

8. Impact: How will you engage your community? What types of outreach do you intend to do? How will you measure your impact and demonstrate you fulfilled your objectives?

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Timeline: Week Two through Week Four Details: Now that your team has selected a

challenge, it’s time to design and test ideas that define the issue, draft steps for how you will accomplish your solution, and offer a call to action.

This is the process of creating a model and developing your solution’s identity. You need to document what you do in order to have materials for your presentation.

STEPFOUR

Step Four: Design and Implement Your Solution

One of the most important distinctions between a great idea and a powerful solution is a clear plan (i.e., a comprehensive road map that includes defining and refining your solution). Be sure to refer to the judging criteria as you create your solution. Your team should design a solution that is feasible and that has the potential to live beyond the Challenge time frame.

Be sure to share your progress with the Aspen Challenge team so we can continue to provide your team with support and share your events and progress on our social media channels.

Tools to guide you • Creating Your Solution Identity • Your Pitch: The Elevator Speech

(online submission)

• Documenting Your Solution AS P E N C H A L L E N G E .O R G

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STEPFOUR

CREATING YOUR SOLUTION IDENTITY

Once you have selected your team’s challenge you need to create an identity for your work. Your name and logo are critical as you aim to build awareness and support for your solution. Create a captivating and relevant name and logo for your work; this will help your audience remember your efforts. Have fun with the process and make sure that what you create defi nes your team and your work. Below are a few tips to guide you.

ORIGINALITY AND CREATIVITY ARE KEY: Audiences pay attention to bold ideas and design.

SIMPLIFY: Your design can say a lot without giving too much information.

Make it easy for your audience to understand what you are conveying.

STRIKE A PASSION: Be sure that your entire team is passionate about how you will identify your solution, and that your identity elicits passion in others.

Please be sure to tie your work to the larger Aspen Challenge work to boost your team’s visibility. Include the Aspen Challenge logo and tagline, wherever possible.

Do not use “ASPEN” in your solution brand. Make it unique to your mission.

SAMPLES FROM PAST TEAMS

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Engaging and enlisting outside help requires that you develop an effective way to communicate the vision and goal for your solution. You will want to distil the most compelling piece of your vision by developing your elevator speech. This will succinctly convey – to a stranger – your vision, mission, and call to action in about 30-40 seconds. Your elevator speech should be focused and compelling. This will be your main tool, or “script,” when you are approaching potential stakeholders.

Your end goal for an elevator speech is to develop a concise and compelling statement in around three sentences. One way to develop an effective elevator speech is to think of it in parts: THE CHALLENGE: Describe the issue using a few key facts and statistics WHAT WE ARE DOING: Your team’s solution

STEPFOUR

YOUR PITCH: THE ELEVATOR SPEECH

WHY IT MATTERS: Why your community should care HOW THEY CAN HELP: Provide a simple and clear “ask” to garner their support DELIVERY MATTERS: People respond to your passion and authenticity. Make it clear that you are a believer –both an ambassador and an active participant. This is a great chance to exercise zest, curiosity, and optimism. Your goals for a successful speech should be to: Inspire curiosity: They should walk away wondering how they might help and what more they can learn.

Generate enthusiasm: Get them to discuss your pitch with others Encourage support and “buy-in”: Your audience is now curious, enthusiastic, and ready to get involved. Help them understand how they can easily take action and make sure that you articulate appreciation for their support.

Be kind and confident: A handshake and eye contact are often the first opportunities to make an impression. Practice these tips for an effective first impression.

• The Look: Use eye contact to exhibit warmth and confidence • The Smile: Set a positive tone with a slight smile • Clarity: Be present and respect the person and the occasion • Posture: If you think passive, you stand passive. If you think confident, you will stand confident. People react to your body language.

Submit your team name and your 2-3 sentence elevator speech for your solution online. Word count: 75. online AS P E N C H A L L E N G E .O R G

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STEPFOUR

DOCUMENTING YOUR SOLUTION

Chronicling your story through captivating quotes and visuals is essential – and simple. When presenting to the judges highlight key quotes and images to showcase the support your solution garnered. It will express and share your team’s process, progress, community support, and early success - all key components in the competition.

(Refer to Judging Criteria on page 17 to prioritize what content you will collect.)

WRITTEN AND SPOKEN TESTIMONIALS Surveys: Surveys are a simple and effective way to collect feedback from your stakeholders and audience. Consider putting a short survey together, and ask your audience to complete it at the end of your presentation. From those surveys, you can collect quotes and use them anonymously in your presentation to provide a snapshot of community support.

Interviews: Either on- or off-camera interviews are an easy way to collect short, yet compelling sound bites to feature in your presentation to the judges.

Collect contact information: Stay engaged with your stakeholders, especially as you think about how to continue your team’s great work in the months and years to come.

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PHOTOS 1. Your best images should help convey a story.

Ask yourself, what story does this photo tell?

2. Candid close-ups of smiling students, or small groups interacting, are the most compelling.

3. Include a few atmospheric shots that show the scale, environment, or scene of your solution.

4. Take a few close-ups of any materials, such as posters or banners, that can help tell the story.

STEPFOUR

PHOTOS AND VIDEOS

VIDEO Light: Great lighting is key! Poor or dim lighting can be a big spoiler, so keep the lights on and avoid “mood lighting.” Shoot video with the light source behind the camera, shining on the subject. For example, in an outdoor shot, take note of where the sun is shining, and make sure the sun shines on your subject and not on your camera lens.

Sound: Consider sound quality and interference.

When interviewing one-on-one, seek to limit background noise. (For instance, don’t sit next to a waterfall or a noisy refrigerator!)

Keep it steady: Keep the video camera steady by putting it on a flat surface or set up a tripod for interviews.

Set the scene: Experiment with framing different shots and angles. Typically, a close (waist-up) interviewstyle makes for great footage. If the camera is too low, people tend to look a bit bulky on screen.

Shoot outside or against the backdrop of library shelves for a more interesting visual (blank walls can be a little boring.)

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STEPFIVE

Step Five: Outreach and Community Engagement Timeline: Week Five through Week Seven Details:You will begin putting your solution

into action by getting your community involved (e.g., your school, your neighborhood, your city).

Survey your community to collect feedback, and ask for their continued commitment to support your work. This step will provide evidence that your team is addressing your challenge in a meaningful, relatable way, and that your solution reflects the needs, priorities, and input of your community.

Tools to guide you • The 5 M’s of Successful Communication (online submission) • Creating Powerful Materials • Harnessing Social Media

(online submission)

• Measuring Your Impact TAKE NOTE: Begin drafting your team’s

one-page Written Report (page 52) during Step Five (weeks five through seven). It is due at the very beginning of Step Six!

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Communications include anything you say, write, or show people about your issue or cause. Below is a framework to focus your efforts and make sure your bases are covered as your planning unfolds.

1. Market: Who do you want to reach?

Identifying, understanding, and prioritizing your market will help you determine the rest of the 5 M’s. Markets are specific. To be strategic, segment your market (in this case your community) into smaller groups by identifying specific characteristics.

Narrow your audience

STEPFIVE

THE 5 M’s OF SUCCESSFUL COMMUNICATION

Can they be divided into smaller groups based on commonalities (grade level, interests, etc.)?

• What do they care about?

• What are their perceptions or misperceptions of your issue?

2. Messages: What do you want to say?

Messages should be clear, and relevant to the market you want to reach. Consider how to tailor your messages to resonate with different markets. Know your primary objective (e.g., share information, galvanize support, inspire people to act, etc.).

• What resonates with the people you want to reach?

• What will keep them informed and engaged?

• What do you want them to do?

Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville, Chicago 2017 AS P E N C H A L L E N G E .O R G

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STEPFIVE

3. Messenger: Who will persuasively communicate your message?

• Choosing the right messengers or spokespeople means identifying who is influential within your market. The messenger heavily influences the market’s ability to hear the message. It is effective to have multiple messengers depending on the various people and groups you may be trying to reach.

• Who has the ear of the people you want to reach?

• Who does your market trust? Who will add credibility to your message?

• Who is the best person to deliver your message?

• Are they already invested in your issue?

4. Medium: What tools will promote your messages?

As you think about how to present your solution to your community, choose the right medium to deliver your message.

Consider online communications, posters, a community meeting, or social media. Each one will reach a different audience and be effective based on what you want to accomplish.

• How many people will the medium reach, and will it reach the right audience?

• Can you streamline your communication to be suitable for your chosen medium?

• Many materials are effective. How will you prioritize them to have the greatest impact with resources and time available?

5. Metrics: What data can measure your impact and support your point?

Collecting information about who you are reaching and how they react can indicate/measure your success in making an impact and enable you to fine-tune your communications approach.

• How many people are you engaging through various mediums?

• Are those you reach taking action or remaining engaged?

• Are the demographics of your audience appropriate for your ultimate goal?

• How many different mediums are you using?

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online

Market: Who do you want to reach? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Messages: What are the three to five key messages that you want to convey? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

STEPFIVE

YOUR TURN: WHAT ARE YOUR TEAM’S 5 M’s?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Messenger: Who will persuasively communicate your messages? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Medium: Which modes will you use to promote your messages? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Metrics: What information will help you measure your impact and determine the success of your project? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

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STEPFIVE

CREATING POWERFUL MATERIALS

After you have identified your target market, finetuned key messages, and defined your outreach objectives, use these tips to create powerful materials.

Clarify Key Messages • What are the top three things you want your market to know about your solution when they see your materials? Consider this three-question framework: 1. What is the challenge/issue?

2. Why should someone care?

3. What can be done?

• Your messages should stick. When people talk about your issue, what do you want them to remember?

Make Sure Your Content is Compelling • Use personal anecdotes and stories to illustrate a key point and to motivate action in your market. Tell stories that will resonate with your audience.

• Use facts to reinforce and support an argument.

• Embed statistics into a larger story you’re trying to convey. If you use statistics in your message, make sure you understand them and are able to cite references for those statements.

• Always include a call to action, encouraging your audience to engage.

• Include contact information and ways to learn more about your solution.

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• Use images or videos to tell or support your story. They communicate messages at a glance. (Close-ups of individuals or a couple of individuals are more effective than group shots.)

• For creating a presentation (such as a PowerPoint or a Prezi): • Focus on the main message and avoid making the slides too text heavy. The presentation should complement what you are saying and provide you with a prompt to remember your key points.

• A good rule is to limit content on each slide to five bullet points, with four words for each bullet (no need for complete sentences since you can tell the whole story).

• Simplify. Avoid using acronyms, jargon, or overly complex ideas on your slides.

STEPFIVE

Show, Don’t Tell

Showcase Your Solution Identity and Challenge • Use the logo and messaging you created for your solution identity – continued exposure to this will help your audience remember who/what you are. Do not forget to acknowledge that you are part of the Aspen Challenge! This will help you and the program gain exposure as we promote a healthy and sustainable initiative.

2 SECOND-20 SECOND-2 MINUTE RULE OF THUMB

Materials should be scannable at multiple levels Use the 2-20-2 rule of thumb as a test.

• 2-Second Scan: What will someone take away in a brief scan? (e.g., captivating title, teaser headlines, key messages, telling images) • 20-Second Quick Read: What will someone know after a short read? (e.g., sub-headlines, short supporting points in bullets or brief descriptions, call-out boxes) • 2-Minute Full Read: What will someone understand if they read the entire piece? (e.g., concise, clear, and compelling language, avoid jargon, and use a simple design) AS P E N C H A L L E N G E .O R G

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STEPFIVE

HARNESSING SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media platforms are an integral part of any communications campaign. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube are powerful tools that can assist you in spreading awareness, mobilizing your community, highlighting success, sharing information, and building relationships. With social media, you have the ability to create, lead, and contribute to online conversations. online Submit your social media links online.

Tone • Keep it conversational. Avoid using acronyms or jargon.

• Avoid using “I” statements and a single voice. When posting updates, incorporate words like “we,” “together,” “our,” and “us.”

This inclusive language reflects a welcoming tone.

Content • Define Your Identity. Make it unique to your community (don’t use ASPEN). Use your project’s logo or name consistently across all platforms. Don’t forget to craft an identity that is memorable and relevant.

• Keep content fresh, be proactive and flexible. Here are some ideas for content: • Post a relevant article and ask what your followers think.

Remember the goal of social media is to create a dialogue. Monitor and respond to comments and questions from readers. Engage your audience with something open-ended. Pose questions in posts to stimulate the conversation.

• Live-stream from your event. This will aid in getting your message out to those who are not able to join the event in person.

• Promote your event in the weeks and days leading up to it on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Use visuals. Include eye- catching photos or short videos (up to three minutes) when appropriate.

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theaspenchallenge

Aspen_Challenge

#aspenchallenge

Youth & Engagement Programs – The Aspen Institute

STEPFIVE

The Aspen Challenge is part of a national network of people, programs, and resources. Follow us on social media to share updates and learn about other opportunities or tools.

aspeninstyouth

Wendell Phillips Academy High School, Chicago 2017

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STEPFIVE

MEASURING YOUR IMPACT

Measuring impact is an important component of social innovation. Data points are important as they will quantify how much your team did, how well you performed, and if anyone is better off because of your work. Using this data will help refine your presentation and make a strong case for the potential for sustained impact. An effective way to measure if anyone is better off is by creating a post-project survey. Below are tips and ideas for creating an effective impact survey. Please note, “Potential for Impact,” is a criteria judges will consider.

Crafting A Survey • Incorporating measurement-scale questions can be a good gauge for how something has changed as a result of your solution. For example, a scale question with a range such as 1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree, 3 = neutral, 4 = disagree, and 5 = strongly disagree that was asked in an earlier survey may have a different response.

A survey done after the solution is implemented can show measurable changes in your target community’s perceptions.

• If you choose to ask open-ended questions, such as “How do you feel this solution impacted your community?” the answers may not be measurable. They can, however, be featured in your final presentation as testimonials from the community and add depth to your presentation.

• Aim to keep questions and surveys brief, especially if participants will be completing them at an event/in person. A brief survey will increase chances that it will be completed.

Tools and Tips • Remember: Other measures of support include the number of participants at your event and the number of followers or likes on social media platforms. These are all great metrics to include in your presentation to the judges.

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Timeline: Week Eight Details: For the competition, you will have

five minutes to present your solution and an opportunity to respond to questions from judges. A one-page written report will be due online immediately at the beginning of week eight, leaving time for your team to perfect your presentation. Remember to refer to the sneak peak of the judging criteria on page 17.

STEPSIX

Step Six: The Presentation

Tools to guide you • Framework: Content and Style • The Written Report (online submission) • The Presentation (online submission) • The Exhibit

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STEPSIX

FRAMEWORK: CONTENT AND STYLE

There are multiple ways you will demonstrate your work to the judges: the one-page written report; the presentation; and the exhibit. The style and delivery of your presentation are just as important as the content. Practicing is critical to your success.

Below are tips for writing your report, delivering a strong and poignant presentation, and building a solid exhibit.

ILLUSTRATE COMMUNITY SUPPORT! Remember, in your presentation, be sure to include quotes, images, a recap of the level of participation, (e.g., attendance numbers, followers on Facebook, etc.) and survey results that illustrate support from the community.

THE WRITTEN REPORT

online

You will provide a one-page written report prior to the competition and submit it online at the beginning of step six!

CONTENT Highlight the most compelling anecdote and share the facts that you believe will showcase your accomplishments and teamwork.

Include your team’s media outlets so the judges can see your progress. Questions to consider in your report are featured in the Presentation section that follows. Remember, you will have an opportunity to share more in your presentation.

Be Clear and Concise: Describing your team’s accomplishments in one page can be difficult. Make sure you clearly outline what you have done and organize the information you wish to highlight.

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Edit, Edit, Edit: This will be the first impression the judges have of your team. Make sure that you craft your one-page report with a commitment to excellence and pay close attention to grammar. Well-written reports will make a good impression and are remembered by the judges on the competition day.

Fonts: Consider the line spacing, font size, and style. While it can be fun to spice up the layout of your report, 11-12pt Times New Roman or Calibri typefaces are easy to read.

STEPSIX

FORMAT

Denver 2014

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STEPSIX

WRITTEN REPORT SAMPLE (to be submitted online)

online

Solution Name:_____________________________________________________ School Name:_______________________________________________________ Coaches’ Names:___________________________________________________ In one page, pitch to the judges. Why should your team win?

Be sure to touch upon each of the following elements in your response. Remember to closely read and edit your report before submitting. Judges will be watching for well-written, grammatically correct material.

• Challenge: What challenge did you address?

Why does it matter to your team?

• Solution Overview: Summarize your solution.

How did you tackle the challenge in a compelling way?

• Outcome: Provide a brief snapshot or anecdotal evidence that demonstrates how your team exhibits all of the judging criteria.

Do you have any fun facts or metrics that you can share?

• Team: Describe your team dynamic. How did everyone play a role?

These questions will need to be answered in your one-page report and submitted online. Pay attention to the due date!

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You will have five minutes to present your solution.

Submit your media for the presentation online by the assigned due date.

online

CONTENT Opening • State team name, school, and community serving.

• Start with your vision statement.

What is the Challenge? Introduction of the issue

• Name the specific challenge and presenter.

• Define and demonstrate the need for your solution (consider quotes, statistics..)

• Articulate your desired future reality. What do you want to see changed?

• If applicable, describe how you expanded upon any existing work.

• There are creative ways to articulate an issue in a positive and empathetic manner, and your audience will be more likely to identify with a positive approach.

STEPSIX

THE PRESENTATION

What are you going to do about it? Proposed solution • What is your unique approach to solving this problem? How does your solution work? What is your innovative approach to expanding upon existing work, if any?

• If the challenge is a global one, how will your “local” solution address or impact the larger issue at hand? How will your solution scale?

Back it up! Measured impact from community feedback

(e.g., survey or documentation) • Is there data from your community discovery or impact surveys that show your solution will have the desired impact?

• Who is on board to help you? Are there school clubs, businesses, organizations, or neighbors who are engaged?

• How likely is it that your project will be sustained through

community and individual partnerships?

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STEPSIX

CLOSING STATEMENT • Restate your key points, focusing on why the solution you designed is successful.

• End with a punch. A memorable closer can stick with the audience.

Q&A Be prepared for the judges to ask you questions. Review the tips and tools in Your Pitch: The Elevator Speech (page 39) for answering with clarity and confidence.

STYLE Prepare • Create an engaging presentation with both visual and oral components that contains all of your key messages.

• Remember to use anecdotes or personal stories to illustrate key points.

• Practice in conditions as close to the actual setting as possible.

Will you have a podium? A microphone? A slide deck with a clicker?

Focus on Delivery When presenting on stage, remember that your body language also impacts your presentation. Think about your posture and hand gestures. Here are some tips: • Avoid crossed arms, hands on hips or in pockets.

• Feel free to use hand gestures (make sure they are not so big that they take away from your presentation).

• Smile when it matches the content of your presentation.

• Make eye contact and avoid shifting your eyes or facing away from the audience.

• Stand to the left of your visual and avoid talking at your visual or blocking the view.

• Speak slowly (a bit slower than what feels natural) and project your voice.

• Adjust the volume, tone, and speed of your presentation.

Pause to give emphasis and add emotion, where appropriate.

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online

All multimedia tools for your on-stage presentation must be submitted ahead of time (pay attention to the due date!). For on-stage presentations, total playtime for any videos must not exceed two minutes.

STEPSIX

• Include your entire team. Teamwork is part of the judging criteria, and working together to deliver your oral presentation can not only be fun, it can also demonstrate teamwork. • Incorporate audio/visual components.

Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnet High School, Los Angeles 2013

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STEPSIX

THE EXHIBIT You will have the opportunity to engage with judges for five minutes at your exhibit.

CONTENT The Display • You can design a unique display that visually tells your team’s story. For example, you might include a poster board, a slideshow or video on a laptop, survey results, flyers, and more! You will have a 6 foot, rectangular table and power available. Check out the tips on Creating Powerful Materials.

Q&A • During the exhibit period, the judges will have an opportunity to discuss your work with you and learn more about your solution. Your entire team should be ready to engage!

STYLE Be Creative • The exhibit period is an opportunity to truly shine and share every visual and interactive component you can imagine. This could mean looping a video, bringing in pieces of something your team may have constructed, sharing food, crafts, team T-shirts or bracelets, and other items relevant to your team’s work.

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Southeast High School, Los Angeles 2013

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STEPSEVEN

Step Seven: Reflect and Learn Timeline: Post Competition Details: No matter the outcome of the

competition, this experience can continue to evolve beyond the 8-week period. Just as you have planned to sustain your solution, the skills and knowledge each person has gained can continue to be refined and used in other areas of life, both in and outside of school. Taking time to reflect both as an individual and together as a team increases your potential to continuously lead and inspire others.

Tools to guide you • Reflection Meeting & Continuous Learning • Motivational Speeches

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Reflection allows you to further identify values, strengths, areas for improvement, and ultimately your style of leadership. Within two weeks of the competition, your team will conduct a Reflection Meeting with the Aspen Challenge team. Use the questions below as a guide for the conversation (you can create more as a team).

What was particularly satisfying about the Aspen Challenge?

Where did you find the most success? _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________

STEPSEVEN

REFLECTION MEETING & CONTINUOUS LEARNING

_________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ In what ways did you learn about being a leader? _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________

What problems did you encounter while you were working on this project?

How did you solve them? _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________

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STEPSEVEN

What did/do you find most frustrating during this program?

How did you respond to the frustration? _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ What resources did you use while working on your project?

Which ones were particularly helpful? Which ones would you use again? _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ In what ways do you think you need to improve? _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ What skills did you learn from your classmates’ work or process that you would like to try in a new project? _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ What did the Aspen Challenge experience tell you about yourself and how you learn? _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________

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As teens, Tara Suri and Niha Jain designed a solution to address an important international problem. They both learned a powerful lesson on what it means to fail and shared why we should rethink failure and how we respond. Watch their speech online on your own and gather as a team to answer the questions below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0ZtPqG7t-A At her Harvard commencement speech, “Harry Potter� author JK Rowling shared her thoughts on being imaginative as you encounter success and failure. Watch this video online on your own and gather as a team to answer the questions below.

STEPSEVEN

CHECK OUT THESE MOTIVATIONAL VIDEOS ONLINE

https://www.ted.com/talks/jk_rowling_the_fringe_benefits_of_failure

Chicago 2017 AS P E N C H A L L E N G E .O R G

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APPENDIX

PROGRAM POLICIES

YOUR TEAM 1. Team Creation: Teams should consist of new participants and cannot include past Aspen Challenge participants.

2. Existing Teams and Projects: Your school’s team must not consist of members who already work together or are from an existing team. Your team’s project must be original.

3. Team Member Count and Substitution: Your Aspen Challenge team must consist of 10 members, which includes eight students and two coaches. The team must be representative of the entire student body and differ in age and experience.

4. Attendance at Events: All 10 team members must attend the key events, which include the Opening Forum and Competition. Other students and faculty can work with the core team on their work; however, due to limited space, these additional people cannot attend the key events.

PRESENTATIONS 1. Media: Multimedia tools in your presentation are highly encouraged.

Videos featured in presentations must not encompass the entirety of the presentation and must be less than two minutes.

2. Team Participation: All student team members must be present at the competition to be eligible. Emergency circumstances can be acceptable and will be evaluated by program staff.

FUTURE PROGRAM PARTICIPATION Should the Aspen Challenge occur in your city for a second year and beyond, your school may have a team participate in the program again; however, this team must be composed of entirely new students. The students from the original team must complete a “by” year. We strive to provide this opportunity to new people each year.

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1. Participate! Participation in the Aspen Challenge program means that your team meets frequently and dedicates significant time outside of school to build your solution. You agree to show up and participate in all meetings and events your team plans. You are one team and are responsible for success TOGETHER. 2. Be present. Stay engaged, ask questions, and remain focused. Exercise your zest, curiosity, and self-control. Be respectful and leave your mobile phones on vibrate/silent during presentation times and contribute to the team conversation. All perspectives are meaningful: it is time to share your ideas!

3. Be courteous and remain positive. A healthy competitive spirit is a positive one.

Stay optimistic, exercise your social intelligence, and express gratitude. Kindness and encouragement should be exhibited throughout the process. Cruelty, teasing, or negative comments – both direct and indirect – about other teams will not be tolerated in any capacity, including face-to-face interactions, social media interactions, exchanges online, and indirect conversation about other teams. Should negative communication or behavior occur, the responsible team or team member(s) can be deemed ineligible to participate in the program.

APPENDIX

THE HONOR CODE

4. Keep it clean. Maintaining a calm and collected approach to an issue, even if it is frustrating, can help you discover a resolution. Crude language and behavior are not positive approaches to a problem, nor are they reflections of good character.

Swearing and aggressive behavior of any type exhibited by a team may result in their ineligibility to participate in the program. This includes exchanges online.

5. Be conscientious. You are representing your school, school district, and community at large. Dressing respectfully is important. Please refrain from torn or revealing attire. Pick up after yourself. Be respectful of your surroundings and those around you.

6. Act with integrity. Your team members and community partners are counting on you. Be honest and be reliable. Being on time and following through on your word is vital to building trustworthy relationships and will, in turn, set positive examples for what you are capable of accomplishing.

7. Respect privacy. Not everyone wishes to be photographed or videotaped.

Please ask before you take photos. Please ask before you post pictures on social media of other Aspen Challenge participants.

8. Stay substance free. Alcohol, drugs, tobacco, chemical or prescription medications that are not listed as prescribed or recommended may not be consumed at any time while you are engaged in the Aspen Challenge program or attending any related event. There is zero tolerance for this behavior, and it will result in a student’s ineligibility to participate in the program. Should you be at an Aspen Challenge event and violate this standard, immediate transportation home will ensue.

9. HAVE FUN! AS P E N C H A L L E N G E .O R G

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