The Vines (Spring 2022)

Project Background

The Vines Foundation is a catalyst for positive change in Tunuyan, Mendoza, exploring ways to empower our community to enhance health, end hunger and overcome hardship, as well as promote sustainable livelihoods. As the philanthropic arm of The Vines, an Argentine farming, winemaking and hospitality company (vinesofmendoza.com, vinesresortandspa.com) with deep connections to international resources through our clients in the US, Europe and Brazil, The Vines Foundation is leveraging these resources to meet the immediate and long-term needs of the local community. Most important, we are building capacity within our community and the organizations we work with, and seeking to engage community members and organizations,  local and national businesses, along with the government to solve complex challenges.

Definition of Opportunity

In the fall 2021, for the first time, the Vines Foundation partnered with a DAT to begin to create a strategic and inspirational mission and vision statement for the Foundation, which will serve as the foundation expands its community work for at least the next decade.  We hope that two of the students that worked on the project, Lucie Kneip (lkneip@nd.edu) and Carson Krol (ckrol@nd.edu), will continue to be engaged with the DAT this spring and as interns this summer at The Vines in Mendoza.

As a next step, we want to expand on the work completed to identify solid guiding principles, and meaningfully engage prospective donors and partners to unite a force for good. In the end, we want to become a model for sustainable development upon which others can base their initiatives to effectively serve the needs of the broader region and country of Argentina.

 During 2022, we aim to move from the mission and vision development phase to the execution phase by:

·  Creating a structure and strategies to bring together an effective working/community group of local leaders guiding the development process and creating goals; and an advisory board of donors and global stakeholders.

·  Developing a strategy to continue to support the 10 community kitchens we have been helping and a plan to transition that support into a more sustainable operation, likely by bringing in partners from the community and region.

·  Outlining a plan to evaluate the feasibility of, and if it is feasible, implement the “Rosario project” of community development in Tunuyan.

· Creating a best practices document for the dog rescue shelter at The Vines, and the evaluation of a mobile spay/neuter clinic.

Definition of Success

Through the work with a spring 2022 DAT, we hope to generate interest, excitement and actions in support of The Vines Foundation. This might include providing hands-on volunteer experiences for individuals to become connected to the mission of The Vines Foundation.  We plan to move from the theoretical to the execution stage, developing the initial parts of a strategic plan.  We will build on initial dialogues with members of the local community that DAT members carried out to explore further opportunities for becoming an incubator of new thoughts, strategies and methods to identify and solve the ever-changing needs of the local community.

Meet the Team

Final Deliverable

McDonald Center for Student Well-Being (Spring 2022)

Project Background

The McDonald Center for Student Well-Being strategically assesses the environment and creates structures for wellness enhancement and risk reduction. Using evidence-based practices and collaborating with a range of campus partners, “McWell” works collectively to provide initiatives, services, and resources that support the eight dimensions of well-being.

Also includes:

University Health Services (UHS)

University Counseling Center (UCC)

Student Support and Care

Definition of Opportunity

Given the stresses on students and the impacts of the pandemic, it is evident that students could benefit from wellness resources more than ever. The University offers a variety of resources of great value to students, but they are spread across different schools, offices, and initiatives.  This project focuses on mapping resources (programs, initiatives, classes, support groups, etc) on campus that help promote wellness and student flourishing. Such mapping exercises are often helpful to both realize there are more resources than meets the eye and allow people more access to them, as well as encourage different actors working towards the same goals to talk with one another.  

1. What are the student health and well-being resources on campus?

2. Where are the resources located?

3. How do students know about the resource?

4. How do they connect and access the resource?

5. What is student utilization of the resource?

6. What is student perception of the utilization of the resource?

7. How does the department measure effectiveness of the resource?

8. Who/which departments are the established partners for this resource?

Definition of Success

A successful project would not only show what opportunities and resources for wellness exist at Notre Dame but would present them to students in a user-friendly way that is both attractive and easy to access. Further, such mapping may show how different efforts might more effectively work together, or show where gaps may exist in wellness resources. 

One possibility would be to create a student-facing website that is interactive and user-friendly.

Meet the Team

Final Project

PGSSC (Spring 2022)

Project Background

Organizational Background: The Program on Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC) is a collaborative effort between the Harvard teaching hospitals, Harvard Medical School/ Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) and Partners In Health (PIH).  This organization emerged from work of the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery, led by Dr. John Meara at Harvard Medical School (and a 1986 ND graduate).  PGSSC’s objective is to advocate for Universal access to safe, affordable surgical and anesthesia care when needed. Their  strategy is two-fold:

Global Surgical Systems Strengthening through Research, Advocacy, and Implementation Science, using the Frameworks developed as part of the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery.       

Developing Leaders in Global Surgical and Health Systems through Research, Advocacy, and Care Delivery.  

PGSSC research focuses on surgical and health systems strengthening that is measurable, transparent, and locally-driven.

Definition of Opportunity

The PGSSC has worked across the globe with governments to develop and implement National Surgical, Obstetric, and Anesthesia Plans (NSOAPs) to expand access to surgery particular for poor and rural communities. The Government of Ecuador (and specifically the country’s vice president, a neurosurgeon) has reached out to explore PGSSC working collaboratively with the MInistry of Health and other public officials in Ecuador to develop an NSOAP for Ecuador. An important first step of the process is to identify and map key health sector stakeholders who will take part in consultations to understand the context and build support for the NSOAP process.

Definition of Success

It will be very important to get the input of the scholars as early and often as possible. Dr. Juliana is very supportive of this and will help you set up those meetings either through zoom or Whatsapp. 

1. The RRF scholars will share their stories and in the process work with the ND students to create a learning platform.

Meet the Team

Final Deliverable

Creation of a New Empowerment Curriculum | Education Bridge (Spring 2022)

Project Background

Education Bridge seeks to create flourishing South Sudanese communities through education and peacebuilding.  As part of this mission, Education Bridge opened its first school, Greenbelt Academy Bor, in South Sudan in February 2017. Led by South Sudanese Notre Dame graduate Majak Anyieth ’17, Greenbelt Academy Bor currently serves 500 students in grades 9-12, and in a very short time, has become one of the strongest academic schools in South Sudan. Early last year, Education Bridge opened its second school, Greenbelt Academy Juba, in the capital of South Sudan. Greenbelt Academies seek to provide quality secondary education as well as to develop a generation of South Sudanese who are not only well prepared academically, but who also see themselves as peacemakers and transformational leaders.

Definition of Opportunity

With the recent launch of a new school in Juba, Education Bridge is now poised as one of the top secondary schools in South Sudan. Now, the organization is looking for ways to attract and foster high-quality teachers to improve learning outcomes across the schools. Further, once launched, Education Bridge is looking for ways to see the impact of its efforts. It should be easy to see changes in teacher practices. It will likely be much harder to see changes in student outcomes, and you will need a control group to make this pilot evaluation credible.

Definition of Success

Conversations with Majak, Jenny, & the Board will help to provide context and ideas for this training. Further, it may also be very helpful to contact students that are currently at Education Bridge, or alumni for more context.

)) how to ensure student learning gains and measure this impact?

2) the extent to which you want to consider professional growth pathways beyond this initial training, such that this training program would be viewed as a first step in a sequence?

3) How do you conceptualize the design and measure the success of the program and how do you draw upon the best available research about what works to improve teaching and student learning outcomes in LMICs in primary education? 

4) The other thing worth thinking about is the extent to which your vision for the program is about human capital formation of your alumni (or other promising young educators) and creating cohorts of smart, talented, innovative teachers to grow as educational leaders and innovators within the system. 

Meet the Team

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Final Deliverable