Jiang receives grant from PNC for Adaptive Space development

Gemma Jiang, director of the Organizational Innovation Lab at Swanson School of Engineering, has received a $40,000 grant from the PNC Charitable Trust for the Adaptive Space:  Building Capacity for Addressing Complex Social Challenges, an enhanced version of the Pitt u.lab hub.

The Adaptive Space will continue to develop capacity for addressing complex social challenges in Pittsburgh. This one-year prototype aims to develop a vigorous process to identify high-potential participants; design and deliver three capacity-building courses; support prototype development through three practice cycles based on the social lab methodology; and explore ways to continue and grow successful prototypes.

The focus this year will be on helping children thriving in the Homewood and Hill District communities, leveraging partnerships with the Pittsburgh Study of UPMC Children’s Hospital and Pitt’s Community Engagement Centers. 

By the end of the prototype year, Jiang hopes to launch a Complexity Institute at Pitt that continues the mission of enabling the social change ecosystem in Pittsburgh.