In her conversation with Venture Café Host Christine Dunn, Jacquie Kay, Managing Partner of the Sun Walking Group, discusses the importance of making connections between innovation ecosystems and sustainable social impact communities globally and locally. She sees her work as helping to frame enterprises, providing access to funding and financing, and bringing together real-life situations with innovative solutions.

To Jacquie, the innovation ecosystem is the intersection of technology, innovators, investors, and entrepreneurs. They come together in places like the Venture Café, where she serves as a mentor, to exchange ideas and find new ways to grow. When this system tackles cultural, social and economic struggles, it can make a real difference globally and locally.

“We don’t call it social impact,” said Jacquie. “Social impact is really the ‘real world.’ It’s what’s going on out there: the problems of climate change, economic development, things that have to do with disaster relief, and trying to deal with getting a job, getting educated.”

Jacquie’s goal is to bring the real world together with the innovation ecosystem, making it accessible to communities in a concrete, impactful way. “I’m interested in blending those two worlds so that the innovation ecosystem sees the community as a touchstone for them, where they are really touching base with certain realities for their innovations, for their entrepreneurial efforts.”

On the other hand, Jacquie hopes that she can help communities in need of creative ways of solving real problems overcome their image of today’s innovators as ‘techie’ or ‘academic’ types. “These are all the issues that I’ve always faced going out there, working all over the world,” she continued.

Jacquie emphasizes the importance of mixing the global and local communities, working on all levels to bring people from all parts of the world together around common problems. “Global and local have always been separated,” said Jacquie. “This is me trying to connect worlds again. I walk around now saying ‘glocal.’”

Locally, one of Jacquie’s projects is with Living Systems Lab in South Grafton, Massachusetts. This project has cleaned up 30 acres of land and the Blackstone River corridor. One of the cores of the effort is a unique bioremediation system designed around the use of natural systems, including fungi and other microorganisms, to remove contaminants from the water.

In addition to cleaning up the natural environment in this area, the project aims to create a sustainable human ecosystem. Through education and potential development of elements such as affordable housing, assisted living, a farm-to-table restaurant, and a cidery, these efforts can also create a sustainable community.

Jacquie’s work also extends to farther parts of the world, including the western Pacific island of Palau, where she is working to help restore the $5 million sea cucumber and mud crab industries. Both of these projects have taught Jacquie a lot about the importance of energy and the environment and their impact on the human condition. “It’s all the same. We’re all part of this global village,” she said.

When asked to name the three most important lessons she and her company have learned, Jacquie cites the importance of educating people in the language of the donor agencies and organizations. “That’s why it has been really important to educate folks about this new language of innovation ecosystems, energy and the environment.”

The second important lesson is helping communities achieve sustainability, not just for the environment but also for the financial and organizational viability of projects. The third lesson or component of Jacquie’s work is in helping communities find financing. “That’s where I can bridge both the public and private sector and help us to be able to get money and understand each other’s worlds. “

“I think it’s fabulous,“ said Jacquie of her work as a Mentor at the Venture Café. “People walk in and they don’t know where to begin in this innovation ecosystem. And to be able to just walk up to somebody or to sign up with a mentor, it becomes really, really like they already feel like they have a connection.“

She likes being able to contribute to the Venture Café and the entrepreneurial community, which is made up of professionals who bring a wide variety of skillsets. She especially values being able to provide some expertise in business development. “Communication is key,” said Jacquie. “It may change human lives, it may have social impact, but that doesn’t mean a thing if you don’t have some basics.”

Related Links

For more information on Jacquie’s endeavors, visit www.sunwalking.net and to learn more about Living Systems Laboratory, see wordpress.clark.edu/fisherville.

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