Think you have the idea to make a real impact, and make Muncie better?
Think you have the right idea to make the Muncie community better? Thanks to a cross-collaboration with The City of Muncie, Ball State Entrepreneur Center, and the In Place Impact Muncie Initiative you will have a chance to not only voice that idea, but participate in a free 12 week curriculum hosted at The Ball State Entrepreneur Center to refine and bring that idea to life!
Starting September 13th the In Place Impact Muncie Initiative will begin an absolutely free community class where all segments of the community are invited to participate at The Ball State Entrepreneur Center in a 12 week program designed to help community members bring their ideas to life. The class is free to the community so that everyone is able to participate and have a voice in the future of Muncie. The Impact X Class, though not college accredited, will be held at Ball State. The Program, which originated at The College of Charleston School of Business, is specifically held at the university to make the community aware that they are part of this community and they are welcome at Ball State’s amazing campus. The class will be taught by BSU Professor Christiana Mann, local entrepreneur and artist Mike Martin, and Common Market Co-Owner and Community Listener Kory Gipson. “The goal when you walk out of the class is to have a ‘Pitch Deck’ that you could walk onto the set of Shark Tank with, and be prepared to answer those tough questions.”, said Mike Martin.
Martin had originally taken the class at The College of Charleston to help formulate his Common Market concept located here in Muncie at 8th and Hoyt. At that class is where Martin began a relationship with the founder and CEO of In Place Impact Stuart Williams. The two had been working on bringing Stuart to Muncie to meet with city, community, and business leaders when Covid hit. With the pandemic in full swing, Martin and Williams began a series of zoom meetings with the City of Muncie aimed at bringing In Place Economics to Muncie. In March of 2022 Stuart Williams was finally able to visit Muncie in person for the first time, and they hosted an open forum at The Innovation Connector where the public was invited to learn about In Place Impact Economics. After the initial public meeting Mayor Dan Ridenour agreed to do the initial ‘Government In Place Index’ where the city goes through a serious evaluation about it’s inclusiveness in hiring, economic vibrancy for all residents, and environmental impact among many other factors designed to take a serious look at Muncie’s impact as a city. “I wanted a way for everyone to participate in the future of Muncie, and have their voice heard. When I say everyone, that’s what I mean. This program helps create space for all residents to participate in the program.” said Mayor Dan Ridneour.
That is the goal of In Place Economics, to design a circular economic model that empowers all residents of a community. Executed properly that is exactly what In Place Economics does. In Place Economics is designed to make sure every community stakeholder has a seat at the table, from the most marginalized members of our community to the environmental assets that make up Muncie. To learn more about the program you can reach out to The City of Muncie, or one of the now certified In Place Impact Economics consultants here in Muncie. A big part of the program rests on doing the work locally with local community members, and Stuart Williams came and did the initial certification training in May at The Innovation Connector. Those first initial consultants are certified to teach the class and work with local governments and businesses to embed In Place Economics in Muncie. The City Communications Director Michele Owens was one of the residents who took the certification course, and is now taking the city through the Government Index to evaluate where the city is now, and what it can do to be more inclusive of all Muncie stakeholders including residents, organizations, businesses, and the environment. The other initial part of the plan is the free Impact X community class that begins this December at Ball State University. This is where the community will get a chance to participate in the process and make their voice heard. One requirement for the certification is that the team must teach the free community class. This is one of the cornerstones of In Place Economics, it has to be inclusive of every community member. Stuart Williams added, “One of the reasons that we require that the consultants do the free community class is that this has always been a huge barrier to entry for the most marginalized segments of a community. At the College of Charleston, where we initially launched the program, we’ve had hundreds of people take class and the vast majority being minorities and women.”
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