Z U C K E R B E R G I N S T I T U T E

J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 THE POST PANDEMIC TASK FORCE

I N C O L L A B O R A T I O N W I T H

WOODBRIDGE, NJ About ZUCKERBERG INSTITUTE

A B O U T U S ZUCKERBERG INSTITUTE and ZUCKERBERG MEDIA are dedicated to inspiring kids and adults to participate in the power of science, technology, and entrepreneurship. Aiming to change the face of innovation one new character, collaboration, and company at a time,

Zuckerberg Media has partnered with media juggernauts Hulu, NBC/Universal, Sirius XM, and HarperCollins Publishers, among many others, to bring powerfully entertaining and inclusive stories to audiences all over the world. Its properties are seen on television in more than thirty countries around the world, and its latest initiatives reached audiences of more than 1B in 2017 alone.

0 1 Project Description

Zuckerberg Institute in collaboration with The purpose of this project is to expand Woodbridge Township propose to programs that provide youth with implement the Post Pandemic Task Force academic enrichment opportunities, as with local high school students and small well as additional activities designed to businesses affected by COVID. This complement students regular academic program is an innovative approach to the program and build awareness of development of sustainable practices and sustainability and entrepreneurship. capacity building through entrepreneurship. The project will take a In collaboration with Woodbridge three-pronged approach: designating a Township, Zuckerberg Institute will work target youth group in Woodbridge that are with students who to develop a plan that inspired to drive innovation within their can help businesses survive in this difficult own community. Secondly, building economy. The students will interact with capacity amongst local businesses, and successful business leaders within ZI's lastly developing a sustainable program network in , obtain their that connects youth with local businesses advice and suggestions and work with the to solve problems faced by the current Zuckerberg Institute - coming up with COVID crisis. plans which could include assisting businesses with social media, and helping them come up with creative ideas. MISSION, Goals and Objectives

Mission: Introduce and expose high school students to entrepreneurial skills by addressing real world problems faced by businesses during the COVID-19 crisis – all with an emphasis on building skills in communications, leadership, problem solving and teamwork.

Vision: A nationally recognized program in which students are actively engaged in projects, small businesses receive much needed support, all designed to increase innovation within communities and address real-world challenges.

Goal: Students take ownership in specific projects as they identify and /or address a need in the community, collaborate to generate solutions, develop the solutions, interact with community leaders and prepare presentations on the outcomes of their projects.

0 2 Our scope of work

The Post Pandemic Task Force begins with a foundational online course based on Zuckerberg Institute’s proven #FirstClass personal leadership program. Specially tailored for a young audience for the first time, this course teaches students the same secrets and habits that have helped entrepreneurs build billion-dollar companies and successful global initiatives.

After completing their initial training, participants gather online for a life-changing virtual summit where they work directly with the Zuckerberg Institute team and many of Randi’s favorite visionaries to develop themselves and their ideas while receiving unique insider access to some of the world’s top innovators.

Participants finish the summit with new skills and focused, concrete plans for their community projects. They also become honorary junior members of the Zuckerberg Institute community, which will provide ongoing support and mentorship as they set out to put their plans into action.

The Post Pandemic Virtual Summit is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to work directly with Randi’s team and some of her favorite visionaries while developing the skills and confidence essential to changing the world. Throughout the summit, our innovators tackle a complex problem and are guided through the process of developing and refining solutions. At the culmination of the summit, participants receive the rare opportunity to pitch their ideas to a panel of the world’s top innovators.

Highlights* include:

-A “Hackathon” hosted by Randi Zuckerberg, based on how she created Live, -A virtual pitchfest judged by some of the top innovators in the world, -One-of-a-kind innovation workshops with Lin Manuel Miranda’s Freestyle Love Supreme -Interactive sessions with entrepreneurs building start ups and leading local initiatives right now -Explorations of the mindfulness practices that have helped innovators maintain the clarity needed to navigate complex and uncertain project and much more.

0 3 SMALL BUSINESSES

After students have completed their leadership and entrepre neurial training, they work directly with small businesses directly affected by COVID to address real time problems facing business owners in Woodbridge, NJ.

For instance, many local businesses do not have dynamic websites. This project will add jobs to the local economy, incubate new businesses, provide educational opportunities to local high school students, retain existing businesses, and make them more diversified and resilient by providing curated resources, both technical experts and educating businesses on how to utilize cutting edge technologies.

The Project will empower SMBs to export goods and services to a regional and global marketplace. We will provide ongoing SMB & entrepreneurial support with expert resources, and prioritize the needs of women and minority owned businesses who historically have not had similar access to technology and capital as majority owned businesses.

We will focus on the following two pillars in order to focus our efforts:

• Recovery & Resilience – business continuity, disaster recovery The Project will support business resilience by empowering small/medium businesses with the tools to sell online, market and deliver their goods & services through multiple online platforms & channels. This will help them to diversify their revenue streams, making them less reliant upon physical traffic that can be significantly disrupted as a result of man-made or natural disasters like COVID-19. o The resources deployed will enhance the entrepreneurial ecosystem by supporting the establishment of sustainable practices. In turn, this will support an environment for the establishment of SMBs in the Town of Woodbridge and the region.

- Workforce Development & Manufacturing This project will create at least nine training training modules that will provide skills training to support entrepreneurs and SMBs. - Building a dynamic website - Search Engine Optimization - Creation of Social Media Accounts - Using Social & Digital Media to Promote Your Business - Digital Advertising 101 - How to transform from brick & mortar to e-commerce business - Utilizing third-party fulfillment & delivery services

0 4 Project Timeline

R E C R U I T E N T , O U T R E A C H A N D E D U C A T I O N , R E S E A R C H A N D A S S E S S M E N T

T A S K S T A R T D A T E E N D D A T E

P H A S E 0 1 NOVEMBER 2020 DECEMBER 2020 RECRUITMENT OF SMB'S / STUDENTS

P H A S E 0 2 JAN 16TH, 2021 FEBRUARY 6TH. 2021 FOUNDATIONAL TRAINING (SATURDAYS) (SATURDAYS)

P H A S E 0 3 FEBRUARY 2021 MARCH 2021 WORK WITH SMALL BUSINESSES

P H A S E 0 4 APRIL 2021 APRIL 2021 RESEARCH AND ASSESSMENT

0 5 our Evaluation Plan

In partnership with SkillNav, a Career GPS 7 . 5 M I L L I O N S M A L L tool which was recently awarded the UN Innovation tool award for helping low- B U S I N E S S E S W I L L S H U T skilled young workers map out paths out of P E R M A N E N T L Y I F B U S I N E S S poverty, will be used here to help measure D I S R U P T I O N C A U S E D B Y leadership behavior enacted by our students. C O V I D - 1 9 C O N T I N U E S U N A B A T E D , A C C O R D I N G T O SkillNav uses behavioral nudges to fill workers skill gaps, boosting job A N E W S U R V E Y F R O M M A I N performance and market value, and S T R E E T A M E R I C A . measures leadership growth over time.

We will engage with KPI's to examine business growth throughout engagement of the program.

0 6 Staff & Team Members

Z U C K E R B E R G I N S T I T U T E T E A M

M I C H A E L L I T T I G R A N D I Z U C K E R B E R G B R I A N M U R P H Y DIRECTOR OF ZUCKERBERG CEO OF ZUCKERBERG HEAD TEACHER OF INSTITUTE MEDIA ZUCKERBERG INSTITUTE

0 7 Sustainability plan

Weekly Facebook Lives- Entrepreneurship/SMB programs- Services will include virtual gatherings and remote/virtual events to highlight our work and bring innovators in conversation to help support small businesses. On our social platforms alone this has the potential reach over one million people alone.

Measurable Output: number of businesses served, number of individuals signing-up for programming, how many new businesses started over the period of the project as compared to the rate of new business starts in prior years, and business growth and retention as compared to the a similar period prior to the commencement of the project.

Woodbridge E-Commerce Bootcamp - This program will focus on business development, provide support through mentorship programs, training modules, in addition to the facilitation of apprenticeships with high school students.

Measurable Output: increase in amount of local sales & use tax collected, number of businesses served, follow-up surveys on number of businesses that are selling online and exporting goods to customers outside of the County/Region.

Small business COVID relief services - This program will provide new SMBs and established SMBs with programming for entrepreneurship, connecting them with mentors throughout Silicon Valley, and provide a place in Woodbridge to grow their business.

Measurable Output: number of new businesses created, number of businesses taking advantage of Zuckerberg Institute.

0 8 Partnerships & Collaborations

W O O D B R I D G E , N J A N D S K I L L N A V

Woodbridge is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, . The population was 99.585 at the 2010 census.

Due to COVID-19, Woodbridge has faced multiple retail closures in addition to many businesses suffering significant financial, job losses due a substantial reduction of foot traffic and permanent lost customers due to the acceleration of online retailing. Middlesex County has been impacted by 20, 848 COVID Cases. As Woodbridge was part of the northeast which was considered ground zero for the beginning of the pandemic, the township was subject to some of the harshest restrictions in the country with all non-essential businesses shut down on March 20th.

SkillNav provides an online, lifelong personalized guidance counselor for skills to users. Either in school or out of school, in employment or job hunting, users can continuously set life or career goals and get guidance on what skills to acquire to achieve their goals.

The platform does what a typical guidance counselor would do: understand users‘ personality, interests, talents and skills, and combine that with knowledge of skills inventory and available learning materials to create a pathway.

Motivating the users, canalizing them to relevant online- offline resources, and tracking their process are some pluses.

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