Resource:How to create a student innovation organization with clout

The Importance of Clout

Defined formally, clout is "influence or power, especially in politics or business." Clout gives validity to a message – it gives weight – so that a message has a stronger impact. It's the difference between the president walking into a room and a normal citizen walking into a room. When working to spur innovation and entrepreneurship, building clout allows your vision to flourish.

A Roadmap

The journey to building clout has several main steps along the way:

• Develop The Organization's Goals With a Mission Statement (Refine As Needed)
• Start Small With A Group Of "Early Adoptors" and Supports
• Incorporate Engagement Through Social Media
• Develop Faculty Support

Start Small

Build a small coalition of people you trust to move the project forward. Here numbers matter less than impact. You want people who are 100% committed to the vision of what needs to be accomplished. This small coalition (which may included faculty) will serve as the main cheerleaders for your project, encouraging other to be a part of it and building clout.

Incorporate Social Media

Social media will help you post ideas, share events, gauge interest and organize people. You can learn when people will be willing to meet up and for what kind of activities. It's important that there are many social activities to help others get each other and get over the social barriers first. Building a social media presence gets more people talking about the project – word of mouth power is clout.

Gain Faculty Support (At Least One Main Person)

It is vital to have at least one main faculty supporter that can be there to help you acquire the help and resources you need. The faculty member is an insider to your school's administration and gives validity to your requests for resources. While the faculty member is vital, you must not rely on them to be able to run your project – you should work independently and use them for assistance as needed.

Reach Out to Community

You will find support, resources and help from unexpected places so it's important to reach out to as many organizations as possible that might align with your project's mission. The more organizations you are able to gain support from, the more organizations will support you so it's important to build support from organizations that may be easier to access first and grow from there. This will require a brute force tactic. Expect to get a reply from about 1 in 20 emails – so don't get discouraged!

Tips

Make Social Events (Not Just Events Focused On Getting Stuff Done)

Events help people get to know each other and different types of events allow people to get to know each other in different ways. Organize simple, fun activities like getting breakfast in some area of your town. Go to them instead of expecting them to come to you. Feel free to organize events in different parts of town and at different venues. From a creative standpoint, meeting in different contexts helps to spark idea. From a community standpoint, building relationships is key to keeping people involved.

Frame Your Project As Research

Every part of your project can be framed as a research question. This is an easy way to gain support as most universities place a high importance on doing research. This is a win-win tactic where your project gains support while the university looks good by producing research. In addition, more faculty may be interested in working with you from this perspective. You may also gain access to certain grant funding and can have a presence in academic blogs/journals – building support in different areas.