Building Resilient Communities: Place-Based Impact & Global Challenges

The Insights for Action seminar series explores how researchers and practitioners within and beyond Oxford are using research insights to drive social change. In this seminar, we will discuss how to consider both local and global engagement in our pursuit of systemic impact, the importance of place-based approaches to build resilient communities, and how insights from local engagement can help us think about global impact.

In this month's seminar, moderator Marya Besharov will be joined by:

• Prof. Alex Betts, University Local and Global Officer, University of Oxford
• Prof. Santi Furnari, Professor of Strategy, Bayes Business School
• Dr. Dianne Regisford, Director, Evoking Belonging

Speakers:

Professor Alex Betts is the Pro Vice-Chancellor for External Engagement, Sport, and Community at the University of Oxford and Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs at Brasenose College. He chairs Oxford’s Sport Strategy Committee and co-founded the Oxford SDG Impact Lab and the Refugee-Led Research Hub in Nairobi. His research focuses on refugees’ access to socio-economic opportunities, with work across Africa and Europe. He has authored 13 books and around 100 scholarly publications, receiving awards from the International Studies Association, the American Political Science Association, and the ESRC. Recognised as one of Foreign Policy’s top 100 global thinkers, he is also a Young Global Leader (World Economic Forum) and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Guardian. His TED talks have over 3 million views. A former world debating champion, he also coaches youth football and has completed all six Abbott World Marathon Majors.

Professor Santi Furnari is Professor of Strategy at Bayes Business School and a Fellow at Stanford University's Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. He has previously held leadership roles, such as Associate Dean for Executive Education, and visiting faculty positions at institutions including the University of Cambridge. Santi studies how organisations can have social impact on local communities and society, for example by shaping the emergence of new industrial clusters, new work practices, and new social spaces (such as social impact incubators and civic spaces).bHe is particularly interested in organisation design and business models, using diverse methods like qualitative research and fuzzy-set/Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fs/QCA). Santi also serves as Senior Editor at Organization Studies, and his work has appeared in respected journals, including the Academy of Management Review. His papers have received awards, such as the AMR Best Paper Award. In addition to teaching strategy across MBA, MSc, and PhD programs, he develops executive education for organisations, focusing on collaboration, networks, and strategic design. His contributions reflect a commitment to impactful scholarship and societal betterment.

Dr. Dianne Regisford is the Founder/Director of Evoking Belonging; A pioneering Social Sculpture body of work that sits at the intersection of culture, belonging, race and equity. A dynamic social entrepreneur, cultural equity strategist and cultural producer, Dianne is deeply invested in dismantling systemic inequities through cultural leadership, cultural policy strategy and governance in service of African-Caribbean Diaspora heritage communities. She is currently establishing the Evoking Belonging Living Practice Centre for Social Sculpture; a research institute for ARTivism, Knowledge, Culture & Society. The Evoking Belonging practice centers culture, polity and ARTivism as pathways to research indigenous African-Caribbean Diaspora knowledge systems of radical belonging. Dianne is named in the global equality initiative as one of: 200 Women who will Change the Way You See the World. She is also a local politician, elected as the first black woman for Oxfordshire Green Party as a Councillor for Oxford City Council in 2024 for a four year term. Dianne is a seasoned public speaker offering evocative keynotes, panel, conference and event moderation on high impact, global stages. She is currently based in Oxford, UK.

Moderator:

Professor Marya Besharov is Professor of Organisations and Impact and Academic Director of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship. Her research and teaching focus on leadership, social impact, and hybrid organisations. She engages with leaders and organisations worldwide to help them manage competing demands of social impact and financial performance. Marya received a BA in Social Studies, an MA in Sociology, and a PhD in Organisational Behaviour from Harvard University. She also holds an MBA from Stanford University.

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