The Ohio State University | Center for Innovation Strategies
This semester, our Center was able to work on a unique and complex problem in partnership with 99P Labs and Rides4Refugees. Our collective goal — How can we help to alleviate the obstacles around mobility for refugees in Central Ohio? To tackle this extensive and expanding problem, we developed a tailored 7 week innovation program.
Throughout the program, our 5 groups of students have validated research, clarified unmet needs, and developed actionable plans to implement in Central Ohio. Three groups focused on single vehicle, public transit, and micro-transit to understand immediate and direct problems that refugees experience with mobility. The remaining two groups focused on mobility obstacles and cultural etiquette, respectively, to understand the indirect relation these areas have to transportation.
To aid in the complexity of this problem, we reached out to experts in the community to build a better understanding of the current system. Our students had the opportunity to speak to Ryan McManus from SHARE Mobility, Devayani Puranik and Andrew Neutzling from COTA, Kevin Vereide from ETSS, and Brian Zimmerman from CRIS. From their discussions, they learned more about the mobility ecosystem with various perspectives. This helped the teams develop real actionable plans that are ready to be implemented in the city.
Learn more about each team’s action plan!
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