About the Program
Solving critical social and environmental problems our nation and the world face while developing mission-driven entrepreneurs dedicated to civic and national progress.
The Common Mission Project recently expanded our problem-solving methodology to rapidly understand, solve, and deploy solutions to urgent social, civic, and environmental problems for agencies, businesses, and NGOs.
Our university programs enable students to solve real-world public problems at start-up speeds.
By connecting government, academia, and the private sector around critical public problems, we educate, connect, and build the next generation of mission-driven entrepreneurs to solve the complex, real-world problems that affect our climate, environment, oceans, and local communities.
How We Do It
Our Impact Entrepreneurship programs are innovative for-credit university courses that bring together the brightest engineering, business, and policy students. During the semester-long course, they work through some of our largest and most challenging climate and social problems.
Based on the Hacking for Methodology (“H4”), our flipped classrooms immerse student teams in the entrepreneurial process by guiding them through stakeholder discovery, MVP design (Minimum Viable Product), and MVP testing.
Interested in seeing students take the CMP entrepreneurial mission to the next level?
Explore their stories to learn more about student experiences and the incredible outcomes from the H4 courses.
HACKING FOR CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY
Hacking for Climate & Sustainability (H4CS) enables university students to apply innovation and entrepreneurship problem-solving techniques to real-world climate and sustainability challenges.
Expanding to universities nationwide, it is currently offered as a for-credit course at The Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. The course encourages exploration in areas that impact national security and socio-economic advancement.
From sustainable farming to electric vehicle infrastructure, read more about the problems addressed and solutions delivered by Stanford students.
HACKING FOR OCEANS
Hacking for Oceans (H4Oceans) investigates global challenges facing our oceans and coasts. It applies Silicon Valley best practices to solve complex problems using the Lean LaunchPad methodology.
Working closely with an outside sponsor, interdisciplinary groups of students collaborate to develop rapid prototypes and innovative solutions. The H4Oceans course is expanding and has already been taught at UCSD, UCSC, URI, UH, and JMU.
Discover more about the topics explored and hear directly from participating students.
HACKING FOR LOCAL
Hacking for Local (H4Local) facilitates student connection with city government, nonprofits, and other organizations, to better address community challenges.
The course forgoes traditional practices (which slow decision-making and impede rapid innovation) while providing a proven platform to develop testable prototypes in weeks–not months or years. Hacking4Local: Oakland launched at UC, Berkeley in Spring 2019, and will run at CSU and Alabama.
Discover how Berkeley students collaborated with sponsors, faculty, and mentors to solve critical problems faced by the Oakland community.
Ready to submit a problem?
The Common Mission Project is currently accepting problem submissions for our Impact Entrepreneurship programs including Hacking for Oceans (H4Oceans), Hacking for Climate & Sustainability (H4CS), and Hacking for Local (H4Local).
Other ways to get involved with CMP
The Common Mission Project is ushering the next generation of leaders to solve our planet’s biggest challenges, but we can’t do it alone. We offer a variety of ways to participate and support:
Partner With CMP
Are you looking for solutions to a challenging problem faced by your organization or community?
Bring a Program to Your University
Are you a university educator or administrator looking to bring innovation and thought leadership to your institution?
Join the Alumni Network
Have you completed an H4 program and are looking to engage with the course in new and different capacities?
Become a Mentor
Are you interested in gaining access to our innovative methodology while engaging with talented students passionate about the work you do?
Support our Common Mission
With your help, we can solve tomorrow’s critical national security, civic, and climate challenges today.
Become a mission-driven donor and make a difference.
