A project spearheaded by IMD’s Professor of Social Entrepreneurship and Coca-Cola Foundation Chair in Sustainable Development Sophie Bacq and Assistant Professor Christina Hertel from the Geneva School of Economics and Management, University of Geneva, has been selected as a recipient of a significant research grant by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). “Unleashing Civic Wealth Creation Through Community Entrepreneurship” will receive CHF 700,000 in funding over the course of the next four years.
The SNSF is a private foundation operating under a mandate by the Swiss government to foster top-quality scientific research in the country. Their grant ― the first of its kind for an IMD faculty since IMD became an accredited university institute ― will allow Bacq and Hertel to bring in Ph.D.- and post-doctorate-level researchers to support the project.
“This is fantastic news for the development of this project, of course, but it is also a symbolic recognition of the relevance of our research,” says Bacq, who recently has been named on the 2024 Thinkers50 Radar list. “To have our work on community entrepreneurship and civic wealth being supported as full-fledged scientific research is a testament to many years dedicated to understanding how entrepreneurship contributes positively to social change in our communities.”
“You cannot overstate the significance of a grant by the SNSF: It stands for scientific research at the highest level,” says IMD Dean of Research Anand Narasimhan. “We are extremely proud of Sophie’s endeavors, including because they perfectly encapsulate IMD’s purpose of contributing to a more prosperous, sustainable and inclusive world.”
