December 20, 2018
Sasaki Foundation 2018 Year in Review
Alexandra Lee
The Sasaki Foundation supports design and education initiatives that promote equity in order to strengthen and empower local communities. Through research, programs, and partnerships, the Foundation takes an interdisciplinary approach to tackling global challenges through local action.
Using design thinking—the iterative practice of understanding, innovating, prototyping, testing, and implementing—we bridge the physical environment, community and social needs, policies, governance, and economic forces that shape communities and educate future leaders.
As we reflect on all the Foundation has accomplished this year, we are grateful to partners like you and look forward to continuing our collaborations with you.
Community Learning & Engagement
We held monthly educational programming with partners such as MIT Solve, MassINC Gateway Cities in association with Secretary Jay Ash, Landscape Architecture Foundation and Boston Society of Architects (BSA) as well as international delegations which yielded nearly 1,500 attendees.
We’ve been working hard to tell the story of the Foundation and all the buzz generated from cultivating collaborations in the Incubator. We ramped up communications, built our social channels, and recently launched our blog. Through our outreach efforts, we’ve built partnerships with over 75 organizations in the Greater Boston area that have been influential to the Sasaki Foundation’s growth and presence in the community.
Research & Experimentation
This year the Sasaki Foundation launched a call for proposals for our inaugural Design Grants. We received more than 100 inquiries and approximately two dozen team submissions (from throughout the United States and six countries). Applicants proposed projects that focused on ten Greater Boston neighborhoods and three Gateway Cities within Massachusetts. The issues included proactive approaches to climate adaptation, new models for housing, innovation in transit, and creative community building.
Recipients of the Sasaki Foundation Design Grants are interdisciplinary teams that are focusing on the following projects: Charles River Floating Wetlands, Eastie for Eastie, G|Code House, the ECHOLocator, and Please Touch the Art.
Professional Practice & Growth
We invest in the most promising drivers of change. This year the Sasaki Foundation supported Girl UNinterrupted, a project that brings transparency to current challenges emerging designers face. It creates a bridge between generations while sharing perspectives and best practices in order to empower emerging designers to have a proactive voice in their future.
We partnered with the BSA on an Architecture and Design Thinking Day as well as funded a six-week high school internship program offering young students the opportunity to explore architecture and design at Sasaki over the summer.
Leadership
The Sasaki Foundation is governed by a board of trustees, with input from an advisory council, who represent a range of perspectives and professions, including designers, non-profit and civic leaders, educators, technologists, researchers, and others.
The staff has expanded to include Alicia Mosesso, Program & Marketing Manager, to spearhead programs and communications, and Anna Scherling, Executive Assistant, to assist with day-to-day operations.
Incubator at Sasaki
A Look Ahead
- Explore our Sasaki Foundation Design Grants program and share with your networks
- Donate to help us continue to fund grants, sponsor programming, and explore innovations
- Work in the Incubator at Sasaki and/or share with your networks
- Partner with us on a program or initiative
- Sponsor a program or initiative
- Connect with us to engage further