About the Center for Peace & Commerce

The Center for Peace and Commerce (CPC) is a collaborative partnership between the University of San Diego School of Business and the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies. The mission of the Center for Peace and Commerce is to prepare new generations of changemakers, building a sustainable world through innovative thinking and action, integrating business principles and effective management with unique ideas for peacebuilding and poverty alleviation.

The Social Innovation Challenge is the flagship program of the CPC. Learn more about the CPC's other programs and initiatives at www.sandiego.edu/cpc.

History of the SIC

History of the SIC

The USD Social Innovation Challenge started in 2011 as a student initiative of the University of San Diego Center for Peace and Commerce. Students from USD’s Graduate School of Business Administration and the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies submitted 16 projects in the first year. The competition was opened up to the entire USD campus in 2012. In 2013 the SIC grew to 114 projects and awarded over $40,000 of seed capital to five different student innovations. 

In 2014, thanks to a generous donation from the Moxie Foundation, the SIC expanded to other university campuses in San Diego. Students from Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego City College, San Diego State University, and the University of California San Diego participated in the 2014 SIC. In 2021 the Social Innovation Challenge was open to all degree-seeking university students in San Diego, and $75,000 of prize money was awarded.

Purpose of the SIC

Purpose of the SIC

The University of San Diego Social Innovation Challenge (SIC) promotes, guides, and supports student-driven ideas to launch or contribute to existing social enterprises by for-profit, hybrid, and nonprofit organizations, locally and internationally. 

The SIC is a bottom-up initiative in which the Center for Peace and Commerce (CPC) acts as catalyst and mentor. We seek to harness students’ imagination for a better world and offer concrete tools and opportunities to help them turn their ideas into reality. With CPC support, students are responsible for developing projects that achieve positive results for the four Ps: People, Profit, Planet, and Peace.