Elizabeth Hoffecker

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Co-Investigador Principal, ASPIRE

Elizabeth leads the Local Innovation Group, an interdisciplinary research group based at MIT’s Sociotechnical Systems Research Center. She serves as Principal Investigator for the group’s portfolio of research projects and co-Principal Investigator for the ASPIRE project. Elizabeth researches and engages directly with processes of local innovation and systems change in communities facing development challenges. She also enjoys developing curricular materials and has translated insights from her research into teaching at multiple levels, from undergraduate and graduate students at MIT to professionals.

Prior to joining SSRC, Elizabeth was based at MIT D-Lab, where she created and led the research program for the International Development Innovation Network, a multi-university consortium funded through a cooperative agreement with USAID (2013-2017), and subsequently launched the Local Innovation Group. Elizabeth holds a Master of City Planning degree from the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning International Development Group and an interdisciplinary social science BA from Wesleyan University. Prior to coming to MIT in 2010 as a graduate student, she worked for ten years in the nonprofit and social enterprise sector in Portland, Oregon as a program designer, fund developer, and strategist.