This section is primarily a research exercise that will get you and the social innovator thinking. We will try to understand how the social innovation can become an operational business. The how, what, which and why?
Perhaps the social Innovator has identified other specifics required such as a lab or testing center or specialist groups/bodies to support the social innovation?
Check the video
Key Activities includes the key tasks required to deliver the social innovation, this can be production, transportation, marketing and more. See the following link and consider the questions and examples provided Key Activities.
For Key partners and stakeholders the social innovator to think about what type of partner’s and stakeholder’s they required and how they intend to approach them.
The value chain is a term used to combine key resources, activities and stakeholders into one place to deliver value to the customer/user.
In completion of this section you will have a clear understanding of what the Key Resources, Key Activities, Key Partners, & Key stakeholders are for the social innovation Enterprise.
You can guide social innovators in identification of the operation of the service/product, asked the right questions to guide the stages of activities and helped social innovators understand how the social innovation should add value.
You will also understand how stakeholders contribute to the process and encourage planning and engaging as a fundamental element to enterprise.
Ensure you have used the guide effectively including additional resources and tools to further support the social innovator.
Remember to refer back to the SBM canvas as you go along.
ESII should consider the social innovators ‘value proposition’. Discuss with the social innovators his/her business operations, what this product/service would actually do day to day to make the social innovation take place.
How will it deliver value to customer as well as how it would generate income? This is a step-by-step process involving all stakeholders of the project.
A detailed explanation and example of Key resources can be found here, Key resources. Take a look at this video Social Innovation project ask the social innovator to identify the Key resources required to make this project take place.
List the key resources you have identified
Next think about how the social innovator as an individual adds value to the social innovation, how the skills they currently have add value to the social innovation. Is it a one-man band, do they need a team or just a partner?
Ask if they already have the skills, identify any skill the gaps overlooked. Ask the social innovator to research how the competitors, if any, have overcome this. They may require specialist input they don’t already have but consider that many business models will sub contract parts of a project to reduce overheads.
The social innovator needs to be realistic, reach out to contacts they have, find new ones and think about how they can help. Advise them to brainstorm their findings.
Have a look at:
Videos
i3Centre WKS2 Key Resources/Key Activities
i3Centre WKS3 Key Partners/Key Stakeholders
i3Centre WKS 5 Cost structure/Revenue Streams/Surplus
Communication plan
Tools
Service design tools
NDI toolkit – skills I already have
Resources
Resources for start-ups
Social Innovation project
Social enterprise Fair for you
Explore Further
Networking for both ESII and social innovator is fundamental to the journey therefore you will need to highlight the importance of this. Benefits of networking
The social innovator will need to meet people that can complement their own skills or those that introduce them to networks.
The social innovator needs to be clear and consistent of the social innovation and they will need to be the mouth of the social innovation. Clear, precise and confident.
The social innovation idea will need to be communicated to multiple audiences and the social innovator will need to understand how to do this effectively. Have a look at this communication plan.
Relationship building is key to this and the contacts made could well be the gatekeepers.
Encourage them to attend networking events, make contacts and approach key people appropriately. We will re touch on the communication plan later on and in later modules.
Good seed initiative Evaluate how well they connected with their stakeholders and how an innovation platform brought different stakeholders together to improve how the seed system for African Indigenous Vegetables in Tanzania.
Remember the types of partnerships required will vary from one social innovation to another as suppliers will vary from business to business.