Idea Design

Purpose
To work through each enterprise idea and clarify among group members what structure the
enterprise idea will take.
What to do
  1. There are several ways you can approach this activity, depending on the number and complexity of your enterprise ideas, and the number of people in the group:
•Have each group member consider one enterprise idea each, then compile or share responses and collate these on a master copy of the table on the next page of this worksheet.
•In small groups, consider one enterprise idea, then report back and discuss the ideas as a whole group; then, collate responses on a master copy of the table.
•Have members of the group take away one design each and answer the questions individually. Allow time to gather as much detail as possible. At the next meeting, have individuals present their responses and collate these on a master copy of the table.
  1. Photocopy the appropriate number of tables and explain the procedure.
  1. Document the group or individual responses in a 1–2 page treatment for each enterpriseidea. It may help to draw or chart your ideas in addition to answering the questions on the table.
Note
  1. Regardless of how you proceed, it is important to come to some agreement as a group onthe details of each enterprise idea that you collated from the tables. If you are doing rapiddesigns for a large number of ideas, or have split up into smaller design teams, it is advisableto produce a single-page schema (or model prototype) to explain to others who did notparticipate in the design itself.
  2. It is also important to document each idea and make it available for all members to refer to.
  3. Make sure you allow enough time to discuss each idea while trying not to dwell on any of the questions too long. If you cannot answer a question, simply write ‘need more information’ and try to fill in the gap later.
  4. Can you distinguish your customers and beneficiaries? Refer to the following section of The Builder:Distinguishing customers and beneficiaries


Enterprise idea:______
PRODUCT
What product or service will you be selling?
What are the features and attributes of your product/service?
What market needs does your product/service fill?
How does your product fill a market need?
CUSTOMER
Who will buy your product/service?
Why will they buy from you (other than the fact that you are a social enterprise)?
BENEFICIARY / SOCIAL BENEFITS
What is the social need that you are responding to? Can you identify it? Who will benefit as a result of your social enterprise?
How will the social enterprise effectively respond to the need that you are trying to address?
Why will the social enterprise succeed in delivering the outcomes that you are seeking to achieve?
Note: If you cannot clearly articulate and demonstrate a need, stop now. The challenges of running a social enterprise are considerable, so the community benefit has to be worth the effort.
RESOURCES
What resources will you need get this idea off the ground?
Human Resources:
  • Who will the enterprise employ?
  • What jobs will it create?
  • How many jobs will it create?
  • What skills will be required by those employed?
Physical/Infrastructure resources:
  • What kinds of venue/space will the enterprise need (office, workshop, land)?
  • What equipment?
Financial resources:
  • What is your rough estimation of the financial resources needed to start trading?