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Social impact

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Robin Low
Robin Low

This document discusses principles for creating sustainable social impact through social projects and enterprises. It provides case studies of organizations that engage, enable, and empower communities to create long-term solutions and prevent future problems. The document emphasizes that social enterprises should connect communities to resources and markets while allowing them to make their own decisions. It also stresses the importance of embracing failure and using mistakes as learning opportunities to improve projects over time.

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SOCIAL PROJECTS SOCIAL ENTERPRISE BY ROBIN LOW
DEFINE GOALS AND SUCCESS What is the criteria for success in your business? • • • Gainful employment for yourself and people you employ? • Meeting Triple Bottom Line? • Create Sustainable Change
PURPOSE Reasons for starting a social project / enterprise • • • Solving a social problem • Doing a current business in a better (more social) way
CHARITY? • Charity • Philanthropy • Non-profit Vs • Social Business • Social Entrepreneurship • Social Projects
FIRE FIGHTING VS FIRE PREVENTION Is your solution a short term fix or is it a long term solution? How to do you test? • • • Will the business be around after you leave?
THE COCKROACH STORY Respond vs React
INTUITION VS LOGIC Ball and Bat
CASE STUDY Haiti Partners • 501c3 Organization • Change Haiti through Education • Founders work and live in Haiti since 1992 • inspired by a sustainable education model developed by a grassroots organization in a remote area of Haiti
CASE STUDY: IMPACT • build capacity through substantial training • improve school’s infrastructure • provide access to seed capital • support to create a social business • helping them along toward long- term financial independence.
CASE STUDY: RESULTS • Currently supporting 7 schools (building more) • Close knit community – town meetings everyday • Community sends their children to high school on their own as they see the value of education • Community empowered to make decisions on their future
CASE STUDY Ghana Shea Nuts • Maata-N-Tudu (MTA) and Grameen Ghana (GG) Partnership • Rural women in Ghana collect Shea nut and make Shea butter, an accessible income generating activity • But their incomes are unstable due to a lack of market information, inadequate business knowledge, and low negotiating power
CASE STUDY: IMPACT • An order management and fulfillment software package, provides buyer with transparency on historical product quality data and product traceability. • Women get access to information through price updates via SMS text messages to mobile phones. • Middlemen are cut out
CASE STUDY: RESULTS (FOR PILOT) • Women have been organized into association called Star Shea Network (SSN) • They have more negotiating power, & give buyers access to larger quantities. • Women have been trained to process better quality nuts and butter. In November 2010, SSN women sold over 93 metric tons of nuts at premium prices to a buyer. • Income increase significantly.
HOW TO CREATE SUSTAINABLE IMPACT? Common traits of sustainable projects • • • Founders permanently in project (no exit strategy or plans) • Communities empowered to take responsibility and make their own decisions
HOW TO CREATE SUSTAINABLE IMPACT? Common traits of sustainable projects • Local Champions in Charge • Projects will still go on without founders • Communities involved in decision making process from day 1 • External support only to give more options, opportunities and funding
NEVER HELP! Engage, enable, empower and connect
ENGAGE • People have their own aspirations. • Communities should be allowed to decide on their own future. • A person outside the community cannot solve the community’s immediate problems without engagement.
ENABLE • Build capacity, train required skills for required job. • Help provide funding if equipment or materials are required • Provide more options to increase income capacity
EMPOWER • Allow communities to make their own decisions. • Allow communities to participate in discussion, planning and contribute.
CONNECT • Connect the community with the international market • Connect the community with local / international resource • Connect the community with local universities / technology • Connect the community with funding and expertise
CASE STUDY Markets of Hope A Global Market place of Products and Services from disaster areas and Disadvantaged Communities
MARKETS OF HOPE: ENABLING ENTREPRENEURS VS. CREATING REFUGEES
CREATING JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES
DISASTER RECOVERY WITH DIGNITY, INCLUSION, GENERATION OF WEALTH AND OPPORTUNITIES
FROM DONATIONS TO PURCHASES, FROM BEGGARS TO MERCHANTS, FROM ONE TIME TO SUSTAINABILITY
YOUR VERY OWN COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE LOCAL INNOVATION AND GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT, MAKES US BETTER
CASE STUDY: IMPACT Markets of Hope • Connecting local handicraft and art manufacturing business of disaster areas in Haiti and Japan to the world • Trying to get the shelter shops on board with transparency and increase capacity
SHORT TERM VS LONG TERM • Not all short term projects are bad, some lead to more understanding of ground dynamics and changing into sustainable projects • Short term crisis need fast solutions. • Everything depends on your goals and success metrics
SOCIAL BUSINESS
RELIEF 2.0’S PRINCIPLE Never Help! • • • •
ROBIN’S SOCIAL ENTERPRISE PRINCIPLES • Learn from other’s experiences, especially from ―competitors‖ or people you don’t like • When helping communities, focus on the ―best communities‖ and a few individuals willing to engage with you, build trust and work with the community for a solution before scaling up. Don’t just help ―any‖ community
ROBIN’S SOCIAL ENTERPRISE PRINCIPLES • Fail fast, fail early, learn from mistakes and move on. (Don’t give up) • Believe in yourself before others believe in you. • Don’t discard ideas before trying them, some crazy ideas really work. • Always have more than 1 idea in your head. Let them compete.
ROBIN’S SOCIAL ENTERPRISE PRINCIPLES • Share ideas and collaborate – even if someone steals your ideas, you can always come out with better ones. • Be open to accept new partners and ideas. Invite them. • Don’t trust Robin, trust yourself.
EMBRACE FAILURE • Reaction to failure by many non-profit organization create a risk adverse culture. • To move forward and progress, organizations need to get rid of fear
FAILING INFORMATIVELY • Nonprofits and the social enterprises have to loose their fear of taking risks and that opens us up to fail and improve • Failure is a luxury – and we can’t fail the people so it has to be incremental by learning to learn from placing a lot of Little Bets
FAILING INFORMATIVELY • Nonprofits and funders need to change upfront expectations about projects and make space to allow for a fail or something not working out. It’s okay as long as we learn something from to improve. • New definition of success: Adaptability and Transformation
FAILING INFORMATIVELY • Nonprofits and social enterprises need to fail from the inside out — we have to make it okay to not be perfect inside of nonprofits and to honestly share lessons learned beyond our walls • Culture change is needed • Nonprofits and social enterprises need to embrace failure, not just accept it. This means front loading failure as well as doing ―after action reviews.‖

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Social impact

  • 2. DEFINE GOALS AND SUCCESS What is the criteria for success in your business? • • • Gainful employment for yourself and people you employ? • Meeting Triple Bottom Line? • Create Sustainable Change
  • 3. PURPOSE Reasons for starting a social project / enterprise • • • Solving a social problem • Doing a current business in a better (more social) way
  • 4. CHARITY? • Charity • Philanthropy • Non-profit Vs • Social Business • Social Entrepreneurship • Social Projects
  • 5. FIRE FIGHTING VS FIRE PREVENTION Is your solution a short term fix or is it a long term solution? How to do you test? • • • Will the business be around after you leave?
  • 8. CASE STUDY Haiti Partners • 501c3 Organization • Change Haiti through Education • Founders work and live in Haiti since 1992 • inspired by a sustainable education model developed by a grassroots organization in a remote area of Haiti
  • 9. CASE STUDY: IMPACT • build capacity through substantial training • improve school’s infrastructure • provide access to seed capital • support to create a social business • helping them along toward long- term financial independence.
  • 10. CASE STUDY: RESULTS • Currently supporting 7 schools (building more) • Close knit community – town meetings everyday • Community sends their children to high school on their own as they see the value of education • Community empowered to make decisions on their future
  • 11. CASE STUDY Ghana Shea Nuts • Maata-N-Tudu (MTA) and Grameen Ghana (GG) Partnership • Rural women in Ghana collect Shea nut and make Shea butter, an accessible income generating activity • But their incomes are unstable due to a lack of market information, inadequate business knowledge, and low negotiating power
  • 12. CASE STUDY: IMPACT • An order management and fulfillment software package, provides buyer with transparency on historical product quality data and product traceability. • Women get access to information through price updates via SMS text messages to mobile phones. • Middlemen are cut out
  • 13. CASE STUDY: RESULTS (FOR PILOT) • Women have been organized into association called Star Shea Network (SSN) • They have more negotiating power, & give buyers access to larger quantities. • Women have been trained to process better quality nuts and butter. In November 2010, SSN women sold over 93 metric tons of nuts at premium prices to a buyer. • Income increase significantly.
  • 14. HOW TO CREATE SUSTAINABLE IMPACT? Common traits of sustainable projects • • • Founders permanently in project (no exit strategy or plans) • Communities empowered to take responsibility and make their own decisions
  • 15. HOW TO CREATE SUSTAINABLE IMPACT? Common traits of sustainable projects • Local Champions in Charge • Projects will still go on without founders • Communities involved in decision making process from day 1 • External support only to give more options, opportunities and funding
  • 16. NEVER HELP! Engage, enable, empower and connect
  • 17. ENGAGE • People have their own aspirations. • Communities should be allowed to decide on their own future. • A person outside the community cannot solve the community’s immediate problems without engagement.
  • 18. ENABLE • Build capacity, train required skills for required job. • Help provide funding if equipment or materials are required • Provide more options to increase income capacity
  • 19. EMPOWER • Allow communities to make their own decisions. • Allow communities to participate in discussion, planning and contribute.
  • 20. CONNECT • Connect the community with the international market • Connect the community with local / international resource • Connect the community with local universities / technology • Connect the community with funding and expertise
  • 21. CASE STUDY Markets of Hope A Global Market place of Products and Services from disaster areas and Disadvantaged Communities
  • 22. MARKETS OF HOPE: ENABLING ENTREPRENEURS VS. CREATING REFUGEES
  • 24. DISASTER RECOVERY WITH DIGNITY, INCLUSION, GENERATION OF WEALTH AND OPPORTUNITIES
  • 25. FROM DONATIONS TO PURCHASES, FROM BEGGARS TO MERCHANTS, FROM ONE TIME TO SUSTAINABILITY
  • 26. YOUR VERY OWN COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE LOCAL INNOVATION AND GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
  • 27. WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT, MAKES US BETTER
  • 28. CASE STUDY: IMPACT Markets of Hope • Connecting local handicraft and art manufacturing business of disaster areas in Haiti and Japan to the world • Trying to get the shelter shops on board with transparency and increase capacity
  • 29. SHORT TERM VS LONG TERM • Not all short term projects are bad, some lead to more understanding of ground dynamics and changing into sustainable projects • Short term crisis need fast solutions. • Everything depends on your goals and success metrics
  • 31. RELIEF 2.0’S PRINCIPLE Never Help! • • • •
  • 32. ROBIN’S SOCIAL ENTERPRISE PRINCIPLES • Learn from other’s experiences, especially from ―competitors‖ or people you don’t like • When helping communities, focus on the ―best communities‖ and a few individuals willing to engage with you, build trust and work with the community for a solution before scaling up. Don’t just help ―any‖ community
  • 33. ROBIN’S SOCIAL ENTERPRISE PRINCIPLES • Fail fast, fail early, learn from mistakes and move on. (Don’t give up) • Believe in yourself before others believe in you. • Don’t discard ideas before trying them, some crazy ideas really work. • Always have more than 1 idea in your head. Let them compete.
  • 34. ROBIN’S SOCIAL ENTERPRISE PRINCIPLES • Share ideas and collaborate – even if someone steals your ideas, you can always come out with better ones. • Be open to accept new partners and ideas. Invite them. • Don’t trust Robin, trust yourself.
  • 35. EMBRACE FAILURE • Reaction to failure by many non-profit organization create a risk adverse culture. • To move forward and progress, organizations need to get rid of fear
  • 36. FAILING INFORMATIVELY • Nonprofits and the social enterprises have to loose their fear of taking risks and that opens us up to fail and improve • Failure is a luxury – and we can’t fail the people so it has to be incremental by learning to learn from placing a lot of Little Bets
  • 37. FAILING INFORMATIVELY • Nonprofits and funders need to change upfront expectations about projects and make space to allow for a fail or something not working out. It’s okay as long as we learn something from to improve. • New definition of success: Adaptability and Transformation
  • 38. FAILING INFORMATIVELY • Nonprofits and social enterprises need to fail from the inside out — we have to make it okay to not be perfect inside of nonprofits and to honestly share lessons learned beyond our walls • Culture change is needed • Nonprofits and social enterprises need to embrace failure, not just accept it. This means front loading failure as well as doing ―after action reviews.‖