THE GUIDETO THE 7 KEY
QUESTIONS ENTREPRENEURSALL SOCIAL

to have a clearer idea, develop
their project and maximize theirimpact!

SHOULD ASKTHEMSELVESSWITZERLANDFOREWORD“

In a constantly fast-changing
world, organizations focusing onsocial impact have no other choice thanto re-invent themselves.

New drivers of growth and development
lie in new forms of “win-win-win”
collaboration with other actors, suchas the private sector or government.

In fact, as the demand for solutions
toward reducing inequalities, diminishing poverty and fostering community
spirit grows, the means at our disposal toaddress such issues decrease. Therefore,
it is essential to think about new andinnovative economic models.

As a result, there are tremendous opportunities for organizations interested in
new forms of entrepreneurship changing
the world to reinvent themselves. But
the right questions have to be asked at
the right time…

This guide, we hope, will allow you toSocial entrepreneurship presents an answer a few of those questions.
extraordinary opportunity to develop
cost effectiveness and high impact Happy reading and, above all, happy
as pillars for sustainable develop- entrepreneurship!”ment. Such hybrid models combine
philanthropy, subsidies, and income- Arnaud Mourot
generating activities to generate varying Co-director Ashoka Europe
degree of income (depending on thematurity of the project, its sector of
activity, etc.).

Introductioni

OVERVIEW
Introduction

5

1. What social problem have you identified
and how are you responding to it?8

2. What is your added value?

18

3. What is your development strategy?

26

4. What is your economic model?

34

5. How do you accelerate your development by collaboratingwith other stakeholders of society?

42

6. How do you measure your social impact?

50

7. What is the best organizational model for your project?

58

Conclusion

66

Appendices67

4

INTRODUCTION
You have decided to commit yourself to putting your talentand energy into a social entrepreneurial project; you areheading up your project, your activity is working but you
are asking yourself:
How can I develop without losing sight of my social mission?
How to bring a response that meets the social challenge?
How to ensure and increase my social impact? How to enlist
other actors in society?

Take some time now in orderto save time later …

Some of the questions included here may seem complicatedand far from your everyday life. However, they are essential
in preparing you as a social entrepreneur.

INTRODUCTION

The goal of this practical guide is to give you some keys thatallow you to think differently about your project. It should
help you see it more clearly and ensure the relevance ofyour project's social impact.

5

Introductioni

A FEW WORDSABOUT ASHOKAFor more than 30 years, Ashoka has identified,
supported, connected and communicatedwith innovative “social entrepreneurs”:
individuals who bring radically new solutions tosocietal issues, in the domain of education, health, theenvironment, the fight against exclusion, economic
development, etc.
More than 3,000 social entrepreneurs have been
identified throughout the world, including 400 in
Europe, thus constituting the largest global networkof social entrepreneurs. In addition to the support for
innovative social entrepreneurs, Ashoka promotes
the co-creation of innovative solutions among thedifferent actors of society (social, public, private) toallow changes in scale of the innovation of social
entrepreneurs and encourage the creation of hybrid
models and collective innovations of greater social
impact.

Active on all continents across 85 countries, Ashoka
launched its activities in Switzerland in 2007.
This guide was born based on Ashoka's experiencein assisting several thousand social entrepreneurs.
Ashoka shares its observations and offers several
approaches here. This is therefore not a scientificmanual; rather, these questions are among the mostfrequently asked by many social entrepreneurs.
This guide is the second version of the practicalbooklet created in 2007, supplemented by more
recent examples adapted to the local Swiss context.
Global: www.ashoka.org
Switzerland: www.switzerland.ashoka.org

Ashoka’s objective is to make a world where everyone
is capable of acting quickly and effectively to respondto societal challenges.

“ EACH – Everyone a Changemaker TM”.

6

SAMPLEQUESTION
The 7 questions in this guide are all organized in the following manner:
WHY THIS QUESTION?

SOME EXAMPLES TO UNDERSTAND

A few words to explain why the question has beenasked and why it matters.

All the examples that serve as concrete illustrations
for the different questions are drawn from projectsof social entrepreneurs that Ashoka has supported(“Ashoka Fellows”).
We will illustrate the questions by several examples,in particular, the cases from Siel Bleu and 1 Roof 2
Ages which we will refer to in the 7 questions, inorder to help you understand the framework of thePractical Guide.

PUT YOURSELF IN THE SHOESOF A POTENTIAL PARTNER
Most social entrepreneurs in the world are looking
for partners. In France, social entrepreneurs arerespectively 65% and 52%* to consider that the lackof financial resources and the lack of partnerships
with businesses are the major constraint to theirdevelopment. It is therefore interesting to put yourself
in the shoes of your potential partner, an outside
person who generally does not know your field.
Succeeding in convincing the right partners to workwith you will be a good test of your level of clarity.

A FEW TOOLS TO HELP YOU
TO MOVE AHEAD
The tools we are offering are obviously there to help
you but some will be more adapted to your activity
than others: you are the only one who knows what
is useful and effective for you!

You will also find several recommendations of BESTPRACTICES and PITFALLS TO AVOID.
Finally, we offer a list of ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
if you wish to go further. These are methodologicaltools, studies, and various documentation that wehave catalogued through the years and which weredeemed useful by entrepreneurs before you. This
list is far from exhaustive.
Last, in the appendix, you will find additional
complementary resources cross-cutting to all sevenquestions.

* Source : Social entrepreurship barometer realized in 2014 by opinionWay

7

1. What social problem have you identified?
Q1

1. WHAT SOCIAL PROBLEM HAVE YOU IDENTIFIED AND HOW ARE YOU RESPONDING TO IT?

1
WHAT SOCIAL PROBLEMHAVE YOU IDENTIFIEDAND HOW ARE YOURESPONDING TO IT

8And how are you responding to it?

WHY THISQUESTION ?
If you are committed, it is because you are absolutely
convinced of the good basis of your action. Although it isobvious to you, it is essential to precisely define the social
problem that you are addressing in order to demonstrate
the pertinence of your project clearly. It is then necessary
to quantify its issues, specifying the targets and the size of
the “segments” in order to show the scope of the problem.
The following step consists of both analyzing the obstacles
that hinder the solution to this problem and identifying themeans of action. This will allow you to present a complete
and persuasive response.

What practical changes are you going to
implement? How?
What means will you use to address the problem
at its source?
The challenge here is to show that the mission that you are
given will bring an effective answer to the problem.

91. What social problem have you identified?
Q1

PUT YOURSELF
IN THE SHOES OFA POTENTIAL PARTNER
IN WHICH SITUATION IS THE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR THE MOST CONVINCING?

NING

SIGNS OF MEASITUATION 1

Q1 :SITUATION 2
What social problem are you responding
to and what do you need today in orderto solve it?
Learning difficulties concerning persons with sensory,
cognitive or mental disability. Some views andopinions of people’s differences must change andnew pedagogical tools must be created to unite
people from different worlds.

Q2 :What practical changes are you going
to implement?
We are going to create a laboratory for pedagogicalinnovation that is enriched by different networks(university, education, medical-social, digital, etc.)
and produces prototypes of tools that are tested
and approved before being distributed.

Situation 2 : You are capable of specificallyqualifying the social problem which you
are responding to, showing your visionof success, as well as the conditions andobjectives you wish to reach.

10

Q1 :

What social problem are you responding
to and what do you need today in orderto solve it?
Autistic children have difficulty learning daily routines,
such as hygiene (brushing their teeth, washing theirhands, blowing their nose, etc.). The access of autistic
children to this training is limited because they needto constantly repeat a dependable model, and theparent or specialized educator is not capable of that.
In addition, they need a high degree of consistency
where any non-essential information for the training
is removed. We have to find a tool that responds tothese criteria and is properly incorporated into thetraining of the child.

Q2 :What practical changes are you goingto effect?
We are creating a mobile app: “Brush your teeth
with Ben the Koala” that presents a simple video
where Ben the Koala is brushing his teeth and thechild can mimic him. We are testing it in families andamong professionals, then, once approved, we will
distribute it. The app is for all children, especially for
those who have difficulty in learning, which will allow
us to re-create shared experiences.

And how are you responding to it?

TIPS AND TOOLSTO GO FURTHER (1/2)

GlobalimpactWHY?
“SOCIAL NEED”!

!

Short-term
outputs
Activities

OUR
VALUES

ty

cie

Ca
us
es

?
lP
ro
bl
em

!

So

Ce
nt
ra

nc
es

Specificoutcomes

WHO ?
“BENEFICIARIES”

ct
re
di
in rs
d
an me
ct sto
re
Di cu

eq
ue

!

ies
iar
fic
ne
Be

Co
ns

Source: Social Business Models, www.socialbusinessmodels.ch

HOW?
“THEORY OF CHANGE”

CLEARLY IDENTIFY THE SOCIAL NEED

IDENTIFY THE BENEFICIARIES◆◆ What is the problem? Why?
◆◆ What are the consequences ?
◆◆ What are the 3 main causes of this problem?
◆◆ In parallel to the social need, it is important to◆◆ What are the direct targets of your project?
◆◆ Who bears the financial and human consequences

evaluate the cost of the problem (see next page)of the problem? (indirect targets)◆◆ What are the characteristics of your beneficiaries?
◆◆ How many people are involved?

111. What social problem have you identified?
Q1

TIPS AND TOOLSTO GO FURTHER (2/2)

QUANTIFY THE COST OF THE PROBLEM◆◆ What are the direct economic costs? The financial resources that society
must devote to compensate for the problem (e.g. unemployment benefits,
reimbursement of medical expenses, etc.)◆◆ What are the indirect economic costs? For example, those reflecting the lossof current and future production capacity.
◆◆ What are the human and social costs? Those revealing the loss in the qualityof life and well-being of those affected.

Activities

Results

Specificgoals

Global goal /Impact goal

COMPLETE YOUR “LOGICAL FRAMEWORK”
The logical framework or logframe is also often called Theory of change. Just as
if you were telling a story, the objective is to explain your overall vision of the way
in which the change is going to take place. It is not only about presenting thesocial goal of your project, but also describing the link between your activities
and your objectives. It is important, first, to consider your overall objective before
defining your activities. By doing so, you can identify the potential obstacles
and specify the factors that you can or cannot control.

12And how are you responding to it?

GOING FURTHER WITH KEYSTONE’S
THEORY OF CHANGEQUESTIONSEXPLANATION

The vision at 10 years
What social change can we contribute to andmake sustainable?

Try to project yourself in the long-term andimagine the situation in an ideal society. It’s
about developing your vision for success.

The obstacles to overcome
What are the roadblocks to clear?

Try to list the elements that prevent this change
from happening and the preconditions for the
success of your project.

The means of action
Where do you put your energy to clear the
roadblocks?

For every roadblock, try to list the main actions
to implement.

The indicators of success
When will you find out that you havesucceeded?

This step consists of identifying the indicatorsof success: visible changes, proof that there wasreally a positive change.

13

1. What social problem have you identified?
Q1

SOME EXAMPLESTO UNDERSTAND
1/6

EU

CIATIF SIEL BLGROUPE ASSO

The visionat 10 years◆◆ Adapted Physical Activity will be a revolutionary form of the therapeuticoffering in the 21st century and will be a new form of universal prevention
among challenged populations.

◆◆ Groupe Associatif Siel Bleu offers programs using Adapted Physical Activity
The solution ofGroupe Associatif
Siel Bleu(APA) as a tool for health care and well-being.

◆◆ Different centers of Siel Bleu have developed programs targeted for different
audiences, such as early retirees, the elderly at home or in an institution,
people with disabilities and those with chronic or serious illnesses.

◆◆ The lack of knowledge within the broader public, not enough awareness ofthese subjects.

The obstacles toovercome◆◆ The inclusion and integration of operational prevention in policies made forthe short-term but not including long-term.

◆◆ Prevention must be considered as a long-term investment, something forprofit rather than as a burden as is often the case today.

◆◆ Demonstrating and finally communicating the impact of physical activity asa fully therapeutic offering.

◆◆ Making a public communication campaign about the topic of physical activity
The means of action

as a preventative health tool, and basing such statements on the results ofproven impacts on the targeted populations as well as the costs to society.
◆◆ Continuing to make the name of Siel Bleu known through the distributionof APA programs.

◆◆ Total or partial reimbursement of physical activities in the framework of
The indicatorsof successinclusion of supplementary health coverage (underwriters, insurers, IP).

◆◆ A Siel Bleu book as reference for every health professional prescribing
physical activities.

14

And how are you responding to it?

2/4

1 ROOF 2 AGES◆◆ Intergenerational housing represents a hope for the future and has the
The visionat 10 years

potential to become the current practice if one succeeds in overcoming
the legal barriers : for example, domiciliation globalizes revenues of people
living in the same place and thus restricts cohabitation due to the loss ofsocial revenues.

The obstacles
to overcome

In a modern society that promotes ever greater individuality, seniors very often
suffer from a social isolation that tends to drastically deteriorate their mental
and physical health. In addition, a housing crisis and fiscal austerity contributeto making housing a problem not only for seniors, but also for youth. Several
obstacles can be highlighted:◆◆ The individualism of our society that results in a division between generations◆◆ The fiscal rules at the federal level penalize this type of initiative◆◆ The difference in the housing code according to region hinders the developmentof comprehensive and unified initiatives aimed at improving the situation
in Belgium.

The means of action

By offering the possibility to the elderly and students to share intergenerational housing, 1 Roof 2 Ages creates a win-win solution:◆◆ Democratization of access to housing for all students◆◆ Empowerment of the elderly in the fight against isolation◆◆ Awareness of the general public: communication targeted around the successof intergenerational housing◆◆ Change of conversation: lobbying the policy-makers to get them to shift
their positions.

◆◆ Evolution of the number of duos created and the adoption of the model by
The indicatorsof successprivate individuals.

◆◆ Concept becomes famous with a great welcome from the general public.
◆◆ Direct impact on fiscal legislation and lodging code.

151. What social problem have you identified?
Q1

THE ESSENTIALSTO KEEP IN MIND
It is difficult to precisely estimate the number of people
involved or the social cost of non-action. In order to define
the problem that you have decided to respond to, try to:
Define this problem: What is the social need and what is
the target?
Estimate the number of people involved by selecting themost important numbers in relation to the solution thatyou are bringing.
Explain the causes: Why does this problem exist?
Quantify and qualify the cost for society if it does not treat
this problem.
Once the social problem is identified, the challenge is to
succeed in defining a long-term vision and the path to getthere. By setting the course, you prioritize more easily theactions you have to undertake. With day-to-day pressures,
it is often difficult to plan, but it is a key step to structure
your project. To this end, one must:
Clearly define, collectively if possible, your area of activity,
your mission and your vision.
Share this vision with your team and with the people close
to your project: they will be your ambassadors.

16

And how are you responding to it?

BEST PRACTICES& PITFALLS TO AVOID◆◆ Make hypotheses, confirm them in the field by◆◆ Concentrate your energy and your actions on thesurveys and make estimates if no figures or
statistics are directly available. It is important tohave a realistic order of magnitude of the scope of
the problem and to be able to justify it.
◆◆ The response that you bring must be calibrated
relative to your comprehension of the problem andthe beneficiaries. You must stay realistic about the
numbers that you are putting forward!
◆◆ Bring to light the typical dysfunction and show
how you can break this vicious circle.

means that will really overturn the existing system.
Do not lose focus.
◆◆ Be proactive and not reactive.
◆◆ Do not confuse the final beneficiaries with theactual target of your project.
◆◆ Do not loose sight of the challenge of development, which means not enlarging the budget but
increasing the social impact.

ADDITIONALRESOURCESFOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE ANALYSIS OF OPPORTUNITIES AND THE THEORYOF CHANGETO FIND FIGURES & REPORTS◆◆ All the tools made available by Social Business◆◆ The website of the federal Swiss authorities:

Models for the actors of social entrepreneurshipand opportunity analysis for the creation ofsocial business models (workshop co-created by
Ashoka and Dalberg)◆◆ Keystone’s theory of change:
www.keystoneaccountability.org◆◆ www.theoryofchange.org◆◆ Act knowledge www.actknowledge.org◆◆ Learning for sustainability.net◆◆ The first recommendations of the Social Reporting Standard (SRS) will also help you clarify yourtheory of change◆◆ Creating a socially responsible enterprise: Guide,
APRES-GE (2012) – Parts 1 and 2 [French]◆◆ File Clienteles and Needs (files 04-a), Essaim
APRES-GE www.essaim.ch/outilsessaim◆◆ The website of the federal Office of Statistics:
www.statistique.admin.chwww.admin.ch◆◆ State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO:
www.seco.admin.ch◆◆ Swiss poll institute: www.gfsbern.ch◆◆ Swiss federal archives: www.bar.admin.ch◆◆ European statistics:
www.europa.eu/publications/statistics

17

2. What is your added value?
Q2

ADDED

VALUE?

2

IS

YOUR

WHAT ISWHAT

YOUR ADDED

2.

VALUE
18

WHY THISQUESTION ?
You have to position yourself relative to the other actors
in your area of intervention. The answer to this question isvery closely linked to your theory of change that we havejust seen in question 1.

What are the other existing solutions?
Who are they led by?
What are your strong key strengths?
What are you doing that is truly unique?
Where do you bring value differently?
Knowing the other actors in your sector better and considering the degree of satisfaction of the beneficiaries throughtheir activities, products and existing services will facilitate
understanding the unique character of your project.

19

2. What is your added value?
Q2

PUT YOURSELF
IN THE SHOES OFA POTENTIAL PARTNER
IN WHICH SITUATION IS THE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR MOST CONVINCING?
1/3

RÉALISESITUATION 1

SITUATION 2

Q1 :

Q1 :

Who are the other actors who are seeking
to enable the beneficiaries of social
assistance to find the road to employment again?
At its creation, in 1984, Réalise was the pioneer
in French-speaking Switzerland in its model ofintegration through the power of working. For 30
years, the mechanism of integration through working
has been greatly developed and many new actors
have appeared.

Q2 :What is your value proposition relative
to other concepts?
Since the appearance of new actors, Réalise hassought to constantly evolve in order to respond tothe changing needs of job seekers and to differentiate
itself. By comparison to other ESIE, Réalise remains
the leader in labor-intensive sectors such as cleaning,gardening, logistics and industrial subcontracting.
Furthermore, we have a management system certified
ISO 9001, an Edqua and Aomas certified systemof training and workforce placement, which spurs
us on to continuously improve our performance tosatisfy our clients.

20

Who are the other actors who are seeking
to enable the beneficiaries of social
assistance to find the road to employment again?
All the workforce integration enterprises in Switzerland.

Q2 :What is your value proposition relative
to other concepts?
Réalise was the first organization to promote
workforce integration in French-speaking Switzerland
by developing the professional skills of people
without diplomas, then by offering these skills to
employers in Geneva.

Situation 1 : You succeed more clearly inshowing your ability for differentiation byidentifying the specific sectors and certifications received.

TIPS AND TOOLSTO GO FURTHERIDENTIFY THE EXISTING SOLUTIONS“PESTEL”, “KSF” , “SWOT” ANALYSES

Look for the initiatives that are close to what you
are doing.
Place yourself in relation to these activities.

A PESTEL analysis (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal) of the external
environment of your organization, as well as its
internal strengths and weaknesses, through KSF (Key
Success Factors) and the SWOT matrix (Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats), offers an
overall representation that allows us to highlight theadded value and the positioning of the organization
to respond to the identified social problem.

COMPARE YOURSELF TO THE OTHER
SOLUTIONSHow do you differentiate yourself?
What is your competitive advantage?
◆◆ Lower costs◆◆ Larger customer base◆◆ Greater social impact
What changes are brought to society and the targetedgroups by your action and that of other actors?
How do you evaluate these changes? (e.g. by asking
the beneficiaries when possible)
How do you explain the differences?

COMPLETE THE “BMG” CHART TO SHARE
THE ADDED VALUE OF YOURPROJECT
The Business Model Generation (BMG) chart allows
a simple, complete and dynamic modelization of
the operation of your organization: this allows it tocreate, provide and share the added value.

Value
propositionKey
partners

Key
resources

Costs

Source : www.businessmodelgeneration.com/canvas/bmc

Customer relationships

Key
activities

Customers

Channels

Revenue21

2. What is your added value?
Q2

SOME EXAMPLESTO UNDERSTAND
2/6

LEU

CIATIF SIEL B
GROUPE ASSO

WHAT ARE THE EXISTING SOLUTIONS?
Pertinent criteria of comparison◆◆ Geographic (local or national) localization◆◆ Skills level of the participants◆◆ Cross-sectoral (social, health, sport) dimension.
Look for initiatives that are close to what you aredoing◆◆ Sports federations (different actors known to Siel
Bleu)◆◆ Sports coaches.

22

HOW DO YOU COMPARE YOURSELF TO
OTHER SOLUTIONS?
For Groupe Associatif Siel Bleu, Adapted Physical
Activity is considered as a tool for universal prevention
rather than as a purpose.

◆◆ Groupe Associatif Siel Bleu is developing a truly
innovative methodology, with 10% of its budget
devoted to R&D◆◆ All programs are co-constructed with a medical
team◆◆ It puts financial accessibility at the center of all of its
programs. Out of more than 200,000 interventions
done in 2014, the prices were adapted to the public
and the format went from free shares to more
onerous programs◆◆ More than 100,000 beneficiaries benefit fromthe actions of Groupe Associatif Siel Bleu every
week in France◆◆ A McKinsey study done in 2012 on the economic
impact of Groupe Associatif Siel Bleu’s action
proved that, by reducing the risks of development ofsome illnesses and accidents, its actions caused astrong economic impact on health and prevention
by reducing the costs incurred by society.

1/4

BOOKBRIDGE
WHAT IS YOUR UNIQUE KNOWLEDGE
Bookbridge sets up in remote areas in Mongolia
and Cambodia financially sustainable learning
centers based on local needs. In Europe, the training
centers are leveraged in Bookbridge’s Capability
Program, a leadership development program inwhich candidates learn state-of-the-art businessskills and develop as responsible leaders while
creating sustainable impact.

WHAT IS YOUR UNIQUE KNOWLEDGE
Our unique knowledge is our comprehensive
bottom-up process in rural areas with a soundbusiness model, ensuring financial self-reliance inthe long-term.
How do you differenciate from other actors ?
Unlike many other initiatives, Bookbridge did notinvest primarily in infrastructure but rather in people
and collaborations. The core and main value added
is its process on how to link quality education andcommunity building, by empowering local actors, fostering entrepreneurial skills and creating strong local
ownership. In particular, the peer-to-peer learning
approach values the knowledge of the communityand facilitates a self-reinforcing learning process.

How do you compare with comparable
organisations :in terms of costs?
Bookridge invests CHF 25,000 as a no-interest
loan in each learning center. The learning center
reaches break-even after one year and pays backthe loan within a maximum of 10 years. Comparable
organizations invest much higher amounts in learning
institutions as they also finance the building. In thecase of Bookbridge, the building is provided as an
in-kind investment by the local community.
The participation fee for their Capability Program
amounts to CHF 12,500 for 16 days of learning overthe course of 6 months.
In 2014, Bookbridge wase able to cover all overhead
costs with the program revenues. Comparable
organizations in the training sector show a higher
profitability.
In terms of social impact?
Bookbridge is unique in its effort to develop the next
generation of leaders in the Global South and the
Global North at the same time. Other players either
focus on capacity building in the Global South or
run leadership development programs targeted forparticipants in the Global North. Hence, there is no
direct competitor offering the same service.

23

2. What is your added value?
Q2

THE ESSENTIALSTO KEEP IN MIND
It is by knowing all your assets that you will be most able toformulate a suitable response to the identified problem; tostrengthen your proposal of added value; to expand yourimpact on society.
Identify the strategic abilities and tangible or intangible
resources (capital, major networks, etc.) that are indispensable
to reach the objectives that you have set.
Highlight what you are best equipped for compared toothers –whether it is skills or resources, and particularly
those intangibles, such as your knowledge, relationships
and reputation.
If you have the impression that you are lacking resources,
tell yourself that the scarcity of resources can be a driverfor innovation!

24

BEST PRACTICES& PITFALLS TO AVOID◆◆ Know the ecosystem in which you are evolving
and, in particular, alternative solutions. Map all
the pertinent actors. Confirm the hypotheses.
◆◆ Be conscious of the weaknesses and strengthsof the alternative solutions.
◆◆ Succeed in being self-critical about your own
project, the structure of your organization andyour actions to make things continuously evolve.
◆◆ Be efficient while still remaining creative andinnovative.
◆◆ Succeed in communicating your added value.

◆◆ Do not rely on what you believe has beenlearned.

◆◆ Do not underestimate direct or indirectcompetition.

ADDITIONALRESOURCESFOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TOOLS◆◆ Business Model new generation : Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur (2011), a practical, inspiringhandbook for anyone striving to improve a business model◆◆ Download the Business Model Canvas BMG on www.businessmodelgeneration.com◆◆ You can also use the social business model (SBM) canvas available on www.socialbusinessmodels.ch
as well as the toolkit Competition Analysis◆◆ Tool worksheet: Identifying partners from the co-creating website www.ashokacocreation.org [French]
TO IDENTIFY OTHER ACTORS FROM THE SECTOR◆◆ List of all the foundations: http://www.edi.admin.ch/esv/05263/index.html?lang=fr, http://swissfoundations.ch/fr/chercher-une-fondation, and www.stiftungen.org/social_franchise◆◆ National database of Swiss organizations: www.benevol-jobs.ch◆◆ Seif Social Entrepreneurship Award◆◆ Global Entrepreneurship Monitor - Chapter Switzerland - Social Entrepreneurshipwww.gemconsortium.org◆◆ CEPS : The Swiss Philanthropic Infrastructure : https://ceps.unibas.ch/en/publications/◆◆ Association of German foundations : www.stiftungen.org
25

3. What is your development strategy?
Q3

3
WHAT IS YOURDEVELOPMENT

3. WHAT IS YOUR DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY?

STRATEGY

26

WHY THISQUESTION ?
You now know what problem you are responding to andwhat differentiates you from the other actors in the sector.
Along with this enthusiasm, you can be greatly tempted
to diversify your activities, seize opportunities and spreadyourself over multiple developments.
Sometimes the best decision is to know how to say “no”
to requests; especially to funders, saying no is sometimes
the best decision to make.

Which activities should you keep, remove ordevelop?
How do you make these decisions in order tostay consistent and carry out the vision you havedefined?
What should you develop beyond your core profession?
All these questions allow you to stay focused and shareyour vision internally and externally.

27

3. What is your development strategy?
Q3

PUT YOURSELF
IN THE SHOES OFA POTENTIAL PARTNER
IN WHICH SITUATION IS THE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR MOST CONVINCING?
2/3

RÉALISESITUATION 1

SITUATION 2

Q1 :

Q1 :

What are you the best at?
Being a skills (re)generator for seemingly
unqualified job seekers.

Q2 :What are the activities that you
would like to develop? Why is yourorganization the most relevant on this subject?
Our position is in the process of radical change. We
want to revolutionize the system of recruitment byenterprises that discriminate against many joblesspeople, who are often foreign and ill equipped to
manage their placement.

Situation 2 : Sometimes you have toprove that the activity to be developed isconsistent with your core business, and how
your core business is qualified to do that,particularly emphasizing the numbers.

28

What are you the best at?
In the core business of Réalise, we are
best at developing the potential and skills of people
without diplomas, who are often sidelined by thehiring process standards.

Q2 :What activities are to be developed?
Why you?
After having spent 30 years developing the potentialof job seekers to get a sought-after positions, we also
want to work on recruitment methods. Considering
our experience and our performance (about 260
people come to train at Réalise every year and about
40% find a job during their training or in the months
that follow), we are particularly well positioned tohelp businesses find the necessary candidates toreach their economic objectives by recruiting skills,
not diplomas. We want to prove that skills do thejob, not diplomas.

TIPS AND TOOLSTO GO FURTHERANSWER THE 3 KEY QUESTIONS OF THE“HEDGEHOG CONCEPT”

THINK ABOUT YOUR IMPACT BEYOND
YOUR ORGANIZATION“The fox knows many things but thehedgehog knows ONE big thing”
a Greek proverb

What impact do you wish to have on a large scale?
How is your organization, your action, going tochange the system? Keeping these elements inmind can also help you to make certain choices inyour development strategy.

It is not always easy to know which opportunities toseize, which activities to launch, and which projects togive up. Answering the questions of the “Hedgehog
Concept” of Jim Collins should help you:◆◆ Passion: What are you deeply passionate
about?
The organizations with successful development
are those that have tried to achieve what reallyexcites them.
◆◆ Excellence: What can you be the best at?
It is not just about identifying a core business,but really looking for your current or future
distinctive skill.
◆◆ Economic model: What feeds your revenue
stream?

JIM COLLINS HEDGEHOG MODEL

By following this illustration, what can you undertakeso that your solution, once you have tested anddeveloped it, may be followed and adopted byother actors?
◆◆ What is your direct impact, directly linked to yourorganization, due to internal growth, the extensionof the model to another beneficiary target, etc?
◆◆ What is the impact beyond the sphere of yourorganization (your indirect impact) that lets you
inspire, become a model in the sector, influence
regulations, etc. ?

tprof B e
ita
bl

e

Be
passionate

Be besethSource : Good to Great by Jim Collins

How can we create an enduring great company?

“Social entrepreneurs are not satisfied
just fishing or learning how to fish. They
will only stop when they have revolutionized the fishing industry.”
Bill Drayton

29

3. What is your development strategy?
Q3

SOME EXAMPLESTO UNDERSTAND
3/6

LEU

CIATIF SIEL B
GROUPE ASSO
WHAT IS YOUR CORE BUSINESS?

DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY 2015

Adapted physical activity, with access to finance as
the main criteria.

Siel Bleu has launched the Institut Siel Bleu not
only to ensure recognition of physical activity asa full therapeutic service, but also to implement
research-action, innovation and distribution. It is alaboratory that develops non-medical therapeutic
services. The Institute will allow for:

WHAT ARE YOU BEST AT?
Groupe Associatif Siel Bleu relies on the co-creationof all of its high impact programs on the health ofpeople with disabilities in order to be able to create
programs that are very specific to the different targets.
For example, Siel Bleu teamed with the Institut Curie
to co-construct the Activ’ program, whose objective
is to limit the recidivism rate of breast cancer.

WHAT ARE YOU DEEPLY PASSIONATEABOUT?
Bringing back a smile and fitness to people withdisabilities by Adapted Physical Activity.

WHAT ACTUALLY FEEDS YOUR REVENUESTREAM?
The sale of services to direct beneficiaries, as wellas the involvement of actors who have an indirectinterest in knowing our targets are going well.
This includes both individuals and corporations(pension funds, mutual insurance companies, ARS,
Carsat, municipalities, councils, other associations…).
Partnerships with large corporations (businesses,
associations, foundations…) are our third main
source of revenue.

30◆◆ the creation of the book Siel Bleu, which would
become the reference for all health professionals
prescribing physical activity. The books key concepts
would be integrated into University curriculum.
◆◆ an incubator, to study and develop the ideas of
employees: the ideas will be tested for one year
and implemented if they have an economic modeland proven impact.
◆◆ the Siel Bleu campus on the website, which would
capitalize on the expertise of Siel Bleu with an
open-source space for families and individuals, aswell as paid access for doctors and pharmacists.
Siel Bleu also extends abroad, with social franchises
in Belgium, Ireland and Spain.

1/2

D SOUND
AUROLAB ANLUIONSWORLD SO T
David Green has been working to provide high-quality,
affordable medical technology and healthcare to thepoor, in particular people with diseases impairing sightand hearing. For this purpose, he created Aurolab in1992 and Sound World Solutions in 2007.

WHAT ARE YOU BEST AT?
Unique competencies for cataract operations, andmore recently, production and distribution of topof-the-line, cost effective, cosmetically acceptable,
and locally maintainable hearing aids in developing
countries.

WHAT ARE YOU DEEPLY PASSIONATEABOUT?
Make affordable health services accessible to all. In
particular, restore sight and hearing all those who needit, particularly to the poorer two-thirds of humanity.

WHAT ACTUALLY FEEDS YOUR REVENUESTREAM?
Aurolab, established in 1992 as a not-for-profit
manufacturing facility in India, is one of the world’s
largest manufacturers of intraocular lenses (IOLs),
which are surgically implanted in the eye to replace
the cloudy lens during cataract surgery. In developing
countries Aurolab sells lenses for USD 2-4 (compared
to USD 150 in the developed world), helping countlesspatients that otherwise could never afford suchtreatment to preserve their sight and ability to work.
He also established the production of a wound closure
product at Aurolab. In order to maximize the numberof beneficiaries, David also helped develop theAravind Eye Hospital in Madurai in India, and developa differentiated pricing model according to patientsability to pay, maximizing the number of operations
to enable a very low intervention price. Approximately
50% of this care is provided free-of-charge or below
cost, yet the hospital generates substantial surplus
revenue. Indeed, known to be the best hospital forcataract surgery, people who can afford it are willingto pay a price twice as high as the market price inorder to undergo surgery by the best of the best.
More recently, David co-founded Sound World
Solutions, which manufactures and distributes astate-of-the-art Bluetooth enabled hearing aids thatare normally sold for more than USD 2,000 and sells
them for USD 80-300, depending on the market.
Identifying a distinctive competency, what motivates
him most and how to generate sustainable revenues,
David Green managed to set a clear development
strategy to maximize the impact: Aravind Eye System
now has 5 hospitals performing 400,000 surgeries
annually, making it the largest eye-care system in
the world and enabling 1 million people to restore
sight since the first opening in 1976.

31

3. What is your development strategy?
Q3

THE ESSENTIALSTO KEEP IN MIND
Finally, in order to build a clear development strategy, one
must:
Identify your strengths: an effective self-evaluation of theorganization is the primary success factor. This is particularly
important when you change the scale, to the extent that theprocess involves substantial changes
Take advantage of what you do best and strengthen it
Prioritize development opportunities that correspond to
your social mission and/or that have a real economic benefit
which would then allow the funding of other activities
Delegate or give up what you do not know how to do(or not as well as others).

32

BEST PRACTICES& PITFALLS TO AVOID◆◆ Remain passionate about your project: your◆◆ Challenge preconceived ideas. Lengthy experiencemotivation, your power of persuasion and, thus,
your impact will be greatly increased.
◆◆ Do not ignore the question of creating economic
wealth which must be a perennial element ofactivity.
◆◆ Know how to prioritize: launch new activities ifthey have a very strong social impact or if theyearn enough money to then allow the funding ofother activities.

in an area is not enough to make it your distinctive
skill. Sectors evolve faster than ever before, so it isnecessary to constantly enrich your knowledge inorder to stay innovative.
◆◆ Do not rest on your laurels, and do not stop
innovating.
◆◆ Never loose sight of the social impact at stake inthe development strategy.

ADDITIONALRESOURCESTO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE CONCEPT OF THE HEDGEHOG◆◆ The HedgeHog Concept, Good to Great, Jim Collins www.jimcollins.com◆◆ From the Performance to Excellence of Jim Collins explained on the blog mixcity
TO GO FURTHER ON DEVELOPMENT AND SCALING STRATEGIES◆◆ Support to launch a social entreprise: http://socialimpact.eu◆◆ 7 Steps for Starting a Social Enterprise, Ashoka article on Forbes (2013)◆◆ Scaling social impact, Gregory Dees and Beth Battle Anderson (2004)◆◆ Scaling Social Entreprises: The Case of ENVIE and ACTIF in France, INSEAD (2006)◆◆ The Social Innovation Factory: www.socialeinnovatiefabriek.be/nl/english

33

4. What is your economic model?
Q

4
WHAT IS YOURECONOMIC
4. WHAT IS YOUR ECONOMIC MODEL?

MODEL
34

4

WHY THISQUESTION ?
Now that you know what you are doing, why and where you
are going, we will address the issue of funding for your project.

How can you find long-term sources of fundingthat will stregthen your social mission?
What economic model best reflects yourstrategy and your organization?
It is essential to match your capacity to mobilize resources
with your social impact. When you generate income yourself,
these profits are funds that you can allocate as you see fit.
But, if you do not generate your own income, you will needto have a strong fundraising strategy that will enable you
to be independent.
This is why, when possible, try to diversify your funding
sources as much as possible.

35

4. What is your economic model?
Q

PUT YOURSELF
IN THE SHOES OFA POTENTIAL PARTNER
IN WHICH SITUATION IS THE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR MOST CONVINCING?
2/4

BOOKBRIDGESITUATION 1

Q1 :What are your revenue sources ?
There is a double fee-based revenue
model paid by the beneficiaries of the training centeras well as those of the Capability Program.
Indeed, our beneficiaries are our clients. Our learning
centers offer premium education tailor-made forthe local demand in rural areas. Locals teach locals
what locals need. Each course is offered against aminimal fee. Community members run the learning
center as their business and re-invest profits into
to learning center. Our candidates in the Capability
Program pay a fee as well.

SITUATION 2

Q1 :What are your revenue sources ?
It is a fee-based revenue model : courses
at the training center are offered against a fee; same
as for the Capability Program.

Q2 :Can you reduce the costs?
We have been able to reduce costs by
delocalizing our services from Europe to Cambodia
and Mongolia.

Q2 :Can you reduce the costs?
Yes. We are able to reduce costs bymoving our services from Europe to Asia. An example
is the Bookbridge Fellowship Program for which theorganizational support was shifted from Europe toCambodia and Mongolia. Doing so, we were able tosave CHF 15,000 in staff costs annually – and weput the program closer to the impact which it aims
at generating.

36

In situation 1 : he was able to justify thedifferent revenue sources and the interest forthe beneficiaries to pay for these services. He
also managed to evaluate the costs saved bydelocalizing some of its services.

4

TIPS AND TOOLSTO GO FURTHER
THINK ABOUT THE POSSIBILITYOF INCREASING YOUR INCOME

SEE IF IT IS POSSIBLE TO REDUCE THE
COSTS

Even though the mission is social, it is important
not to oppose clients and beneficiaries. It is eveninteresting to make the two in line as often as
possible. However, watch out for the Tax aspects
linked to the increase in income. Do not forget toconsult a tax lawyer!

Which activities are you allotting your money to?
What is the cost of each activity? How do you reducethe costs without reducing your social impact? How
can you optimize the allocation of your resources
at a fair cost?

Can you have the direct beneficiaries participate?
Evaluate at the same time what the beneficiaries
can pay and how much they would agree to pay.
Can you have the indirect beneficiaries participate?
Evaluate your indirect targets and those that havemoney to invest.
Can you highlight your tangible and intangible
assets?
Does what you possess have any value for someone
else? Your expertise may interest other targets that are
ready to pay to get them. By developing a commercial
activity that highlights your expertise, you could allow
yourself to extend your social mission and financially
support your not-for-profit activities.

THINK ABOUT INNOVATIVE FUNDING
MODELS
Between philanthropy and traditional investment
or the sale of products and services, there aremany models for funding called “hybrid” that areinteresting to consider. Why not combine several
sources of different funding? Have you consideredsocial investment funds? Do not hesitate to consult
businesses specialized in this type of advice andfunding.
And, finally, do not forget to respect the 4C rule
when writing your economic model

CONCISECOMPACT

4C

Can you “franchise” your social business model?
In every instance, do you have the right pricing?
COHERENTCOMPLETE

37

4. What is your economic model?
Q

SOME EXAMPLESTO UNDERSTAND
4/6

EU

CIATIF SIEL BLGROUPE ASSO

Groupe Associatif Siel Bleu is an association regulatedby the Association Laws in Alsace Moselle giving theassociation the right to make profits.

INCOME STRUCTURE
93% of the income comes from its activities. Groupe
Associatif Siel Bleu in fact adapts the prices of its
events according to the targeted public in orderto remain financially accessible. A large share of
its income consists of partnerships around theiractivities. The 7% remaining balance comes fromfoundations or subsidies.

CAN YOU HAVE THE DIRECT BENEFICIARIES PARTICIPATE?
With financial accessibility for its services as its
credo, Groupe Associatif Siel Bleu operates on thebasis of the participation of their beneficiaries. The
Group has implemented a client loyalty system ofbeneficiaries who participate in its group courses.
They become members of the association and arethus involved in both the governance and properdevelopment of Siel Bleu. There are very open local
work groups consisting of employees, locally elected
officials, pension funds…

38

CAN YOU HAVE THE INDIRECT BENEFICIAIRIES PARTICIPATE?
In addition, Groupe Associatif Siel Bleu has
partnerships with the indirect beneficiaries of theirwork: underwriters and mutual insurance companies.
In fact, these beneficiaries have every interest in
funding the Siel Bleu association. With clients inbetter health, underwriters and mutual insurancecompanies will have fewer expenses to comensatefor. Investing in prevention is both more humanely
and more financially effective.

CAN YOUR HIGHLIGHT YOUR TANGIBLE
AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS?
Originally only intended for the elderly, Groupe
Associatif Siel Bleu has expanded its activity to otherswith disabilities and strengthened its economic modelby highlighting its expertise. For example, Groupe
Associatif Siel Bleu has expanded its activities toworkplaces by developing a commercial service forbusinesses. For that purpose, it has created an SAS,
Siel Bleu at work, which acts to prevent accidents on
the job, allowing the Community Group to expand
to new targets that can benefit from prevention
through Adapted Physical Activity. The SAS statute

4

2/2

D SOUND
AUROLAB ANLUIONSWORLD SO T

allows the creation of a hybrid economic structure
in order to manage a more lucrative plan of paying
for services by businesses.
This economic model allows Groupe Associatif Siel
Bleu to have a perennial and self-funding economic
model, which gives it the possibility not only todevelop new projects in France and internationally
but also to continue to offer free services in order tomaintain its accessibility to funding.
On top of the financial independence allowed by sucha model, the Group has created a foundation in orderto receive donations, thereby funding research andinnovative programs. The foundation is recognized as
being in the public interest, which allows protection
for all the work of Siel Bleu.

Intraocular lenses solve the problem of cataract,which is a widespread disease, especially in emerging
countries. In collaboration with health professionals,
David Green has developed intraocular lenses at avery low production cost (USD 2 instead of USD
150). Aurolab has also helped optimize surgery
logistics reducing their duration to 10-20 minutes,
and developed Telemedicine which reaches 92% of
the population. This very competitive cost structure
allows thousands of people to undergo cataract
surgery at a price much below the market price.
In order to reach the entire population, David has
also set up a triple pricing system («differentiatedpricing») based on patients’ incomes: the poorest pay
nothing, those with average income pay 80% of themarket price, and the richest pay 200%. The reason
why the wealthiest are willing to pay such a price isbecause of Aravind Eye System specialization on
cataract surgery making it the best in the field. This iswhat David Green calls «compassionate capitalism.»39

4. What is your economic model?
Q

THE ESSENTIALSTO KEEP IN MIND
It is important to regularly challenge and experiment with the economic
model to make sure you have the right one. Your organization can only
have the social impact you want if the funding of your activities is ensured.
Determine beneficiaries who are interested in funding your project directly.
Often, with social purpose projects, people think that everything must be
free for beneficiaries. However, even minimal financial participation canbe a way to both empower the beneficiaries and give them their dignity
back. In the pricing, one must therefore consider what the beneficiaries can
pay and what they would be willing to pay. It is also possible to set up adifferential pricing system according to the means of the targeted people.
If the payment methods create an obstacle, think about different options:◆◆ Assign a credit, a microcredit or defer the payment◆◆ Rent rather than give (leasing systems)◆◆ E.g. Fabio Rosa, in Brazil, has developed a leasing system to let therural population have access to solar panels. They were spending thismoney previously on buying candles and gas lamps◆◆ Imagine a system of differential pricing◆◆ E.g. Chantal Mainguené is offering a new day-care solution for
single-parent families at risk, whose pricing is fixed according to themeans of each family.
Identify those who are interested in what suits these beneficiaries best,
and who are therefore interested in funding your project indirectly.
Adapt the pace of the project’s development to the resources that you
think you may be able to get.
Think about developing a hybrid model to have access to different
sources of funding coming, for example, from gifts, subsidies, and thesale of the delivery of services.
40

4BEST PRACTICES& PITFALLS TO AVOID◆◆ Argue for your economic model. If you are selling
products or services, justify the prices. If you
anticipate a number of clients, a subsidy, explain
the hypothesis.
◆◆ Develop a fallback plan.
◆◆ Have a legal and financial specialist help you if
you are thinking about developing a commercial
branch for a new target – which may be subject tospecific rules – and/or if your income increases ina significant way and your structure has not been
adapted.

◆◆ Do not get lost in the details: think in large terms,
avoid numbers that are too specific.

◆◆ Do not underestimate the time necessary toquantify this job.

◆◆ Do not consider the economic model as a simple
accounting tool and not as an operating tool.

◆◆ Pay attention to deadlines! Thinking about a new
economic model does not allow you to solve
short-term cash flow problems. For that purpose,think about anticipating and making your banker
your partner.
◆◆ Do not start neglecting the social impact foreconomic reasons (or savings!)

ADDITIONALRESOURCESFOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE
VARIOUS FUNDING OPTIONSSOME INVESTMENT FUNDS SPECIALIZEDIN SOCIAL INVESTMENT◆◆ Nesst offers interesting support on the genera-◆◆ European Venture Philanthropy Association :ting of income in social purpose structures:www.nesst.org◆◆ FASE, the financing Agency for Social Entrepreneurship, provides tailored support forsocial entrepreneurs willing to develop a hybrid
financing model. See examples and case studies
on their website. www.fa-se.eu

www.evpa.eu.com◆◆ Swiss Sustainable Finance: www.sustainablefinance.ch◆◆ Sustainable Finance Geneva : www.sfgeneva.org◆◆ Financing of SMEs and startups in Geneva:
www.fondetec.ch◆◆ Funds for Good : www.fundsforgood.eu/fr◆◆ Oikocredit : www.oikocredit.coop◆◆ Si² Fund : www.si2fund.com◆◆ Social Impact Bond : www.koisinvest.com/activities/advisory◆◆ To look for other impact investing funds, visit the
Impact Base website : www.impactbase.org

41

5. HOW DO YOU ACCELERATE YOUR DEVELOPMENT BY COLLABORATING WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS OF SOCIETY?

5. How do you accelerate your development by collaborating

42

5
HOW DO YOU ACCELERATEYOUR DEVELOPMENTBY COLLABORATINGWITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS

OF SOCIETY

with other stakeholders of society?
Q5

WHY THISQUESTION ?
You have an innovative solution and a model that makes
sense. But how many people are affected by your model
today? And how many people would need these solutions
and could potentially be affected (“market” potential)? This
chapter explores various means of action to create greater
impact and allow the emergence of synergies by collaboratingwith different participants in society.

Are you already working with other actors in a
strategic way?
How are you capitalizing on the complementary
expertise of other social entrepreneurs, private
enterprises and/or public institutions?
Inter-sector collaboration across strategic partnerships canconstitute a true opportunity for growth for your organization.

43

5. How do you accelerate your development by collaborating

PUT YOURSELF
IN THE SHOES OFA POTENTIAL PARTNER
IN WHICH SITUATION IS THE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR THE MOST CONVINCING?
1/2

E)

UE POSTALCRÉSUS (BANQ
SITUATION 1

SITUATION 2

Q1 :

Q1 :

How do you introduce yourself to apossible partner today?
Today, Crésus is seeking a solution to the problem ofexcessive debt, by dealing with populations affectedby this problem and by supporting the developmentof credit institutions. For a partnership to be a truly
effective means of action, we wish to join forces withthe actors who are directly affected by this problem
and who will be able to bring something new to thesolution implemented: among them, banks, who
are the most able to identify people with excessive
debt and implement the tools or solutions that candirectly help them.

How do you introduce yourself to apossible partner today?
Crésus seeks to prevent excessive debt in order toavoid the financial and social exclusion that resultsfrom it. It seems useful to me to involve the actors
affected by this excessive debt in order to be more
effective and affect more people.

Q2 :How do you collaborate with otheractors?
We are developing partnerships with the banks
because they certainly know people who haveexcessive debt and can be of interest to Crésus.

Q2 :How do you collaborate with otheractors?
Today, Crésus is working with banks on a collaborative platform to help banks develop available
credit responsibly, as well as bring expertise in risk
management and prevention. In return, the banks
identify the at-risk clients to direct them to thisplatform to promote prevention. Such partnerships
allow Crésus and its partners to join forces over thelong term to create a long-term solution.

44

Situation 1 : You knew how to focus on the
problem, the need to find a means of action
and identify the right partners. You also
knew how to present a partnership where thepartner is interested in joining forces over thelong term.

with other stakeholders of society?
Q5

TIPS AND TOOLSTO GO FURTHERCONSIDER DIFFERENT TYPES OF COLLABORATIONPHILANTHROPIC• Sponsorship / donations• Pro bono support• Limited duration

CO-CREATION• To create something
together• Social innovation• Sustainable economic
model

Collaborate intelligently
For a successful collaboration, whatever the method
selected to join forces on shared projects, it is strongly
recommended to:
1. Get to know the actors in your sector and yourstrengths to identify the opportunities to work
together
2. Once the potential partners have been identified,learn about their issues, intentions and motivations
3. Build long-term relationships based on trust withyour partners
4. Think about connecting with those who are bestin areas where you have less expertise in order tocapitalize on resources that you do not have. You
can, among other things, find synergies in:■■ Skills■■ Geographic coverage■■ Network development■■ Financial stability■■ A more complete offer of services (to create
consistency between two offers that, by themselves, would be weaker).

TRANSACTIONAL• Customer/supplier
relationship• Selling products andservices

Imagine co-creation going further
As a social entrepreneur, you can let co-creation:
Broadcast your idea on a greater scale:
You have developed a solution that is
not accessible to the vast majority of the
population. You need a partner to broadcast it. Here,the partner serves as a means of acceleration (e.g.
Specialisterne & SAP collaborate to integrate theautistic population to test the software).
Invent new solutions: You want to have agreater impact but it is impossible. You needa partner to access a product or service thatyou do not have in order to meet an essential needof a key segment of the population. Here, the partner
offers you access to indispensable resources to create
your new solution (e.g. Crésus & Bank Postale).
Improve the coordination among thevarious actors: You are working on the same
mission as other actors; there are many
resources and skills in your area of intervention but
they are fragmented. A partnership between actors
can increase the social impact.

45

5. How do you accelerate your development by collaborating

SOME EXAMPLESTO UNDERSTAND
3/4

BOOKBRIDGE(FRANCE)

WHAT TYPES OF PARTNERSHIPS HAVE YOU
CONSTRUCTED?

WHAT IMPACT DO THESE PARTNERSHIPSHAVE ON YOUR ORGANISATION?

Bookbridge has developed a unique partnershipwith the World Organization of the Scout Movement(WOSM), the largest youth movement in the world
with 50 million members in 150 countries. With
support of WOSM, they are able to identify theentrepreneurs and local partners for their learning
centers. The values behind scouting allow Bookbridge
to build up a trustful and long-term relationship. In
addition, scouting brought them a good relationshipwith the government, which considerably reduced
the risk to be exposed to corruption.

The partnership with WOSM impacted the organization on three levels. Firstly, Bookbridge learnt
a lot about the collaboration with partners fromdifferent cultures by following the suggestions fromits local scouting partner. Secondly, WOSM brought
Bookbridge many new members of the Family ofBridgeBuilders. UK Scouts, for instance, collect books
for Bookbridge’s learning centers. Thirdly, the valuesof scouting are also the values of Bookbridge.

WHAT WERE THE ADVANTAGES / DISADVANTAGES OF THESE PARTNERSHIPS?
The advantage of the partnership with WOSM wasthat Bookbridge was able to implement its model
quickly. It took Bookbridge 4 months to identify
Cambodia as the second country, sign an MoU with
the Ministry of Education and setup the first two
pilot learning centers. The disadvantage may be thatit might be more difficult to innovate and change
things radically after it has once been decided – justas in any long-term partnership.

WHAT IMPACT DID IT HAVE ON YOUR SCALING STRATEGY?
WOSM brought Bookbridge to scale. Without the
network of 50 million scouts in 150 countries,
Bookbridge would not be able to bring its approachto different countries. Scouting makes it happen!

46

2/4

1 ROOF 2 AGESWITH WHAT OTHER ACTORS HAVE YOU
COLLABORATED?
As part of the co-creation fully incorporated in its
vision, 1 Roof 2 Ages is increasing partnerships withall actors.
The association and Gymsana (an association
working to promote sports among the elderly) arein the process of co-constructing a research on thebenefits of physical exercise on the health of seniors.
This collaboration allows two organizations to jointly
develop their visibility and respective expertise.
A partnership with insurance company EuroMut
offers EuroMut’s clients a fee discount from 1 Roof
2 Ages. The insurance company is today also on
the Board of Directors of the association. This has
especially given them the opportunity to conduct awith other stakeholders of society?
Q5large-scale publicity campaign. The association has
also incorporated Plus Magazine (a senior magazine)
and BNP Paribas Fortis in its ecosystem. The former
convey the solution and offer a fee discount to theirreaders. The latter have supported a joint analysisof the social impact of the project.
2/2

CE)
CRÉSUS (FRAN
WHAT WERE THE ADVANTAGES OF SUCH
PARTNERSHIPS?
First, all the co-created projects strengthen thecommunication plan and the visibility of the association. The partnerships then constitute a newsource of income that allows the association to free
itself even more from its dependency on subsidies.
Collaboration with organizations whose organizational
DNA is profoundly different from the association
opens doors for 1 Roof 2 Ages and enables them toaccess skills and support from various sources. Thus,
in contact with partners, the association’s team has
been professionalized and has, in particular, acquired
advanced ideas of reporting.

guarantee the ability to fund its actions in the longterm. It then identified that the banking institutions
that were able to identify people in financial straits,lacked the expertise to assist the at-risk clients inthe better management of their budget.
Thus, a partnership was set up with Banque Postale
through an intermediation platform between the twoorganizations. This platform has allowed Crésus totrain teams from Banque Postale about preventionof and solutions for excessive debt and, in return,
Banque Postale has implemented an extranet toconnect its at-risk clients with Crésus. Thanks to thispartnership, more than 43,000 households havebeen able to benefit from Crésus, 25,400 hours of
training has been given and EUR 31’500 in averagedebt has been processed per household. 98% of the
precautionary mediations have helped households
in a sustainable way.
This partnership has allowed both Crésus to reachmore beneficiaries and Banque Postale to benefit
from the gain in expertise and savings from better
management of the excessive debt of its clients.
The platform has expanded to almost 25 partners.

After nearly 15 years implementing the program
to combat excessive debt, Crésus has realized thelimits of what it could achieve in terms of preventing
excessive debt. The association had the expertise
but lacked the supplementary means to identify inadvance situations of excessive debt and could not47

5. How do you accelerate your development by collaborating

THE ESSENTIALSTO KEEP IN MIND
To work within a network and co-create with new actors,
define your approach strategy and your value proposition
well, and understand your potential partners.
Identify your needs: what can your partners bring to you andwhat can you bring to them in order to establish a common
strategy?
It is important to collaborate on the several levels of yourpartner’s organizations:
Raise the management’s awareness
Have champions (“intrapreneurs”) at the operational level.
Sometimes, innovation comes from “friction” with the actors
who come from very different sectors.
All the actors can take an interest in co-creating :• Expand social impact
by leveraging theassets of corporations• Generate new sourcesof revenues to reinvest
in social projects• Develop new skills andknowledge

SOCIALENTREPRENEURCORPORATION• New markets including
vulnerable populations• Innovation labs forbusiness models• Stronger CSR positioning
and social footprint• Employee engagement

GOVERNMENT• ROI of social programs• Saving on public spending• Reinforcement of “a positive
economy”

48

with other stakeholders of society?
Q5BEST PRACTICES& PITFALLS TO AVOID◆◆ Think big but start small by testing with a pilot.
◆◆ Approach partners with, “a strategic hook and an
open heart”.
◆◆ To co-create, everyone needs to take a step forward.
You must be ready to make compromises on somepoints while making sure you stay faithful to yourorganization’s mission.
◆◆ Think about organizing field visits to learn about
possible partners for your project. Nothing beats
experience!
◆◆ Invest in building a relationship based on trust. Do
not underestimate how important this investment
is for the future!

◆◆ Do not fear collaboration with other entities (social
entrepreneurs, private enterprises, and publicauthorities) as being a threat, a competition ora conflict.
◆◆ Do not consider partnerships with businesses only
as a simple resource for funding.
◆◆ Do not look down on the action of the public andprivate sectors as incapable and/or uninterested
in solving social problems.
◆◆ Making sure to not lose sight of your social mission.
◆◆ Do not collaborate just to collaborate. Always

ADDITIONALRESOURCES
collaborate intelligently.

◆◆ Ashoka Changemaker Alliances website www.ashokachangemakeralliances.org◆◆ Meet some co-creator Changemakers www.profiles.ashokachangemakeralliances.org◆◆ The partner initiative: practical tools available to support cross-sector partnerships
http://thepartneringinitiative.org/tpi-tools◆◆ Kauri’s 7 principles of smart collaboration◆◆ Business & Society: www.businessandsociety.be/?lang=en◆◆ The guide “Building Together” du Rameau (research laboratory applied to innovative alliances for thecommon welfare): www.lerameau.fr [French]49

6. How do you measure your social impact?

6
HOW DO YOU

MEASURE

6. HOW DO YOU MEASURE YOUR SOCIAL IMPACT?

YOUR SOCIALIMPACT50

Q6

WHY THISQUESTION ?
Measuring social impact allows you to assess and validate
the consistency of your actions committed to the missionof the project.
Evaluating your impact will be essential for you to persuade
your partners over the long term of the merits of youraction, to be accountable to your investors, to improve youroperations and the quality of the response you bring, andfinally to guide your strategy.

But how do you evaluate your social impact?
What are the proper evaluation criteria?
What is the method of evaluation suitable toyour organization?
You must both explain your social impact on society (especially useful for your partners) and conceive an operational
management tool (a measure of performance of your action,
useful internally).

51

6. How do you measure your social impact?

PUT YOURSELF
IN THE SHOES OFA POTENTIAL PARTNER
IN WHICH SITUATION IS THE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR MOST CONVINCING?
3/3

RÉALISESITUATION 1

SITUATION 2

Q1 :

Q1 :

How do you evaluate your social
impact?
Our social mission is to lessen discrimination in thehiring of people without diplomas. 30% to 40% of
the people who have been at Réalise have founda job during their internship or in the months that
followed. That demonstrates our social impact.

Q2 :What is the evaluation method foryour impact?
We haven’t yet found the management tools thatwould allow us to measure our social impact in a
relevant way.

Situation 2 : You prove that you have thought
about the core issue, that you know both thedirect and indirect impacts of your action,
but that also limits your evaluation and theneed to set up a management tool moresuitable to your activities.

52

How do you evaluate your social
impact?
The social impact of Réalise is on several levels. At
Réalise, among the hundreds of people who havebenefited from our services, between 30% and 40%
have found a job again during their internship or in
the months that followed. For another 30%, theirstay at Réalise helped them identify the barriers
to employment (health, debt, family organization,etc.) and offered solutions to overcome them. There
are also many indirect impacts but they are difficult
to measure: considering the importance of workin socialization in Switzerland, finding a job again
achieves much more than a salary. Thus, our social
impact can not only be assessed by quantitative
objectives.

Q2 :What is the evaluation method foryour impact?
A calculation of the NPV (Net Present Value) was
conducted in 2007 to try to define the investment
return. Undertaking it was revealing but complex.
Réalise is looking to improve its impact measurement
and reporting but lacks the tools to do so, tools botheasy to use and shared by other similar organizations.
In the framework of its commitment to sustainable
development, Réalise must improve the managementof its social impact.

Q6

TIPS AND TOOLSTO GO FURTHER

CLARIFY WHAT YOU WANT TO EVALUATECHOOSE THE BEST TOOL

Begin by brainstorming as a team and specify thequestions that you want to answer or that you arenormally asked, for example :◆◆ What are your impact objectives in the short,medium and long-term?
◆◆ How will you know if you have achieved them?
◆◆ What is the added value of the project relative tothe current situation?
◆◆ What costs are avoided due to the project?
◆◆ What are the positive as well as the negative effects
for the various participants?

◆◆ Precisely identify the resources available for this

DETERMINE THE PROPER CRITERIA AND
INDICATORSThe criteria are the subjective, not directly quantifiable, values that pinpoint the issue. Choosing theright criteria will obtain clear and, especially, useful
results! E.g. job development.
The indicators are the “measuring instruments” of
the criteria. They can be quantitative (the numberof jobs created) or qualitative (the acquisition of
new skills by the beneficiaries). They can describe
the direct impact of the action (the number ofpeople affected) as well as the indirect impact (theimprovement in community life).

evaluation (time, human resources) in order tochoose the most suitable follow-up method.
◆◆ Designate someone responsible for the collection
and follow-up of information who will coordinate
reporting over the long term. Do not hesitate toask for help from an outside consultant who canbring a new perspective to your project.
◆◆ Use correct reporting and put it in place at thesame time as the action. It is key to communicate
your impact. The Social Reporting Standard (SRS)(www.social-reporting-standard.de) is a tool thatwill allow you to have a detailed report with theprecise measure of impact.

“Measurement is the first step that leads
to control and eventually to improvement. If you can’t measure something,
you can’t understand it. If you can’t
understand it, you can’t control it. If you
can’t control it, you can’t improve it.”H. James Harrington53

6. How do you measure your social impact?

SOME EXAMPLESTO UNDERSTAND
5/6

EU

CIATIF SIEL BLGROUPE ASSO

WHAT IMPACT ON SOCIETY?
Groupe Associatif Siel Bleu affects 100,000 people
per week, with more than 400 participants from theuniversity training in Sciences and Techniques for
Physical and Sports Activities through more than
3,000 institutions.
The branch “Siel Bleu at work” has a very strong
impact. Out of 80 construction sites, the rate forsick leave fell by a third, work accidents fell by almost
70%, and many beneficiaries started a physicalactivity again.
It is interesting to note the systematic changes carriedout by the group. A new profession was created: “APA
(adapted physical activity) prevention director”, withspecific training and a new university field of study.

54

In 2012, in partnership with Ashoka and McKinsey,
a study was conducted to estimate the indirect andeconomic impact of some of the group’s programs. In
addition to the impact on the prevention of illnessesor accidents, these programs have reduced the riskof fracture, as well as risks related to diabetes or
Alzheimer’s. Concerning these two pathologies, thestudy estimates that the group’s programs would
have saved nearly 15 billion euros for the French
Health System between 2012 and 2015 if they had
become widespread across the country.

Q6

3/4

1 ROOF 2 AGES
WHAT IMPACT ON SOCIETY?
The social impact caused by the creation of morethan 600 intergenerational pairs in Belgium (2015)
revolves around two main axes: a direct impact fromthe financial perspective, and an indirect impact on
the building of social cohesion.
The study by BNP Paribas Fortis reveals that thesavings achieved by INAMI in 2015 amounts to EUR
480,000 and to EUR 490,000 for the beneficiariesof this system. In fact, 23% of seniors consider thissolution a real alternative to a retirement home. The
allowance that they receive represents an increase of
15% of their income, based on the average pension.
For the students, the annual savings is estimatedat around EUR 1,250.

From a societal point of view, 1 Roof 2 Ages acts in
an indirect way on the well-being of the population
through the removal of barriers between generations
and the anxieties of families vis-à-vis youth andseniors. This mutually beneficial formula improves
the feeling of well-being for 62% of seniors and
79% of students. Cohabitation is thus an extremely
effective means to develop exchanges between two
generations that are too often considered as living in
two separate worlds. Finally, the families are reassured
because, on the one hand, 62% of the students thinkthat this cohabitation has a favorable impact on theiracademic success (March 2015), and, on the other
hand, the seniors are not restricted by loneliness.

55

6. How do you measure your social impact?

THE ESSENTIALSTO KEEP IN MIND
There are many methods for evaluating impact. Whichever
you choose, the relevance of the criteria and indicators thatyou define are the most important aspects.
The qualitative and quantitative evaluation, contrary to
accepted ideas, starts before the action. In order to be able
to evaluate the impact of the action, you have to know theoriginal conditions!
Every impact is not quantifiable. A good evaluation musttake into account: quantitative indicators (e.g. the numberof beneficiaries, decrease in the symptoms of the problem,the economic value created, costs saved to society) andqualitative indicators (e.g. social well-being, participants’accountability, contribution to the decrease in delinquency
or to the social link to the community).
You are not the only one working on the issue that affects
you, and other macroeconomic factors (action by the State,economic tendencies, etc.) also influence the sector in which
you are working.
Know how to distinguish your impact from your simple
obtained results.

Impact = obtained results – what would have
happened in any case.

56

Q6

BEST PRACTICES& PITFALLS TO AVOID◆◆ Evaluate what can be directly useful to you◆◆ Look for the most adapted consultation method

to persuade your participants, and to improveyour action. Think about a strategic way to avoid
superfluous indicators.
◆◆ Do not complicate the task: prioritize the use ofdata already available. Base yourself mostly on theimpact indicators already in place.
◆◆ Plan regular evaluations, and use them to revise
your strategic objectives.

for the organization taking all the participants
into account.
◆◆ Do not be too complex! Choose an operational toolthat is both easily used and that brings credible
results. Avoid the tyranny of impact evaluation thatprevents progress.

ADDITIONALRESOURCES◆◆ To go further and re- think your activity report seen through the prism of
your social impact, use the Social Reporting Standard (SRS)
www.social-reporting-standard.de/en◆◆ The Impact Map, A guide to Social Return on Investment (SROI network)◆◆ IRIS Indicators (Impact Reporting and Investment Standards), useful tomeasure the performance of a social organization◆◆ www.proveandimprove.org

57

7. What is the best organizational model for your project?

7. WHAT IS THE BEST ORGANIZATIONAL MODEL FOR YOUR PROJECT?

7WHAT IS THE BESTORGANIZATIONAL

MODEL
FOR YOUR PROJECT

58

Q7

WHY THISQUESTION ?
You have now thought about the why and the how. Thispart is about understanding what are the most relevantorganizational mechanisms for your structure.

What would be the best team to lead the activities that you set up?
What skills do you expect from your teammembers?
What values should they share?
What will be your decision-making process?
Who will participate?
What will be its organizational chart?
A good initial definition of the organization’s operation is also
important both for the internal team as well as the external
partners, and increases the organization’s chances of survival.

59

7. What is the best organizational model for your project?

PUT YOURSELF
IN THE SHOES OFA POTENTIAL PARTNER
IN WHICH SITUATION IS THE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR MOST CONVINCING?
4/4

BOOKBRIDGESITUATION 1

SITUATION 2

Q1 :

Q1 :

What are your human resources
policies?
The HR planning and recruiting process is standardized. Each team member sets his or her own goals
for the year and is measured by their achievements.
They all earn the same salary in the team, believingthat it needs the buy-in from everyone to create
sustainable impact. Each team member participatesin development programs.

Q2 :What is the culture and style of yourorganization?
At BOOKBRIDGE, we do what we really are. We
learn by doing. If we fall down, we get back up. Eachmistake is a unique learning opportunity. We keep
at eye-level with everyone we meet. We trust eachother. Decisions are taken by consensus. We believein the power of community. We build bridges between
people and their cultures.

What are your human resources
policies?
We do have experts in human resources. We do notestablish explicit profiles, we recruit the candidates
we find most suitable. They then become teammembers and are included in all the development
programs. It works fine like that.

Q2 :What is the culture and style of yourorganization?
Team work and consensus.

Situation 1 : It is clear that the HR policies
have been thought through and thecorporate culture is a result of a style ofgovernance and shared values among theteam members.

60

Q7

TIPS AND TOOLSTO GO FURTHER
MODEL THE “WAYS OF DOING” OF THE
ORGANIZATION

PLAN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF OPERATIONAL MEANS

What is the best governance possible?
Have you chosen the members of your Board of Directors for their expertise? How are your beneficiaries
and partners involved in the success and strategic
development of your organization?

How do you manage your HR?
Do you prepare detailed job profiles for recruitment?
Are the responsibilities clearly defined within the
team? Who does what ? Who supervises ? Whocoordinates ?

What is your “business culture”?
A culture is not led by decree; it is the result of astyle of governance, of shared values among all themembers of the team.

What is the infrastructure?
Does the infrastructure in place promote work?
Is the location strategic (near your direct beneficiaries
or your providers)? Does an intranet allow regularinternal communication among the team members?

ANALYZE YOUR ORGANIZATIONON 7 CRITERIAOPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS• Human resources• Infrastructure• Financial planning

Source : The McKinsey 7-s Framework
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_91.htm

WAYS OF DOING THINGS• Governance• Culture & style

What is the outlook for funding?
Have you set up cost accounting by activity? Are
your funding plans regularly published, re-evaluatedrelative to reality? Is respect for the budget objectives
valued?

Strategy

Skills

Structure

SharedValuesStyle

Systems

Staff

61

7. What is the best organizational model for your project?

SOME EXAMPLESTO UNDERSTAND
6/6

EU

CIATIF SIEL BLGROUPE ASSO◆◆ The 8 members of the Board, required by the statutes of Alsace Lorraine,
Governanceare the original members who supported the creation of Siel Bleu when no
one believed in it.
◆◆ They have an assisting and supporting role. Siel Bleu trust the Board for all
the broad strategic guidelines.

◆◆ The employees are essentially young sports professionals. They think about
Culture and Stylethe collective future of the structure before thinking about their own individualinterest in this structure.
◆◆ The values: impact, innovation, independence, growth, conviction andemployee input.
◆◆ Suits and ties are off-limits, except in exceptional circumstances. Work isdone in t-shirts, jeans and sneakers.

◆◆ Flow chart structured as a tree: management at the top, then 7 regional
centers, each specifying the various programs.

HR◆◆ Job profiles are drawn up to detail skills, particularly the expected values.
◆◆ Internal promotion of field facilitators to manager positions (sales managers,
operational managers).

Infrastructures◆◆ Very few offices as such (in Strasbourg, Lille, and Angers). The others are inpeople’s homes.

◆◆ Cost accounting that consolidates the financial and human data of theorganization.

Funding Plans

62◆◆ Investment in billing and information software. Although expensive, it
nevertheless allows immense savings of scale in billing, offers complete andregular commercial follow-up, and helps to forecast real funding resources
and needs.

Q7

4/4

1 ROOF 2 AGES◆◆ The Board of Directors operates with the approach of collaborative and partiGovernancecipatory governance, and thus counts among its 7 members a representativeof the seniors and a representative of one of its partners (EuroMut).
◆◆ This organization has an assisting role to the Executive Board which defines
the strategy for decision-making within the organization.

◆◆ Faithful to their vision of breaking down barriers between generations, theCulture and StyleHR

employees of the association cover a wide range of ages (there are retirees
as well as young professionals).
◆◆ Despite the separation of teams, each working in its region, the association
maintains a unity and strong overall consistency thanks to monthly work
meetings and a yearly team building activity.

◆◆ The administration is in Brussels and manages all the branches present in
9 cities in Belgium.

◆◆ The limited size of each city’s team does not justify investment in office
Infrastructures

Funding Plans

space and the employees therefore work from home. In order to perform theinterviews in the best conditions possible, the partner EuroMut is, however,making rooms available to employees.

◆◆ The management team predicts an increase of 30% in memberships thanks
to better communication and an exponential geographic development.

63

7. What is the best organizational model for your project?

THE ESSENTIALSTO KEEP IN MIND
Pay attention to governance issues, and don’t let your ego get in theway. In particular, ensure that the Board Members are:◆◆From varied and complementary areas of expertise, as recognizedprofessionals◆◆Committed to the success of your activities and your mission◆◆Available to devote time to meeting regularly◆◆Aware of the actions implemented and a force for strategic advice.
The members of your team are your wealth. Besides skills, do not ignore
the culture and style of your organization.
Ensure that the members of your team share the same values and thesame desire to develop the project. Especially in social areas, agreeingon values is paramount for the success of the action
Apply these values daily and personify them as the leader.
Think about anticipating recruitment and maintaining the harmony ofyour team. For good HR planning, it is recommended to have:◆◆someone designated for HR management◆◆detailed job descriptions drawn up ahead of the expected internal growth◆◆a clear organizational chart◆◆diverse and complementary profiles.

64

Q7

BEST PRACTICES& PITFALLS TO AVOID◆◆ List in an explicit way the various options that◆◆ Do not recruit and plan exclusively “by feeling”,

are offered to you, in terms of structures, humanresources, etc. in order to achieve a clear andlogical choice.
◆◆ Conscientiously choose the people around you on
the project and the role that you assign them: each
one will play a key role, and will carry out with you
the vision of the project.
◆◆ Take 15 minutes to self-evaluate the strong points
and the improvement points of your organizationby using the analysis grid of McKinsey organizations(Capacity Assessment Grid).

without evaluating the needs or profiles necessary
to your development.
◆◆ Do not underestimate the role of your teammembers. Besides bringing their expertise, they canbe a powerful force for your project, strengthening
its legitimacy.

ADDITIONALRESOURCES◆◆ To discover an alternative to traditional recruitment interview, follow the advice of Marina Kim
co-founder of Ashoka U : Recruiting Secret Weapon: The Life History Interview◆◆ Reinventing organizations, Frederic Laloux (2014) www.reinventingorganizations.com◆◆ To learn more about the frame of Reference of the 7-S of McKinsey (Detailed description, summary,forum, tips, benefits and limits) www.12manage.com/methods_7S_fr.html◆◆ Another interesting model is Porter’s 5 forces, explained in an article by Michael Porter in the Harvard
Business Review : The five competitive forces that shape strategy

65CONCLUSION

Conclusion

CONCLUSION
This guide was designed with the goal ofbeing as concise as possible. Therefore,
it is far from being exhaustive, but by
sharing with you Ashoka’s previous
experience in assisting thousands ofsocial entrepreneurs, we hope you willreflect constructively on your project
by asking yourself the right questions.

IF YOU ONLY HAVE A MINUTE TO PERSUADE SOMEONE, WHAT MESSAGE MUST
YOU ABSOLUTELY COMMUNICATE?

1. Your social mission in one sentence

2. Why this project?
Assess the problem as much as possible
Explain the underlying causes for theidentified problem
By now, you should have clearer ideas Mention an existing unsatisfactoryand some useful tools in your pocket solution
to develop your project and maximize 3. What makes you unique?
your social impact!
Talk about your added value through an
example, an anecdote, a key number
In addition to these questions, don’t 4. What long-term social impact areforget to be prepared to talk about your you looking for?
project in a persuasive and concise way Be concrete
under any circumstances. Developing“an elevator pitch” is a very useful 5. Your economic model?
exercise in oral communication in order Talk about your funding sources
to persuade a potential partner in 1 6. Why you?
minute (the time it takes for an elevator Sell yourself! Your potential partner mustcome out of the elevator convinced thatride) of the relevance of your project.
you are the right person with the ideal
team to carry out this project.

66

A

APPENDICESTO GO FURTHER

Additional readings on innovative solutions◆◆ Resources for social and solidarity-based economy
www.socioeco.org◆◆ Reinventing Organizations, Frederic Laloux (2014)◆◆ The Power of Just Doing Stuff: How Local Action
Can Change the World, Rob Hopkins (2013)◆◆ Social Entrepreneurship in the Age of Atrocities,
Zachary Kaufmann (2012)◆◆ Social Entrepreneurship : Theory and Practice,
Ryszard Praszkier et Andrzej Nowak (2012)◆◆ How to change the world, David Bornstein (2005)

Other organizations in Switzerland that are
helping to create social-driven organizations(incubators, co-working spaces, training centers,
etc.)◆◆ Après-GE, in Geneva◆◆ ESSAIM, in Geneva◆◆ Euforia◆◆ Foundation Muse in Romandy◆◆ Genilem◆◆ Fondetec, in Geneva◆◆ Impact Hub Zurich and Impact Hub Geneva◆◆ KaosPilot, in Bern◆◆ MyImpact, to realize meaningful careers◆◆ Seif, in Geneva◆◆ SoftWeb in Geneva

APPENDICES

Inspiring videos◆◆ Videos on initiatives that change the world:
www.sparknews.com◆◆ 10 TED talks that give you power to change theworld◆◆ Social Entrepreneurs: Pioneering Social Change
video by Skoll World Forum◆◆ TEDx video and article How to Create a Successful Social Enterprise, Marquis Cabrera (2014)67

Appendices

EXAMPLES
Bookbridge has been created by Carsten Rübsaamen (Ashoka Fellow elected
in 2013) with the aim of promoting education, tolerance in all areas of culture,
cooperation and the commitment to social causes, regardless of religion,
ethnicity or location. In order to achieve this goal, he sets up training centers inrural areas in Mongolia and Cambodia which meet local needs more effectively
and which are financially viable. At the same time in Europe, Bookbridge offersa development program, the Capability program, to senior executives who wish
to develop responsible leadership skills.
www.bookbridge.org

Réalise is a company created in 1984. It’s managing director, Christophe Dunand(Ashoka Fellow elected in 2014), developed a model adapted to Switzerland,with an important emphasis on training unskilled job-seekers. Réalise’s mission
is to identify and to develop the professional skills of these job-seekers, then to
introduce them directly to various areas of industry such as logistics, gardening,
laundry or office cleaning.
www.realise.ch

Groupe Associatif Siel Bleu is an organization co-founded in Strasbourg by
Jean-Michel Ricard (Ashoka Fellow 2006) and Jean-Daniel Muller in 1997. The
Community Group offers adapted physical activities in order to strengthen
the social link, to prevent some illnesses and to reduce dependency of elderly
people, disabled people or people with a chronic illness.
www.sielbleu.org

68

A

Crésus was founded in France by Jean-Louis Kiehl (Ashoka Fellow 2011) withthe aim of preventing and reducing the indebtedness of people in order to avoid
financial and social exclusion. By developing a unique model for prevention andearly detection of the indebtedness, this project allows high-risk populations
to avoid the double risk of financial and social exclusion.
www.cresusalsace.org

Signs of Meaning is an organization founded in 2003 in Lille (France) by Simon
Houriez (Ashoka Fellow 2008) in order to help deaf people escape from theircultural and social isolation. By giving them tools to access culture and knowledge
areas, Signs of Meaning allows them to build themselves as individuals. It also
breaks down biases and boundaries between the world of deaf and hearing people.
www.signesdesens.org

1 Roof 2 Ages is an organization founded in 2009 by Régis (Ashoka Belgium
Impact Program successful candidate in 2013) and Claire de Kerautem, with themission to develop the intergenerational link by fighting against the lonelinessof seniors and by helping students find housing at a lower market rate. Thiswin-win project puts its energy into creating a society in which generations help
and enrich each other.
www.1toit2ages.be69

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PARTNERS
Many thanks to Accenture for its support through skills
patronage in updating this 7 Key questions booklet.

WRITERS AND CONTRIBUTORSPierre Esteve
Olivier Fruchaud
Jim Hibbert
Kathy Kim
Caroline Le Viet-Clarke
Maylis PortmannMaël Redard
Virginie Samyn
Stéphanie Schmidt
Harold Slamovitz
Sonia Vaillant

GRAPHIC CONCEPTIONJean Robert www.yashu.fr

Many thanks as well to all the contributors of the firstversion of the booklet, as well as the Ashoka fellows who
provided the illustrative examples.

70

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