Introduction

INTRODUCTION

In this module, you are going to learn about the social venture innovation process. This process is focused on developing solutions that are desirable, viable, and effective--three key factors that determine the success of a social venture.

WHAT IS A SOCIAL VENTURE?

A social venture is an enterprise with a social purpose and a business mindset. The primary purpose of a social venture is to solve a social or environmental problem to benefit society as a whole. The cost of operations are offset, as much as possible, through income earned by the venture. Social ventures may be structured as a nonprofit, a for-profit, or as a hybrid structure.

Social ventures are created by social entrepreneurs who act as society’s change agents. Social entrepreneurs create innovations that disrupt the status quo and transform our world for the better. They create novel solutions to social or environmental problems that benefit humanity. They interact with and engage the many stakeholders impacted by the issue they are working on - including governments, philanthropists, and businesses - to create long-lasting systemic change.

WHAT IS THE SOCIAL VENTURE INNOVATION PROCESS?

The social venture innovation process provides social entrepreneurs with a roadmap for:

Understanding a social or environmental challenge
Creating an innovative solution to address the challenge
Building a viable social venture around that solution

It is a user-centered design process focused on developing solutions that are desirable, viable, and effective. Without a process with these three lenses, you may end up developing a solution that no one wants to use, a solution that people love but doesn’t make the impact you desire, or a solution that meets user’s needs but doesn’t bring in sufficient revenue.

The process described in this module is not the only one a social entrepreneur could follow to build a successful social venture. You may find that the social venture innovation process is right for you if you are starting with a need or challenge that is not yet solved. Other processes may focus on taking a solution that works in one location or population and putting it in place in another, or they may focus on using a specific technology to address a social problem.

HOW TO USE THIS MODULE

This module will help you understand the social venture innovation process as a whole, where you are in the process of developing your own venture, and what your next steps should be. We recommend that you complete this module and come back to it as needed to get your bearings and keep your focus as you design your social venture.

You will find some sample techniques described to clarify various steps of the process; however, this is not an exhaustive list of techniques. You will find other resources that describe additional techniques and that describe the techniques mentioned here in more detail.