Here's a story about how members of the Changemakers community are promoting sustainable design through fashion:
Clothing shoppers are rethinking things these days: Can I be fashionable without being frivolous? Is it possible to buy chic clothing that’s also eco-friendly? Do my consumer choices make a difference? Among the retailers answering yes to these questions is an online store billed as "Patagonia-meets-Prada."
The store, Nau, is based in Portland, Oregon-based and was started by ex-executives of Nike, Adidas, Marmot Mountain, and Patagonia Inc. It sells quality, tailored garments made from materials such as recycled polyester, organic cotton, cornstarch and merino wool.
Read more about this solution, or discuss this topic below.
Created on 05/14/2013 by Lovin' Spoonfuls
Headquartered in Boston, MA, Lovin' Spoonfuls is a 501c3 non-profit food rescue organization that facilitates the recovery and distribution of perishable and unserved food that would otherwise be thrown away and wasted. We deliver this food to local crisis centers, soup kitchens, and pantries.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏组织所在的国家/地区
United States, MA, Boston, Suffolk County
该组织在哪些国家/地区创造了社会影响力
United States, MA, Boston, Suffolk County
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
2012 MassChallenge Gold Prize Winner
2012 John W. Henry Family Foundation Social Impact Prize Winner
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Name your entry
Lovin' Spoonfuls Food Rescue
Stage
Established (the solution has passed the previous stages, and has demonstrated success)
This Entry is about (Issues)
Elevator Pitch
Headquartered in Boston, MA, Lovin' Spoonfuls is a 501c3 non-profit food rescue organization that facilitates the recovery and distribution of perishable and unserved food that would otherwise be thrown away and wasted. We deliver this food to local crisis centers, soup kitchens, and pantries.
Problem
While 49 million Americans struggle daily with food insecurity, 40% of all food produced in the U.S. goes to waste each year. Not only does the food itself go to waste, precious natural resources including fresh water and oil are also squandered in the production of this food. Hunger has traditionally been addressed with processed, non-perishable foods, but why should we stop at non-perishables when there is so much fresh food already available?
Solution
Food rescue provides a timely and innovative solution to the ongoing problems of food insecurity and food waste. Through Lovin’ Spoonfuls’ streamlined model, food donors are able to reduce their waste disposal costs and emissions footprint while contributing a tax-deductible food donation to their community. Our focus on fresh produce, lean proteins, and whole grains allows our partner organizations to consistently serve their clients healthy and wholesome meals without increasing their own operating costs. Our work aims to connect people in need to the bounty of unused food that prevails in our community. Access to nutritious food should be a right, not a privilege reserved for the wealthy.
Example
Every weekday, our team picks up second-line product from grocery stores including as Whole Foods Markets, Trader Joe’s, and several restaurants, bakeries, and farms. We deliver this food to local soup kitchens, homeless shelters and crisis centers including Pine Street Inn, Boston Rescue Mission, and Bridge Over Troubled Waters, among others. The mainstays of food assistance are often overly processed, non-perishable foods, typically loaded with salt, sugar and chemical preservatives. In hunger relief, why should we stop at non-perishables when there is so much fresh food already available? Our food rescue model helps social service organizations to balance their budgets while also providing healthier food items to their clients.
Impact
To date, the Lovin' Spoonfuls team has rescued and distributed over 600,000 pounds of fresh and healthy food across Greater Boston. We currently have two refrigerated delivery vehicles and two full time drivers on the road. More trucks and more drivers mean that we can pick up more food and serve more people. In 2013 we intend to add another truck to our fleet, which will further extend our capacity and reach.
Marketplace
Food rescue is an unaddressed area of hunger relief in Greater Boston. While food banks rely on warehouses and other overnight storage facilities to maintain a stockpile of non-perishable goods, Lovin’ Spoonfuls utilizes a direct distribution system to pick up perishable food from donors and deliver those items to local soup shelters, soup kitchens and crisis centers within the same day. Lovin' Spoonfuls is based off successful food rescue organizations in other cities such as City Harvest in New York City, DC Central Kitchen in Washington DC, and FoodRunners in San Francisco.
Sustainability Plan
We are actively fundraising from foundations and individuals to aid program growth and ensure the continued financial stability of our operations. A lean business plan and low operating costs provide a solid foundation for our scalable model, and we hope to expand operations to eventually reach the four corners of Massachusetts. Our work aims to ensure everyone in our community has access to the types of food necessary to sustain a healthy life.
Founding Story
Lovin’ Spoonfuls was founded in 2010 by native Bostonian Ashley Stanley. Stanley witnessed the amount of food that was being thrown away by food service establishments and questioned why so much food was going to waste when the number of hungry and homeless individuals in Massachusetts continued to increase. Inspired to take action, Stanley initially utilized her own car to rescue food that would otherwise have gone to waste from local food retailers and restaurants. She has since acquired two refrigerated food delivery vehicles and has developed Lovin’ Spoonfuls into an effective and acclaimed organization.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Where do you ensure the availability of nutrients?
Healthy environments., Full nourishment foods.
If you had greater capacity, which additional sectors would you like your solution to target - either through expansion, partnership, or thought exchange?
Human wellness and vitality.
How specifically would this added capacity help you improve the quality, efficiency, or sustainability of your existing product or service?
We intend to expand program capacity by adding more refrigerated delivery vehicles to our fleet. More trucks and drivers on the road mean we can recover more food and serve more people. In addition to our direct distribution services, we hope to foster increased awareness about the ongoing issues of food waste and food insecurity in our local community by educating the public and serving as a local platform for Boston to join the national conversation on food waste.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏How is your product or service connected to vitality for the people and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
People need appropriate nutrients to grow, learn, and fight off disease. How do you measure, track, or make use of information about nutrient levels in your own work?
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Considering the flow of nutrients from ecosystems to soil to farms to food to communities, what are the barriers to achieving vitality for people and the planet?
Other barriers you have identified
In your view, what developments need to happen in order to help overcome those barriers and produce a more nutrient rich and vital public and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
What do you consider the most promising trends or evidence that indicates that the developments you described are emerging? Please elaborate.
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Headquartered in Boston, MA, Lovin' Spoonfuls is a 501c3 non-profit food rescue organization that facilitates the recovery and distribution of perishable and unserved food that would otherwise be thrown away and wasted. We deliver this food to local crisis centers, soup kitchens, and pantries.
Created on 05/14/2013 by kitameri
CORE Foods' mission is to cultivate a healthier planet by empowering people with fresh food and resources. Our CORE Meals are the first real perishable packaged food option on the go – all delivered in a not-for-profit model that reinvests in food quality, the planet, and honest nutrition advice.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏组织所在的国家/地区
United States, CA, Oakland, Alameda County
该组织在哪些国家/地区创造了社会影响力
United States, CA, Oakland, Alameda County
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Stage
Established (the solution has passed the previous stages, and has demonstrated success)
This Entry is about (Issues)
Elevator Pitch
CORE Foods' mission is to cultivate a healthier planet by empowering people with fresh food and resources. Our CORE Meals are the first real perishable packaged food option on the go – all delivered in a not-for-profit model that reinvests in food quality, the planet, and honest nutrition advice.
Problem
We are constantly bombarded with competing nutrition information, making it difficult to make healthy choices. It is especially difficult to make these choices on the go because nearly all packaged foods contain additives, preservatives, sugar, oil, and flour. Furthermore, pursuit of profits drives down packaged food quality, so larger food companies exploit confusion and cheap ingredients to further their own goals - not feed us the best food!
Solution
CORE Foods has developed an on-the-go meal that is nutritionally balanced and 100% organic, raw, and gluten-free: a full bowl of oatmeal in bar form that delivers four hours of stable energy. If you don't have time for a salad, and don't want to eat the candy that is most on the go food, CORE Meals are for you! Beyond making the best food we can, CORE believes in reinvesting its profit in food quality, sustainability, and our community. Even more, CORE provides completely unbiased online nutritional information and community outreach/events in order to increase awareness about the basics of healthy eating: eat mostly whole raw fruits, vegetables, and other produce!
Example
One example of how our solution operates is for a working mom. She is unable to take the time for breakfast in the morning because she is occupied with other tasks. She can reach for a CORE meal and eat it on-the-go like she would normally with a bar that may not be healthy. Then, after drinking water, it will be as if she has eaten a whole bowl of oatmeal and will get the nutrient value and the energy, but in a more convenient form. In addition to eating our meal, she can look online for a plethora of nutritional information and simple principles to live by. Through our efforts, this working mother is able to accomplish her goal of healthy eating, both by eating her CORE meal, and by absorbing the nutritional guidelines we provide online.
Impact
Despite CORE’s recent beginnings, its impact is vast and increasing rapidly. We represent over $1,000,000/year (at current rates) in economic activity dedicated to non-extractive work with a positive impact on human health, the planet, and the environment. The over 10,000 meals that CORE delivers per week displace both unhealthy food options that are made using unsustainable methods, and people skipping meals altogether. CORE Foods increases access to fresh meals and community health by serving over 1,875 pounds of organic, raw, gluten free food per week. Both revenue and meals delivered are expected to double within the next year. And CORE goes further than organic by committing to never include additives in our ingredients and pushing our suppliers to make the finest, purest ingredients to meet our strict quality standards. We are constantly pushing to increase our positive impact.
Marketplace
CORE foods is an innovator because we are a packaged food company that makes perishable, fresh food and we commit to incredibly strict nutritional standards. And we do all of this in a business model that is not extractive and not focused on making profits. These values go against current norms for packaged food companies. We commit to making only the healthiest, whole, produce-based foods--no syrups, salts, flours, oils, or additives and operating with an innovative not-for-profit business model that both out-competes traditional for-profit businesses and makes the world a better place.
Sustainability Plan
By selling our food at retail outlets we have built a small, but reasonable margin into our model to fund growth, while still delivering food at an incredible value: ingredient costs that are 4x industry avgs (40% or revenue v. industry avg 10%). Whenever we sell CORE Meals we are able to finance even more food, and work in education and social and environmental work. The more meals we sell, the more we can reinvest in what matters!
Founding Story
In our founders' search to understand the human relationship with food, he lived with 12 traditional tribes across the globe. Looking at these cultures and our society today, it was clear that the confusion consumers have about what to eat was not always a problem. Truly healthy, long-standing diets all focused on simply fresh food, whole foods, and raw or unprocessed food. Corey became inspired to create an unbiased source for healthy food that took the confusion out of the eating. While traveling he noticed that all the on-the-go food options available did not meet basic historical nutritional principles, so he decided to revolutionize this industry by creating an on-the-go option that promotes health and community reciprocity.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Where do you ensure the availability of nutrients?
Full nourishment foods.
If you had greater capacity, which additional sectors would you like your solution to target - either through expansion, partnership, or thought exchange?
Healthy environments, Nutrient-rich farming, Human wellness and vitality.
How specifically would this added capacity help you improve the quality, efficiency, or sustainability of your existing product or service?
By having our own locations, and not just selling products at retail, we could create a lifestyle destination that would allow us to have direct and deeper impact on our customer's lives through nutrition education workshops, counseling, meetup groups, and serving fresh food every day. Also, these locations would allow us to source and serve even more fresh food every day, allowing us to partner with local farmers to support nutrient-rich, organic farming of high-impact crops.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏How is your product or service connected to vitality for the people and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
People need appropriate nutrients to grow, learn, and fight off disease. How do you measure, track, or make use of information about nutrient levels in your own work?
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Considering the flow of nutrients from ecosystems to soil to farms to food to communities, what are the barriers to achieving vitality for people and the planet?
Other barriers you have identified
In your view, what developments need to happen in order to help overcome those barriers and produce a more nutrient rich and vital public and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
What do you consider the most promising trends or evidence that indicates that the developments you described are emerging? Please elaborate.
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Created on 05/14/2013 by FTFA
Food gardens are fundamental to ensure food security. FTFA introduced Permaculture to South Africa in 1991 & these principles are applied to all FTFA food gardening projects.Today hundreds of communities & schools apply to FTFA for assistance to develop permaculture food gardens & many are helped.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
International and local awards for FTFA, founder and staff: United Nations Global 500 Laureate, the President Nelson Mandela Forestry Award, The Department of Environment Conserva Award, The Mail & Guardian Green Trust and Investing in the Future Awards, The Impumelelo Award, PMR Awards, the Eskom Chairman’s Award, the Mail & Guardian Chairman’s Award and the Institute for Housing SA Community Upgrader Award, the International Chevron Conservation Award, the United Nations Environmental Programme Sasakawa Climate Change Award, Arbor Day Foundation Award in the USA, the SAB Environmentalist Award, the best use of social media and website Sangonet award, UN supported SEED Award and Moola for Amanzi.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Name your entry
Food & Trees for Africa - Food Gardens for Africa Programme
Stage
Established (the solution has passed the previous stages, and has demonstrated success)
This Entry is about (Issues)
Elevator Pitch
Food gardens are fundamental to ensure food security. FTFA introduced Permaculture to South Africa in 1991 & these principles are applied to all FTFA food gardening projects.Today hundreds of communities & schools apply to FTFA for assistance to develop permaculture food gardens & many are helped.
Problem
Food security is reaching crisis proportions. 1 billion on the planet go to bed hungry every night. This is increasing with the devastating effects climate change affecting large & small scale agricultural yields & rising food costs. 1 in 15 children die before their 5th birthday in South Africa. 15% of babies are born with a low birth weight. 2.7 million children (15%) live in households where there is child hunger. 1 in 10 children suffer from severe malnutrition.
12 million people suffer from food insecurity, and 4 million of those are on the brink of starvation. AIDS & child headed households are another challenge. Natural resources eg water are under severe pressure.
Solution
Food Gardens for Africa provides support to start up or developing food gardens through starter packs that include training workshops, necessary tools, plant material & education material to thousands of schools & community groups that apply for help. Those that then show commitment are selected and presented to funders for further support. FTFAs decades of experience shows that ideally food gardens need support over 3 years to take them through seasons & ensure participants receive adequate training in horticulture, nutrition & basic business. Projects become self sustaining through effective food production, food cost savings, income generation & sustainable natural resource use & management. Gardeners & their dependents' health improve.
Example
FTFA started working with disadvantaged Toronto Primary School in 2004 to establish a productive garden, nursery & poultry production. FTFA then provided additional support & training on garden maintenance, water management, harvesting, AIDs & nutrition, record keeping & pest management, topics that could have presented challenges that would detract from the project’s success. Now, even in FTFA’s absence, Toronto teachers & parents utilise information, skills and resources to assist other schools & home gardens with their own project development, troubleshooting satellite projects. Toronto has raised money to develop medicinal plant gardens & for other community support & have won many awards for being an exemplary project.
Impact
This program has produced thousands of food gardens in all provinces of the country in urban, rural & peri urban areas over the years, many of which are still operating. Through this small scale, local food production, tons of natural produce have been produced & money has been saved on produce. Thousands of educators, learners & community members have been trained to grow their own food organically & use & manage natural resources sustainably, resulting in improved & increased water and fertile soil. The produce from many of these gardens is used to feed Orphaned and Vulnerable Children & those infected with HIV. The skills transfer & capacity building through Food Gardens for Africa are key to the sustainability of the projects & facilitate other employment or entrepreneurial activities. Schools no longer need government feeding schemes & most sell healthier food to these & teachers.
Marketplace
FTFA pioneered carbon offset, tree and bamboo planting & permaculture in S Africa. As climate change & food security become a greater concern more organisations are establishing similar projects. FTFAs 23 years of experience & success, great communications, education initiatives & good reporting make this an outstanding, recognised & reliable organisation. FTFAs Permaculture Starter Pack (PSP) helps to assess the viability of necessary long term investment in projects while boosting projects in their infancy. The PSPs range from level one to three, with funds and resources increasing with project success.
Sustainability Plan
Ideally a food garden project requires 3 years of support to become sustainable. During this time the project is addressed holistically, taking into account sales, marketing, production, planning & more. This helps projects to become sustainable. FTFA depends on donor funding at the outset but aims to help them to save costs, resources & generate their own income over time.
Founding Story
23 years ago, as one of Jeunesse Park's heroes, Nelson Mandela, was about to be released from 29yrs in jail she decided to return to the land of he birth, from which she had gone into self imposed exile during the dark days of apartheid. Over years of traveling on the planet she saw some of the most beautiful places in the world & also saw the terrible environmental devastation we have caused to destroy them, usually forever. She returned to S Africa to do something positive for her country, to put down roots & contribute in a unique way to the earth & to the people, especially those living in the barren, dusty & inhumane townships. Her sense of responsibility & understanding that one can make a difference led to the founding of FTFA.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Where do you ensure the availability of nutrients?
Healthy environments., Nutrient-rich farming, Human wellness and vitality.
If you had greater capacity, which additional sectors would you like your solution to target - either through expansion, partnership, or thought exchange?
Full nourishment foods.
How specifically would this added capacity help you improve the quality, efficiency, or sustainability of your existing product or service?
Adding full nourishing food programmes would help to close the circle and create a larger impact in implementing these projects. Being able to holistically integrate the full nourishment foods aspect into our food gardens project would help to create more meaning for the project, hopefully making them more sustainable.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏How is your product or service connected to vitality for the people and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
People need appropriate nutrients to grow, learn, and fight off disease. How do you measure, track, or make use of information about nutrient levels in your own work?
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Considering the flow of nutrients from ecosystems to soil to farms to food to communities, what are the barriers to achieving vitality for people and the planet?
Other barriers you have identified
In your view, what developments need to happen in order to help overcome those barriers and produce a more nutrient rich and vital public and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
What do you consider the most promising trends or evidence that indicates that the developments you described are emerging? Please elaborate.
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Food Shift is developing innovative food recovery models that generate revenue so vulnerable populations can be trained and employed in the process of reducing food waste.
Created on 05/10/2013 by ccarlton
Through education, demonstration and farmer networks, Kusamala promotes permaculture as a means to increase food security and combat environmental degradation in Malawi. By building agricultural systems that mimic natural systems, permaculture increases diversity, resilience and sustainability.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏组织名称
Kusamala Institute of Agriculture & Ecology
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Name your entry
Promoting Permaculture through Community Demonstration
Stage
Growth (the pilot has already launched and is starting to expand)
This Entry is about (Issues)
Elevator Pitch
Through education, demonstration and farmer networks, Kusamala promotes permaculture as a means to increase food security and combat environmental degradation in Malawi. By building agricultural systems that mimic natural systems, permaculture increases diversity, resilience and sustainability.
Problem
In Malawi more than 85% of the population are subsistence farmers, nearly 60% of which experience year round food insecurity. Micronutrient intake is a serious concern with high levels of vitamin A and iron deficiency among children and pregnant women. These farmers depend on a single, nutrient poor crop: maize. Cultivated intensively, this has led to soil nutrient loss, reduced livelihood and food security, and high rates of malnutrition.
Solution
Permaculture is a design method that builds agricultural systems based on natural models. Utilizing permaculture principles, Kusamala focuses on the household level, encouraging nutrient rich fruit and vegetable production, crop diversification, water and soil management to maximize productivity while improving the health of the land. This increases access to diverse, nutritious foods, improving diet diversity and reducing malnutrition. It also reduces agricultural costs and improves soil health by promoting natural, local soil fertility methods. By building a network of household demonstrations Kusamala spreads permaculture from within communities; creating strong permaculture leaders that encourage behavior change through personal action.
Example
Dan Chikhawo lives in a rural village outside of Malawi's capital. Sitting on a hillside, erosion from deforestation has carved a 15m deep gully through the village. A year ago, Dan participated in a permaculture training with Kusamala. Armed with new knowledge and Kusamala's support, Dan built a vegetable garden and orchard behind his house. He improved soil health using compost and manure, planted shared and saved seed, and harvested water off the hillside. Where his neighbors have bare ground around their houses and walk over an hour to buy vegetables, Dan harvests enough nutrient-rich produce to meet his family's needs and to share. Dan's neighbors often ask about his garden and he hopes to use it to spread permaculture to his village.
Impact
Quantitative: 200 Malawians trained in permaculture over the past year; 20 household demonstration sites established; Access to nutritious foods increased for approximately 400 individuals; Over 60,000 multi-use trees planted for food, fuel, fodder and soil fertility
Qualitative: Improved ability to sustainably increase food security; Improved soil health and nutrient content through natural fertilizers; Increased livelihood resilience through income diversification; Improved environmental stewardship through a better understanding of the connection between human health and the environment
Future: Increase uptake of permaculture spreading from community permaculture demonstrations; Further in-depth trainings to increase number of demonstration sites; Expansion into surrounding communities; Surveys to measure exact impact on household diet diversity and food security
Marketplace
Concepts such as "organic" and "conservation" are well known. Yet both of these approaches have a limited focus, addressing aspects such as chemical use or tilling methods. Permaculture is a holistic method that looks at how to improve all interactions between humans and the environment. It is not a set of universal instructions but an adaptive thinking tool. Many interventions focus on training or material support. Kusamala invests in home demonstrations that fit local resources and environments, show immediate benefits to families and that most people already have the resources to implement.
Sustainability Plan
In the community, our goal is to work within available resources so that participants can implement permaculture without external aid. However to expand our work, Kusamala raises funds through a hybrid NGO-sustainable business model. Current funding is from grants, income from NGO trainings and produce sales from our functioning farm. We will continue seeking grants but plan to expand our on-farm sales to reduce dependence on outside aid.
Founding Story
Four years ago, Luwayo Biswick learned about permaculture. He saw the potential and began designing a garden at his home. He planted root crops to break up the hardpan from years of sweeping, instead of burning his leaves he mulched with them, he collected organic material for compost, he grew edible vines on existing trees and planted lots of new fruit trees. In his first year of experimentation, Biswick's neighbors called him crazy and said no one would marry him. Four years on, his community has begun to embrace permaculture. His neighbors are making compost for their own beds and each borehole has a grey water system. Working from within, Biswick made the benefits of permaculture real for his community. His story is our inspiration.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Where do you ensure the availability of nutrients?
Healthy environments., Nutrient-rich farming, Human wellness and vitality.
If you had greater capacity, which additional sectors would you like your solution to target - either through expansion, partnership, or thought exchange?
Healthy environments, Nutrient-rich farming, Human wellness and vitality.
How specifically would this added capacity help you improve the quality, efficiency, or sustainability of your existing product or service?
Added capacity would help us better support our household demonstration sites and extend permaculture into surrounding communities. Through more frequent community visits, additional trainings and more field staff, Kusamala will work more effectively and consistently with our household demonstrations, ensuring they are productive, well-managed examples of permaculture in practice. We will help those implementing permaculture spread their ideas and innovations to others, ensuring uptake and sustainability of these practices, and creating a practitioner network to share best practices.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏How is your product or service connected to vitality for the people and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
People need appropriate nutrients to grow, learn, and fight off disease. How do you measure, track, or make use of information about nutrient levels in your own work?
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Considering the flow of nutrients from ecosystems to soil to farms to food to communities, what are the barriers to achieving vitality for people and the planet?
Other barriers you have identified
In your view, what developments need to happen in order to help overcome those barriers and produce a more nutrient rich and vital public and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
What do you consider the most promising trends or evidence that indicates that the developments you described are emerging? Please elaborate.
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Through education, demonstration and farmer networks, Kusamala promotes permaculture as a means to increase food security and combat environmental degradation in Malawi. By building agricultural systems that mimic natural systems, permaculture increases diversity, resilience and sustainability.
Created on 05/5/2013 by kityojames
We built Shades with information on breast feeding. We have now embarked on an integrated engagement in environmental interventions like planting fruit trees as a source of Vitamin C and help fight malnutrition in children. We are also involved in micro environmental health initiatives.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
This initial award was a 2010 livable cities award for the shades project. This was awarded before this organization was formed. Shades were built in town with messages for breast feeding babies, targeting lactating women.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Name your entry
SHADES for Health - Environmental Health Initiative
Stage
Growth (the pilot has already launched and is starting to expand)
This Entry is about (Issues)
Elevator Pitch
We built Shades with information on breast feeding. We have now embarked on an integrated engagement in environmental interventions like planting fruit trees as a source of Vitamin C and help fight malnutrition in children. We are also involved in micro environmental health initiatives.
Problem
There are diverse environmental challenges in our communities, and rural communities may not easily appreciate the value of a good environment unless they are aware that it directly affects their health and eventual survival when poorly managed. With many children malnourished and lactating women feeding poorly, an unattended environmental status can only aggravate the issue.It calls for intervention with a linkage between health and environment
Solution
Shades for Health strives to relate the linkage between environments to people’s health, basically to stimulate communities for interventions that sustainably use local resources to have a health life and a better environment. Our interventions involve educating the effect of environment on health using educated volunteer youths, farmer communities and local leadership. When we link health to our environment, we expect that this is a driver for people to understand it better and respond. We have initiated for the planting fruit trees at garden boundaries to enable women and children to have better nutrients in their bodies. We have also proposed the Green Leaf for vitamins, for women to grow specific vegetables that nourish their bodies.
Example
1 Ourr first pilot intervention, we promoted health education for breastfeeding by encouraging mothers to feed their children on breast milk. We built shades at key points and displayed health education 2. We are using our networks to encourage farmer communities to plant fruit trees on their garden boundaries.. We expect that the mature trees will serve a dual purpose of fruits that are a source of vitamin C and improve the environment. 3. We have mobilised women to plant vegetable in small garden within the homestead to grow particular vegetables noted to be in vitamins, . 4. We have initiated the use of energy saving stoves, where youths are trained in making Mud Rocket energy cooking stoves that drastically save wood fuel by 70%.
Impact
Our first intervention of shades for health built as many as 15 shades and this was a Behaviour Change Intervention that required women respond to calls for breast feeding for better livelihoods of children. Our attempt at behaviour change was important as it made more women and men realise the benefits of breastfeeding babies. For the fruit tree fruit tree planting project we see more tree planted in rural communities, as a replacement of depleted trees and increase the consumption of fruits to increase vitamin C in their bodies.
We have enrolled women in planting simple to grow quick maturing vegetables. We anticipate that the use of energy saving stoves, for women will reduce the dependence of wood fuel by up to 70% and also ensure less pollution for women and children who are always in the kitchens. Our Enviro-Health practices, may be able to improve the health and environment
Marketplace
There are several interventions that focus on improving the environment, but linking health and environment in Uganda for a rural community, is something we are experimenting on for the first time. when we look at the environment from the lenses of health, this is understood, as many people mind a lot about their health. Our areas for intervention are limitless,we welcome areas that have worked elsewhere to work in this context – if our communities appreciate such an intervention. We re- model to suit the local needs and identify local resources can bring such interventions to fruition.
Sustainability Plan
A minimal budget to fund key needs and to purchase seedlings and pay a lean staff. Some actions involve farmers planting trees on their own gardens or families paying for energy stoves, except for very poor households. We created a network of like-minded community individuals in village institutions who understand our vision, to an extent that farmers share ideas and can influence policy for a better environment and a healthy community. .
Founding Story
This initiative started as shades for Health which built shades with health education messages ion depicting messages on breast feeding and at other instances responding to Papsmear Cancer tests. The original shades project was born when I was doing my master’s degree in Leeds, where I realised that most mothers had most amenities for their babies at bus stations. But the environmental angle was as a result of my interaction with my teacher Dr. Reinherd Huss whom I have credited often times for waking me up. After the shades were constructed, we transformed this intervention into an environmental health initiative, which seeks to use health awareness to address our environmental issues.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Where do you ensure the availability of nutrients?
Full nourishment foods.
If you had greater capacity, which additional sectors would you like your solution to target - either through expansion, partnership, or thought exchange?
Healthy environments, Nutrient-rich farming, Human wellness and vitality.
How specifically would this added capacity help you improve the quality, efficiency, or sustainability of your existing product or service?
We expect that in future we can have better nutrients through a better environment, that is why we ask for planting trees. With a focus on environment, nutrient rich farming and wellness for humans, we can achieve so much. We shall increase on out networks, since we are already dealing with farmers. We shall be using the same resources, of farmers, rural women and children to effect the planting of trees and also crops specific for certain nutrients.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏How is your product or service connected to vitality for the people and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
People need appropriate nutrients to grow, learn, and fight off disease. How do you measure, track, or make use of information about nutrient levels in your own work?
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Considering the flow of nutrients from ecosystems to soil to farms to food to communities, what are the barriers to achieving vitality for people and the planet?
Other barriers you have identified
In your view, what developments need to happen in order to help overcome those barriers and produce a more nutrient rich and vital public and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
What do you consider the most promising trends or evidence that indicates that the developments you described are emerging? Please elaborate.
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
IDEI is currently working in 15 states of India. Over the years, IDEI has reached out to over 1.25 Million small holder farm families, thereby impacting more than 6 Million people.
Mission is to alleviate poverty by creating extremely affordable, water efficient irrigation solutions for small-plot farmers in developing nations.
Created on 04/18/2013 by North Country Sustain
We are creating a shared use facility to enable those with skills in time honored practical skills in home maintenance and economics to develop businesses while educating and serving others with less skills who want that knowledge or products.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏组织名称
North Country Sustainability Center, Inc.
该组织在哪些国家/地区创造了社会影响力
United States, MA, Ashburnham, Worcester County
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Name your entry
Rural Strengths/Urban Skills
Stage
Growth (the pilot has already launched and is starting to expand)
This Entry is about (Issues)
Elevator Pitch
We are creating a shared use facility to enable those with skills in time honored practical skills in home maintenance and economics to develop businesses while educating and serving others with less skills who want that knowledge or products.
Problem
Young people in our region lack the skills and knowledge to make healthy choices at affordable rates. Our elder people have these skills, but lack facilities to take this knowledge and improve their economic well-being. NCSC will create a a shared use facility where new businesses can grow based upon healthy food, proven knowledge and a mutual sense of building community.
Solution
We have put an offer in on an old mill complex, with ample space for commercial food prep areas, woodworking shop, and other studios. Our plan is to build our local economy by building urban and rural connections to the practical skills and resources at NCSC so that we create a sustainable region. Senior citizens and others will teach classes, on site and in outreach. Others can start food-based businesses, and the hub can grow, building our future with the resources we have on hand. For the most part, low cost classes will be offered, with tuition being split between NCSC and the teacher. By connecting different generations, and developing links between farm, food and home, we see communities better able to face future challenges.
Example
We have already started a crafter's co-op which allows area farmers to develop value-added products that are non-edible. It has brought income to two farms and ten other vendors, and that is growing. People are recognizing the value of local agriculture and their on potential abilities to "save, make or stretch a dollar." Our customers are also learning the difference between naturally home prepared products and mass produced ones. This is shaping their changes in other areas, such as which foods to buy and what sources to support.
Impact
The site we are trying to purchase is only one mile from the New Hampshire border and an hour from the Vermont border. Our sustainability hub will enable farmers from the northern parts of New England to access Greater Boston's market. It also expands opportunities for artisans who lack facilities to develop their skills to support their families. Our program will provide these facilities from studios to farmers market, gardens to exhibition space, so people can learn more about ways they can make the most efficient use of the resources they use and develop those that they have to make their lives and their community stronger.
Marketplace
While there are other organizations that teach farming skills, or teach sewing, they do not have the facilities to take these skills to the level of production for sales. Our approach is unique in that we ask ourselves "Who else could use this?" and rather than subdivide by specific goals, we use our definition of sustainability "Whatever it takes to keep living here," and open the doors to that shared use. This includes serving 4H, animal assisted therapy and dog training, as these are part of life, but often suffer from lack of facilities. This systems approach makes us different from others
Sustainability Plan
Once we have the buildings, some aspects, such as the fiber, farmers market and animal-based programs can start bringing in funds and visitors. User fees, tuitions and event sales will support the ongoing needs of the NCSC. Paid staff will be minimal, as it is not our goal to teach everything, but to fill in any gaps that need to be filled, and make facilities available to others to build their own businesses.
Founding Story
The Ashburnham Agricultural Commission was meeting in September 2010 and was naming hurdles that we faced as farmers and consumers in our region. The need for a commercial kitchen and a 4H facility came up, which then began to grow into what is now the North Country Sustainability Center, "The NCSC Hearth." Though the needs were widespread, they all shared one thing in common, a way to make our region more sustainable, from food to the arts, homestead to the Boston marketplace. We then began looking for a facility that would work with our diverse needs. We found it in an 1860 vintage mill building in neighboring Winchendon, MA. There's ample room for growth, and great access and visibility. NCSC and the Mill were meant to work together.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Where do you ensure the availability of nutrients?
Healthy environments., Nutrient-rich farming, Full nourishment foods, Human wellness and vitality.
If you had greater capacity, which additional sectors would you like your solution to target - either through expansion, partnership, or thought exchange?
Healthy environments.
How specifically would this added capacity help you improve the quality, efficiency, or sustainability of your existing product or service?
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏How is your product or service connected to vitality for the people and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
People need appropriate nutrients to grow, learn, and fight off disease. How do you measure, track, or make use of information about nutrient levels in your own work?
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Considering the flow of nutrients from ecosystems to soil to farms to food to communities, what are the barriers to achieving vitality for people and the planet?
Other barriers you have identified
In your view, what developments need to happen in order to help overcome those barriers and produce a more nutrient rich and vital public and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
What do you consider the most promising trends or evidence that indicates that the developments you described are emerging? Please elaborate.
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Created on 04/8/2013 by watsi2010
Throughout the world people are dying of treatable illnesses because they cannot afford basic medical care. Watsi connects you with patients in serious need of low-cost medical care and enables you to fund high-impact treatments. We believe non-profits should be impactful, innovative, efficient, and transparent. Watsi is built upon these principles.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏组织所在的国家/地区
United States, CA, San Francisco, San Francisco County
Organization's Country of Operation
United States, CA, San Francisco, San Francisco County
Type of Organization
Non‐profit/NGO
Year of launch of the organization
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
We want to hear about your “Aha!” moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution’s potential to change the world.
Chase Adam was sitting on a bus in Costa Rica while serving in the Peace Corps. A woman entered the bus with a red folder; he immediately thought she was selling something. By the time she reached him on the back of the bus her bag was full of money. Chase then looked at the folder and realized she was asking for money to pay for her son's medical care. It was then the idea for Watsi was born.
我们会使用您在此处提供的信息来填写您个人资料中任何留空的部分，例如兴趣、组织/机构信息和网站。所有联系信息都不会公开。如果您不希望发生这种情况，请取消选中此项。.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Name Your Entry
Watsi | fund low-cost, high-impact treatments for people in need.
Explain what the "innovation" is about, e.g., is it the idea and/or the model you use to accomplish the idea, or your understanding of the target population, etc.?
The innovation in Watsi's case is applying a proven model of crowdfunding into an area of dire need of change, non-profit healthcare. Non-profits have long been held back by inefficient operations and an unwillingness to change. The crowdfunding model applied by Watsi isn't new; both Kiva and Kickstarter have made waves in the non-profit and for-profit spaces. However, Watsi is tapping into the characteristics of giving that are most effective - a personal, direct, and tangible connection to your charitable gift.
Along with an enjoyable giving experience, Watsi assures each donor that 100% of their gift goes directly to funding the medical treatment of the patient of their choice. In fact, Watsi even goes to great length to gain the trust of its donors by providing a public transparency document that includes all of its profile and transaction details. Watsi's innovative approach to providing life-changing medical care is poised to shift the way in which healthcare non-profits work entirely.
Describe how your innovation model is distinct from any other organization in your field?
Watsi is the first global crowdfunding platform for medical treatments. Whereas most non-profit healthcare organizations solicit donations for an anonymous group of beneficiaries by way of a general fund, Watsi directly connects patients and donors, making the giving experience more direct, personal and tangible than ever before.
However, funding treatments for people in need is only half of our mission. Enabling individual patients to tell their stories to the world is the most magical and innovative element of the Watsi approach. We hope that by continuing to give patients a voice, we will foster a sense of connection that transcends national, social, and financial boarders, and makes the world a more familiar, open, and equitable place for all.
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
Watsi employs three major organizational values that have led to its success thus far: technology, efficiency, and transparency. As Watsi continues to scale operations it will build back-end systems to allow Medical Partners to more effectively exchange information on patient profiles, and allow Watsi staff to automate traditional internal processes, such as, accounting, funds disbursements, and patient updates. By doing so, Watsi will utilize technology to become a more efficient organization.
Transparency will always be a core value. Watsi prides itself on providing as much public information on our operations as possible. Currently, Watsi shares links to screenshots of all patient profile transfers, organizational metrics and financials statements straight out of Quickbooks.
How do you make sure you constantly innovate in light of (potential) external challenges, or your growth plan?
A major external challenge is increased demand for profiles. As Watsi has seen growth, due diligence and manual data entry for profile information have become time consuming for staff. Watsi sees technology as the key to solving these hurdles in scalability.
Providing additional technology services to our Medical Partners, beyond fundraising for their patients, such as remote healthcare consulting for Doctors, remote care for patients, and cloud-based medical records, Watsi will enable the exchange of profile data and due diligence to become more streamlined, Also, these technology-based services will be implemented internally, allowing our staff to rely less on time consuming data entry, and more on how we can continue to innovate as an organization.
This Entry is about (Issues)
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏The systemic challenge you are trying to overcome (select one)
Bring accessible healthcare to communities in emerging markets
Health area (target market) where the need is [select only one]
Acute care (hospitalization, etc)
Categories along the health continuum you are covering [select all that apply]
Detection, Follow-up.
Please describe in more detail: what problem are you trying to solve in the organization's specific context?
Around the world people are dying of treatable illnesses because they cannot afford basic medical care. We believe that every person deserves access to medical care, regardless of their nationality, religion, or socioeconomic status. We envision a world where people no longer die from conditions that society has the knowledge, resources, and power to treat. Watsi is not a charity. Watsi is a non-profit startup bringing the world together to provide access to a fundamental human right.
Stage that best applies to your solution [select only one]
Start-up and growth (pilot is successful and starting to expand)
Core strategies of your business model [select all that apply]
Approaches to behavioral change at the individual level, Patient-centered design, Redesign of the public healthcare system for more efficiency (in terms of processes, structure etc.), New approaches to distribution of health products and services.
Most relevant tools you are using to implement the strategies outlined above [select only two]
Technology, Others.
Please describe your solution in more detail
Watsi connects you with patients in serious need of low-cost medical care and enables you to fund high-impact treatments. With Watsi you can donate as little as $5 to directly fund life-changing medical care for people in need.
We believe non-profits should be impactful, innovative, efficient, and transparent, and we built Watsi on these principles. Watsi is a community, not just an organization. We are young, dynamic, and serious about using technology to connect people and change lives.
We invite you to join us and change the world, one treatment, one person, and one life at a time.
What are your vision and overall objectives?
Watsi's vision is global access to basic healthcare. In doing so, Watsi hopes to enable medical care for a million people worldwide.
What is your value proposition?
In a world where one billion people cannot afford vital healthcare treatments, Watsi is the first peer-to-peer organization that focuses exclusively on healthcare financing in developing countries. Through utilizing a unique online donation platform, Watsi donors can connect with underserved patients from around the globe and directly fund life-changing medical treatments in a way that has never been done before.
Who is your customer(s)?
Watsi targets users that are socially-minded, interested in online innovation, and looking for a direct way to make a positive impact in the world. Watsi donors care about making the world a better place, but also want to understand how their actions are having a meaningful impact. Most importantly, they are tired of the traditional non-profit models and look for something innovative, impactful, and transparent.
What approaches to you use to reach your customers?
We leverage the internet and the power of social networking to make it easy for people to support patients from around the world that are in need of medical care. The most direct way for people to support a patient is to make a donation towards their treatment on Watsi.org. However, we also make it fun and easy for people to engage in other ways, such as by sharing patient profiles via social media, submitting stories to our blog, and by volunteering with Watsi. Currently, Watsi is active on Facebook and Twitter, and has seen traction from specific blog posts created to update our audience about important campaigns.
What are your primary activities?
The Watsi process has five simple steps:
1. Upload: Medical Partners upload profiles of underserved individuals in need of serious medical care.
2. Connect: Donors browse profiles on Watsi.org and connect with a person who they would like to support.
3. Fund: Donors give to fund a life-changing medical treatment for the patient of their choice.
4. Transfer: 100% of the contribution made by the donor is sent directly to the Medical Partner to provide the patient the specified treatment.
5. Update: After the treatment is provided, donors receive a personal update about the outcome of the treatment.
Aside from the medical partner-facing work, our team spends its time on institutional fundraising, marketing, and web development efforts.
Who are your peers and competitors? What problems could these players pose to your success or growth?
There exist a number of online platforms that successfully utilize a charitable peer-to-peer model. There are also online platforms, such as giveforward.com, that successfully facilitate fundraising for medical care. While online fundraising for medical care and the peer-to-peer model are both proven concepts, no organization has combined the two to enable donors to directly fund medical treatments for underserved populations in developing countries. However, there are also many very impactful non-profit organizations that provide a pleasurable donating experience such as Kiva, Vittana, charity: water, and donorschoose. Currently, these organizations have years of experience, developed resources, and recurring funding streams that an organization at our stage of development does not have.
What other challenges - individual, organizational, or environmental – are you currently facing or might hinder future success of your business, and how do you plan to overcome those?
Our primary challenge is managing growth. Since our launch in August of 2012, Watsi has seen 30% week over week growth. These are great numbers, but without an influx of capital to scale operations fast, momentum will slow. A challenge as a non-profit is being able to raise capital effectively with few resources. As the non-profit fundraising arena is competitive, we will need to acquire some of this scarce capital on an ongoing basis.
Another challenge is around creating the internal systems in place to foster sustainable growth. We are in the process of creating a Board of Directors, which will greatly increase the level of governance of our organization and ensure that we have top talent advising and making decisions on the direction of the organization.
Briefly describe your growth strategy going forward
Going forward, Watsi plans to raise a large philanthropic round of capital to: hire necessary staff to add site features, strengthen our Medical Partnership network, and promote Watsi's brand worldwide. Watsi also will focus on creating the internal systems to foster scalability in a sustainable way, developing strong Board governance, and building new web products that attract and maintain users.
What dimensions for growth are you currently targeting for your innovation [select all that apply]
New regions(s), New market(s)/country(ies).
What makes your business "ready" for growth?
Since our launch in late August of 2012, we have processed $200,000 in donations, funding medical care for 250 patients in 13 countries. In the process we have seen donations increase 30% every week. With this amount of success over our first six months of operations, Watsi needs operational funding to expand operations.
What are your key growth objectives?
To raise a million USD over the next two years that wil allow us to properly scale to provide medical care for a million people in need.
What is your timeframe for growth, in the short and mid-term? What are the growth milestones and key activities going forward?
In the next year we project a million USD donated on Watsi's site serving 2,000 patients abroad. To be able to accomplish our goal, we need to hire a few more employees to scale operations in the short-term. During this process we also hope to expand our Medical Partner network to provide care in more needed areas worldwide.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏What has been the impact of your solution to date?
As a non-profit organization that guarantees that 100% of donations go directly to financing life-changing healthcare treatments, Watsi’s social impact is clear. If people at the base of the pyramid gain access to healthcare, they will live healthier and happier lives and become stronger contributing members of society.
Outputs include: Families with more productive members, More people able to join the workforce, Increased disposible income, Healthy, working parents will earn money to send children to school.
Outcomes include: Higher awareness of healthcare financing gap in developing world, Less lives devastated due to treatable illnesses, Competitive incentives for local institutions to cater to healthcare needs of the poor.
Looking at social impact vs overhead, we have raised over $200,000 for 250 patients in about 7 months while spending about $71,000 on operations. Even in the nascent stages of our organization, the Social ROI is $2.80 gained in treatment funding for every $1.00 spent on operations; almost a 3:1 ratio.
What methods for quantification of social impact are you applying (if at all)?
Watsi will maintain a Metrics section in the transparency document in which key metrics will be automatically updated and aggregated, greatly aligning to our value of transparency. These metrics will help communicate our social impact to donors and will be used to drive internal decision-making. Such metrics will include, but not be limited to, the following:
• Total number of lives impacted to date
• Total donations made (# and $)
• Percentage of women treated
• Types of medical treatments
• Countries served
• Number of Medical Partners
• Number of donors
• Percentage of patients under the age of 18
Could your solution work in other geographies or regions? If so, where?
Watsi has been successful throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America. Current areas in which Watsi does not operate include North America and Europe. While many nations in this region do not currently fit our model, there are still opportunities to expand and test our solution in countries in impoverished areas in Eastern Europe and Mexico.
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
As one billion people cannot afford basic healthcare, the demand for high impact medical treatments in developing countries is enormous. In addition, the global health organizations with whom we partner do not have the capacity nor the funds to support this demand. If Watsi is able to secure the funding needed in order to build the platform to sustain high levels of traffic, we project an ability to reach over one hundred thousand patients over the next three years and a total of 1 million patients over the next 5 years.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Elaborate on your current financing strategy
Watsi separates its operational funds from its mission funds. Mission funds are collected on the site and earmarked specifically for their intended profile. 100% of the funds intended for each profile are collected on the site. The, once we receive an update of care, we transfer the entire balance of the profile to our Medical Partner. Operationally, Watsi currently relies on grants, private contributions, and cause marketing to pay our salaries, hosting fees, travel, and other core operational expenses. In the first few years of operations, Watsi plans to raise the majority of its operational funding through grants and private contributors. However, Watsi plans to become financially sustainable through operational tips (in addition to the donation amount processed on the site), cause marking partnerships, and product licensing of our platform.
Share of revenue generation in total income of organization (in percent)
Direct sales to patients or other beneficiaries (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these sales listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Licensing fees, e.g., for technology/franchise model (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these licensing opportunities listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Service contract with organizations, e.g., government, NGOs (in percent)
Of the possible sources of the service contracts listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Explain your revenue generation strategy in more detail
The majority of our revenue generation has come from grants and private contributions. We have raised $200,000 to date, and plan to raise a total of $1,000,000 to financially sustain us over the next couple of years. To reach our goal, we plan to apply for appropriate grants and competitions. Also, we plan to solicit funds from foundations that desire to make an impact where technology meets healthcare in the non- profit space.
Share of philanthropy in total income of organization (in percent)
Philanthrophy strategies you are using
Single strategy.
Explain your philanthropic approach in more detail
Watsi's philanthropic approach is to post profiles of low-cost, high-impact medical treatments for underserved populations abroad. Once a profile is fully funded and treatment has been given, Watsi will send 100% of the funds collected for the profile to the Medical Partner. Donors will receive an update on the treatment, thus creating a cycle in which donors enjoy their experience so much that they come back to donate again. We believe that Watsi's core values of impact, innovation, efficiency, and transparency set it apart from other non-profits.
Expand on your selections; explain how you will sustain funding over the next 1-3 years.
As previously noted, 100% of donations directly fund treatments on Watsi's site. Despite our model, Watsi seeks to become financially sustainability by year three of operations. We plan to do so through operational tips on the site, recurring donations, active cause marketing, and licensing of our products. Recurring donations will allow a relatively predictable stream of revenue on both our donations and tips.
During Watsi's first two years of operations, Watsi will rely heavily on grants and individual private contributions from high net worth individuals to sustain the organization's operations. However, by year two, Watsi expects to offer product licensing as a consistent stream of revenue to supplement tips, grants, and private contributions. While we are receiving close to 14% (of the donation value) in tips, we understand from industry research that as our organization grows in scope and scale, this number will decrease to around 6%. Due to an expectant decrease in the percentage value of tips, we plan to add many new cause marketing partnerships. Recently, we have had success finding partnerships with companies. Offscreen magazine, Swish, and Teespring have raised around $15,000 for Watsi.
Created on 04/4/2013 by sujatavaidya
SHARP Ayurvedic medicaments are manufactured by Health Solutions (Prop Sujata Vaidya) and marketed by Sharp Health Care (Partnership Co, Dr Vinod Marathe;Dr Sujata Vaidya).
Dr Vinod Marathe (MBBS,DMRD,MD (Radiology) FIIM (Ayurved),DSc,PhD,) Senior Professor, MD/PhD guide; PIMS Deemed University, Loni, A’nagar, Dr Sujata Vaidya, BSc, MBA,PhD (Biofield studies) practices Mind Body med & treatment.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Organization's Country of Operation
Year of launch of the organization
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
Our marketing sister concern, Sharp Health Care has won the National Innovations award : i3 2010 (conferred by DST; Agilent Technologies & CII)
The products (Capsule SUVED and Cap REIMMUGEN) researched have won "Patanjali" award for scientific research in US.
Sujata Vaidya has won the 'Gargee Puraskar" for Integrative Health Care conferred by India International Multiversity: and the "Masas Puraskar" conferred by social organisation Manas Pariwar, Pune.
We want to hear about your “Aha!” moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution’s potential to change the world.
Cost 30% of modern treatments; NON INVASIVE; Easily Implementable, goes well with allopathic meds, Scientific. Patients responded in few weeks with improved Functional Stability, clinical results show dissolved soft blockages (angio to angio), Cardiac functions (LVF; EF) in 3 months. Few Bed ridden patients respond functional stability in 100 days. Doctor’s themselves took SHARP medicaments.
我们会使用您在此处提供的信息来填写您个人资料中任何留空的部分，例如兴趣、组织/机构信息和网站。所有联系信息都不会公开。如果您不希望发生这种情况，请取消选中此项。.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Name Your Entry
"SHARP" Integrative treatment for Vasculat blockages
Explain what the "innovation" is about, e.g., is it the idea and/or the model you use to accomplish the idea, or your understanding of the target population, etc.?
SHARP (Sanjeevan Heart Attack Rehabilitation Program) is an INTEGRATIVE treatment inclusive of the verified components of Ayurveda, Lifestyle management & Patient education to gain best results in low cost, clinically verified, low technical infrastructure demanding with results in 3 months.
Medicaments are used for VASCULAR DISEASES including stroke, DVT; that are considered as Non Communicable Diseases, which are a leading cause of death worldwide. WHO estimated 33% of adult population globally suffers from Vascular Blockages related disease
SHARP includes Ayurvedic medicament (Brand name SUVED & REIMMUGEN) that addresses the root cause of Vascular Blockages: can be taken along with regular medication; effective for high risk patients including aged, menopause women and patients looking for alternate to invasive conventional treatment.
Cost is below 30% of conventional modern treatment. Technology is easy to implement; can be made available in Rural PHC: patients can be monitored by basic medically qualified professionals. SHARP is Home based treatment for 3 months after which medicament is discontinued. SHARP medicaments are well researched, FDA approved, IP compliant
The formulation is designed for health care industry.
The technology addresses the root cause and is designed as a preventive and treatment protocol in various stages of diseases. This can be safely used with Allopathic treatments. It is effective for regular Out Patient (OPD basis who are not admitted to hospitals) treatments and integrated in Intensive Care Unit protocols for better outputs.
Describe how your innovation model is distinct from any other organization in your field?
SHARP is Patient centric treatment. SHARP is (i) Medicament based, so easy to execute Can be taken along with regular medication; reduced/adjusted as per requirement. (ii). Results seen within 2 weeks; clinically evaluated 3 months.(iii) Few patients followed up have remained non-symptomatic for 5 years (iv). No detrimental side effects (v) is targeted at prevention of first & re-occurrence of attack of Vascular blockages leading to Heart Attack, Stroke, DVT. (vi) has been used positively for aged, re-symptomatic; high risk, prophylactic states AND acute, chronic condition, even in ICU state. (vii) Medicaments are designed to enhance potency, dosage & benefit patients at all levels of disease (viii) Other Ayurvedic therapies demand dedication to Ayurveda and few are clinically verified.
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
SHARP can be implemented in Modern medical facilities as well as in Primary Health Care centres. No separate investigation is necessary. Patient criteria for symptoms can be verified by basic qualified doctors and as SHARP is also useful in prevention, it can be safely taken by any adult. There are no adverse side effects reported.
How do you make sure you constantly innovate in light of (potential) external challenges, or your growth plan?
Improving packaging, network of distribution and marketing schemes to benefit the patient are a part of the growth plan.
New products and systems of treatment that are essentially NON INVASIVE, short term, with due diligence to being natural, scientific and cost effective are under evaluation to be added to the SHARP treatment protocol. “Foodaceuticals” are being given more importance in the treatment process.
This Entry is about (Issues)
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏The systemic challenge you are trying to overcome (select one)
Bring accessible healthcare to communities in emerging markets
Health area (target market) where the need is [select only one]
Chronic care
Categories along the health continuum you are covering [select all that apply]
Prevention, Intervention.
Please describe in more detail: what problem are you trying to solve in the organization's specific context?
Modern medicine has not effectively solved the problems of Vascular blockages, stroke paralysis & DVT. Recurrences of symptoms are known after treatment or invasive procedures. Modern treatments include High cost infrastructure, skilled manpower, life long medication with its side effects. Modern treatments are not available everywhere. Majority population cannot afford costs for same.
Survey of 294 Patients seeking alternative to conventional treatment for reasons:
Preventive-84: Re-Symptomatic-52: Post MI-61; Post Angio/Bypass-31; NOT WILLING for Surgical treatment-54; Cases of Thrombosis/Stroke/DVT-12
More than 50% patients seek, need additional/alternate treatment. SHARP is scientifically proved, safe, economical, easily available, acceptable, accessible and simple treatment.
Stage that best applies to your solution [select only one]
Scaling (growing impact on a regional or global scale)
Core strategies of your business model [select all that apply]
Patient-centered design, Redesign of the public healthcare system for more efficiency (in terms of processes, structure etc.), New approaches to distribution of health products and services, Unconventional partnerships (between traditional healthcare players and players outside healthcare), New financing strategies for health, 其他.
Most relevant tools you are using to implement the strategies outlined above [select only two]
Consultation, Others.
If other, specify here:
Implementing with Docotor's modern treatment options: MLM: More from Less for More
Please describe your solution in more detail
Sharp is developed by a patient for patients.
SHARP includes medicaments SUVED & REIMMUGEN and Global advice. SHARP is used as a standalone protocol especially in prevention of diseases arising out of vascular blockages.
Medicament is prescribed with dosage guidelines. Other medicines, if any, are reduced/discontinued as the symptoms change evaluated by the medical practitioner. Treatment spans 3 to 6 months and discontinued.
The products are successfully being used along with Modern medicine treatments for better recovery results (eg. Reduction in ICU Mortality, early recovery, reduced hospitalization days, early stabilization of patient, reduced rate of recurrence of symptoms during and after hospitalization etc) in many cases.
All patients need universal supportive treatment.
What are your vision and overall objectives?
Technology is ready & commercially available. We consider up scaling this target of reaching out to 0.025 % of suffering population in India, at 100,000 patients in next two years; Budgeted over Rs.100 million (Manufacturing, Marketing and Further development) . The funds generated from sale will be reinvested for capacity building & marketing in first two years.
What is your value proposition?
The technology is currently in use catering to approximately 300 patients per month; growth predicted at 300% over the first year. Network development and manufacturing cycle is geared to take 2 times the volume as of now.
Who is your customer(s)?
As per WHO,WHF , UN data 33 % population globally, is suffering from this slowly killing / functionally disabling diseases arising out of vascular blockages. These form the basic customer / user group looking for additional /alternate treatments.
What approaches to you use to reach your customers?
SHARP is used as a standalone protocol especially in prevention of diseases arising out of vascular blockages. The treatment is being actively adopted in Modern Hospital environment along with conventional treatments.
Direct marketing approach is being used for persons who choose to adopting alternate or preventive treatments.
The products are successfully being used along with Modern medicine treatments for better recovery results (eg. Reduction in ICU Mortality, early recovery, reduced hospitalization days, early stabilization of patient, reduced rate of recurrence of symptoms during and after hospitalization etc) in many cases.
All patients need universal supportive treatment. Numerous ‘awareness of treatment options’ lectures, workshops are conducted.
What are your primary activities?
The Technology includes Ayurvedic and Natural medicaments that are manufactured by Health Solutions ( Proprietor Sujata Vaidya) and marketed by Sharp Health Care (Partnership company, equal partners Dr Vinod Marathe and Dr Sujata Vaidya).
Sharp is developed by a patient for patients.
Network development is thru Doctors and Direct Marketing.
Who are your peers and competitors? What problems could these players pose to your success or growth?
Dr Vinod Marathe is an Alopathic MD doctor. Evolution of SHARP has been a personal venture to defeat a personal trauma. Self healing, other Patients, medical fraternity, Ayurvedachariya’s have been/are peers. Acute patients need High tech Hospitals with expensive ultra modern treatment options recommended by Specialist doctors dealing with vascular blockages. Integration of SHARP products with ongoing treatments gives better outputs. This technology needs to be taken to these doctors and their confidence built up.
Ayurvedic formulation with unproved claims on results and heavy misleading marketing are competitors.
What other challenges - individual, organizational, or environmental – are you currently facing or might hinder future success of your business, and how do you plan to overcome those?
Government policies changes with regards to Indigenous treatment systems and execution/implementation of Integrative NON INVASIVE treatment approach in orthodox conventional high tech modern treatment facilities becomes a challenge.
We are implementing SHARP in medium to small sized treatment facilities with reasonably good success where the common patient finds medical relief.
Availability of Raw material as it is Nature based is a challenge.
Briefly describe your growth strategy going forward
Increase in number of medical facilities using SHARP; awareness to the masses to SHARP as a viable, non-invasive, cost effective treatment option and building good network for direct marketing is the current endeavor.
Up-scaling the network of distribution is the main growth strategy.
What dimensions for growth are you currently targeting for your innovation [select all that apply]
New customer group(s), New regions(s), New market(s)/country(ies).
What makes your business "ready" for growth?
Technology is ready & commercially available. We consider up scaling this target of reaching out to 0.025 % of suffering population in India, at 100,000 patients in next two years; Budgeted over Rs.100 million (Manufacturing, Marketing and Further development) . The funds generated from sale will be reinvested for capacity building & marketing in first two years.
What are your key growth objectives?
Reaching out to at least 5% needy population in India alone, in next 2 years. International alliances and develop networks to make SHARP products available in other countries as well.
What is your timeframe for growth, in the short and mid-term? What are the growth milestones and key activities going forward?
In next one year develop distribution channels to cater to 500 patients per month and in next two years be geared to upscale 5 times. Strong Marketing network is required to reach out to the millions who need this treatment option. India population is 1.3 billion. Even if we consider to reach & treat 1 % of the estimated adult 33% who are potential victims of Vascular disease, we have a target to reach more than 4,00,000 patients in one year at any given time; with active treatment for 3 to 6 months valid for each person.
This would need a proved reliable raw material supply chain & large scale manufacturing/ distribution/ marketing activity.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Patients have a tried, tested, clinically proves treatment that is affordable, available, applicable, adoptable. It is being accepted by conventional hospitals and doctors in their treatment protocols. Patients are seeking this option and sales charts have shown 5 times increase in sales over the year.
As the treatment option is easy to follow, relatively low cost and can be taken at home, it has improved patient results.
Often, due to high cost, side effects and difficulty unavailability of facilities, continued symptoms of discomfort and increasing dosages many patients do not continue medication or treatment. This affects productivity; financial stability of the family and therefore the Nation.
Many bed ridden, totally dependent patients have become self dependent and resumed work in3 months of treatment. Most patients resume normal lives in a month. Few patients follow up not taking any medication after completing SHARP treatment are non symptomatic after 5 years.
What methods for quantification of social impact are you applying (if at all)?
Increase in number of hospitals adopting SHARP and increase in sales through Direct marketing channel quantifies acceptance. Patients from all class of social, financial and disease state are adopting SHARP treatment.
Could your solution work in other geographies or regions? If so, where?
SHARP can be implemented in any geographical condition and will work in all regions
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
Even if we consider to reach & treat 1 % of the estimated adult 33% who are potential victims of Vascular disease, we have a target to reach more than 4,00,000 patients in India alone in one year at any given time; with active treatment for 3 to 6 months valid for each person.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Elaborate on your current financing strategy
Sales are reinvested into medicament manufacturing and basic promotional activities.
Expenses incurred are in Raw material procurement, processing and manufacturing of medicaments. Government regulations have changes and costing has to be restructured without increasing price for end user.
Currently, the medicament sale is supporting reinvestment into medicaments. We are seeking investment and network partners to take this protocol to a ready market in the coming days.
Our offices are in Pune and we have growing markets from all corners of India and numerous patients taking the treatment medicaments as personal baggage overseas.
Our financial strategies would look forward to network development, overseas regulation clearances to improve deliverability and smooth functioning.
Few doctor’s have shown interest to invest. We are seeking alliance for well established pharma network to cater for the deliverability.
Share of revenue generation in total income of organization (in percent)
30% manufacturing: 45% distribution; 15% company management; 10% revenue.
Direct sales to patients or other beneficiaries (in percent)
40% by Direct Sales: 60% to Doctors / medical institutions
Of the possible sources of these sales listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Friends and family, 个人, Patients, Caregivers.
Licensing fees, e.g., for technology/franchise model (in percent)
As yet, we do not have a franchise model in place.
Of the possible sources of these licensing opportunities listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Private businesses, Others.
Service contract with organizations, e.g., government, NGOs (in percent)
Of the possible sources of the service contracts listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Private businesses, Others.
Explain your revenue generation strategy in more detail
Currently, we are reinvesting sales revenues into manufacturing and support activities. A part of the revenue is kept for market development; educational purposes and development of new products.
Share of philanthropy in total income of organization (in percent)
Philanthrophy strategies you are using
Diversified strategy.
Explain your philanthropic approach in more detail
Treatment options within the low income strata on whom the family is dependent and is almost on a daily wage earning mode. So far, about 3 to 5% of manufacturing volume is dedicated to this cause.
Treatment medicament are offered at manufacturing cost or less.
Expand on your selections; explain how you will sustain funding over the next 1-3 years.
Funding is regenerated from sales currently. Private self funding has made it possible to develop a small market and network.
We are targeting 12% return on investment by year end and self supporting sales to manufacturing in six months in the current circumstances.
But for the growing demands, we will need assistance for both manufacturing volume and network development.
Created on 04/3/2013 by shelly.batra@opasha.org
Operation ASHA is dedicated to bringing Tuberculosis treatment and health services to the heart of India’s urban slums and villages. We serve more than 6 million individuals in over 3,000 slums & villages in India & Cambodia. We are empowering local communities to make treatment accessible and available at a convenient time and place, so no one has to miss work and wages in order to get medicines.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Organization's Country of Operation
Type of Organization
Non‐profit/NGO
Year of launch of the organization
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
• Top 100 NGOs of the world in 2013 by The Global Journal:Operation ASHA has been ranked amongst the Top 100 NGOs in the world by The Global Journal in the 2013 edition of the magazine’s annual ranking.
• Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award 2012: Operation ASHA is the winner of the Health-Care IT category in this year’s Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Awards. It was also covered in The Wall Street Journal’s print editions on 16th Oct.
• 3rd India Digital Awards, IAMAI: Operation ASHA was awarded the Best Use of Mobile for Social and Economic Empowerment Awards in the 3rd India Digital Awards by The Internet and Mobile Association of India [IAMAI] in New Delhi on 17th January, 2013.
• Dr. Shelly Batra, President, Operation ASHA was quoted by TIME Magazine (issue dated 4th March,2013) in the article "Drugs Don't Work" by Krista Mahr.
• Voice of America covered Operation ASHA in their story “In India, Fighting TB with Fingerprints”, written by Aru Pande.
• Operation ASHA has been covered by Reuters in a video titled, “India turns to technology in TB battle.”
• Financial Times covered Operation ASHA in “Epidemic fears: India faces drug resistant strain”, written by Amy Kazmin.
• The Sentinel Project published Dr Shelly Batra’s article, “Stories of Children with Drug-Resistant TB: Mustkeen, 12 years old, India.”
We want to hear about your “Aha!” moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution’s potential to change the world.
We evaluated several public health issues in India before focusing on TB. TB affects more people in India than any other disease, but receives fewer resources for treatment & awareness than AIDS/HIV. TB is a curable disease. Another reason is the support & services we receive from the Government in high-burden countries. It has massive economic benefits to both the patients & the national economy.
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了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Name Your Entry
Operation ASHA – Providing the Last Mile Connectivity for Tuberculosis Treatment to the Base of the Pyramid
Explain what the "innovation" is about, e.g., is it the idea and/or the model you use to accomplish the idea, or your understanding of the target population, etc.?
Our Innovative model is based on following:
Ensure stringent quality control
•Follow internationally accepted standard Directly Observed Therapy-Short Course developed by WHO
•Close coordination with National TB Program
•Robust feedback loop involving government officers ensuring adherence
•Stringent quality control via internal & external audits
Increase “last mile” reach
•Dense network of treatment centres located in strategically selected,high-traffic community,or on mobile stations,with extended operating hours
•Leverage trusted community leaders as DOTS providers helps spread key messages to their communities
Combat stigma & passiveness
•Rapid response testing,family counseling & education of immediate circle of identified patients
•Highly-trained counselors ensures patient compliance & reduces default,helping “turn off the tap” to Drug Resistant TB
•Provision of over-the-counter drugs to treat the side effects of TB drugs & provide camouflage to patients who may be stigmatized due to TB
•Performance-based salaries for counselors
Drive efficiency & innovation
•Low-cost operating model enables us to spend only $80 per patient in urban slums for the entire course
•Process-based operation with detailed manuals facilitate rapid replication
•eCompliance ensure automated compliance tracking
Comprehensive counseling to patients,families & communities. Patients undergo multiple counseling sessions during the course. It is made clear that missing doses or leaving the treatment after few weeks may lead to drug resistance.Children are given prophylactic therapy.
Describe how your innovation model is distinct from any other organization in your field?
Our innovative model takes TB treatment to the doorsteps of the disadvantaged. We practice stringent cost control. The cost of treating a patient for the entire therapy, averaging seven months, is 19 times lower than the nearest competitor which is $80. The default rate in areas served by OpASHA is down to nearly 2.75%, 30 times less than that observed in slum areas across the world. The Government provides a grant so each center becomes self-sustaining within two years. We have also introduced biometric technology to track patients’ doses on a regular basis. It uses only “off the shelf” components, i.e a netbook computer, a fingerprint reader, and a cell phone to relay local records to a server in the office reiterating its cost effectiveness.
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
OpASHA’s decentralized model hires counselors from slum and village communities. OpASHA trains each counselor to identify the early symptoms of TB, and track and eliminate treatment default by closely monitoring all patients. Counselors provide counseling services to TB victims and their families and attempt to reduce the stigma of the disease by using educational campaigns. Children are given prophylactic therapy. The biometric system tracks each dose taken by every patient and helps reduce the default to ZERO thus turning the tap off on MDR/XDR-TB. Our counselors receive performance based remuneration. We rigorously monitor our everyday operations to ensure that we continue to improve in delivering better and more effective treatment through internal and external audits.
How do you make sure you constantly innovate in light of (potential) external challenges, or your growth plan?
OpASHA have Development, Communications, and Operations Teams working together to seek opportunities where we can reach out to and maximize leverage. External challenges are always sought after as these tend to be areas of desperate need and high-burden areas. They require advanced and strategic initiatives to function in their varying geographical landscapes. The adaptability and transferability of eCompliance assures its versatility therefore no project, to date, has been unachievable. Our Tech Team ensures that eCompliance is built to maximize its effectiveness for its beneficiaries.
Furthermore, OpASHA works on three main principles; Honesty, Transparency and Communication. These three components, among the whole team, ensures that everyone is working with a clarity of goals.
This Entry is about (Issues)
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏The systemic challenge you are trying to overcome (select one)
Bring accessible healthcare to communities in emerging markets
Health area (target market) where the need is [select only one]
Primary healthcare services
Categories along the health continuum you are covering [select all that apply]
Prevention, Detection, Intervention, Follow-up, Long-term care, Social integration.
Please describe in more detail: what problem are you trying to solve in the organization's specific context?
Operation ASHA’s mission is to eliminate TB among disadvantaged communities. TB is an infection caused by bacteria. Anyone can have the bacteria inside the body, but those with weak immune systems are most vulnerable. That is why the poor & the malnourished, pregnant women & AIDS patients are more prone. The challenge lies in the fact that treatment lasts for 6-8 months, and patients must visit a designated treatment center at least 60 times over 6 months. Therefore accessibility is a key issue. If the poor have to choose between feeding their families and taking treatment, they choose the former - with the result that treatment is often left incomplete, known as default. Default has severe consequences: it leads to MDR/ XDR-TB, which are near fatal and are the current emerging epidemics.
Stage that best applies to your solution [select only one]
Scaling (growing impact on a regional or global scale)
Core strategies of your business model [select all that apply]
Approaches to behavioral change at the individual level, Patient-centered design, Redesign of the public healthcare system for more efficiency (in terms of processes, structure etc.), New/redefined roles for healthcare service provision, New approaches to distribution of health products and services.
Most relevant tools you are using to implement the strategies outlined above [select only two]
Technology, Consultation, Education/training.
Please describe your solution in more detail
We work towards eradicating Tuberculosis by providing treatment, counselling, education, and supportive services to TB patients in the communities where we work. We follow DOTS (Directly Observed Therapy, Short Course), a treatment method approved by WHO and implemented by Governments across the world. We work in close collaboration with the National TB Program. We also implement awareness and preventive measures to prevent tuberculosis in these communities. Operation ASHA’s goal is to make TB treatment available to the most disadvantaged patients. We do this through focusing on patient convenience, community mobilization, and comprehensive counseling. Our management information systems include continuous monitoring and rigorous reporting.
What are your vision and overall objectives?
Our Vision: A world free of tuberculosis.
Our Goal: Operation ASHA’s goal is to make TB treatment available to the most disadvantaged patients. We do this through focusing on patient convenience, community mobilization, and comprehensive counseling. Our management information systems include continuous monitoring and rigorous reporting.
What is your value proposition?
Operation ASHA strives to continue providing free treatment and services at the doorsteps of the most disenfranchised communities worldwide. We seek new opportunities to ensure that we are reaching out to the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach areas. We place a lot of value in our mission and seek to achieve it at every opportunity. We empower communities through educating them about TB and training local people to become counselors. These being paramount to establish a ripple effect to adapt community’s behavior and attitudes towards TB. These benefits effect people on mass scales, even those who are not diagnosed with TB, as the preventative measures in place prohibits TB to manifest itself.
Who is your customer(s)?
Beneficiaries: Operation ASHA serves the population at the very bottom of the pyramid. A large section of the population earn 20 cents a day per capita, and are worse off than even the absolute poor as defined by the World Bank (income less than a dollar a day). Some of them are rag-pickers; they are people who collect refuse and trash from various neighbourhoods and bring it to their huts. Their huts are made mostly of used paper boxes stitched together with twine. The whole structure is so flimsy that it collapses in no time in strong wind or mild showers. OpASHA is dedicated to bring TB treatment and health services to the heart of India’s urban slums & villages. We serve more than 6 million individuals in over 3,000 slums & villages in India & Cambodia.
What approaches to you use to reach your customers?
Operation ASHA’s innovative model takes TB treatment to the doorsteps of the disadvantaged. It provides a dense network of treatment centers that are established within the community, e.g. in small shops, huts and in the premises of local health providers. They are open for long hours from early in the morning to late in the evening, allowing patients to procure the medicine conveniently without spending money on transport or losing wages. This accessibility is complemented by a robust TB-education and counseling methodology. Operation ASHA carries out intensive educational campaign and education camps. The counselors and program managers are recruited from the slum communities they serve; the highly trained counselors are responsible for tracking patients and eliminating default.
What are your primary activities?
Operation ASHA works towards eradicating tuberculosis among disadvantaged communities, by providing treatment, counseling, education, and supportive services to tuberculosis patients in the communities where we work. We also implement awareness and preventive measures to prevent tuberculosis in these communities. In addition, we seek to build capacity among governments, public health organizations and other NGOs to adopt and implement our best practices. Operation ASHA makes TB treatment available to the most disadvantaged patients through focusing on patient convenience, community mobilization, and comprehensive counseling. Our management information systems include continuous monitoring and rigorous reporting.
Who are your peers and competitors? What problems could these players pose to your success or growth?
We work closely with Government and other NGO’s at international and national levels. We work in collaboration to achieve maximum leverage worldwide. Our mission is to see TB eradicated from this world. To achieve this mission in the most effective and efficient way our partnerships are a fundamental aspect. It is always encouraging when a partner adopts our cost-effective model and incorporates our best practices in their own model. We do not consider others as competitors and therefore we do not foresee any threat posed to the success of OpASHA’s growth.
What other challenges - individual, organizational, or environmental – are you currently facing or might hinder future success of your business, and how do you plan to overcome those?
There are two major risks for this project which could hinder further scaling. First is if the technology fails or does not advance enough. Second would be if the relationship between the government ceases or changes in a negative manner. The technology has tried and tested replacing text with icons/pictures to have further impact for the illiterate. Our strong in-house technology team is capable and confident, as are we, to amend any weaknesses. Relations with the government and the scheme under which they provide support have never been problematic before. For the past six years we have relied on their collaboration and have not yet had any major problems and keeps us informed of policy changes.
Briefly describe your growth strategy going forward
We envisage the expansion of OpASHA and progress with innovations in Vietnam, Swaziland, and Uganda as well as further developments in India. 2012-2013 we successfully piloted our model in Uganda which brought phenomenal results, decreasing default and death rates from 16% to 0%. We also endeavor to maximize leverage by employing more counselors and ensuring that detection is most effective.
What dimensions for growth are you currently targeting for your innovation [select all that apply]
New customer group(s), New regions(s), New market(s)/country(ies).
What makes your business "ready" for growth?
OpASHA’s model works to maximize leverage. With a team growing in dedication and passion it foresees the growth of OpASHA’s infrastructure. It also demonstrates that the results are an inspiration to the people we work with and those we impact. With the quantitative and qualitative data eCompliance provides, we see the results that puts our visions into action.
What are your key growth objectives?
• Maximizing impacts to prevent MDR- TB through detection and treatment of TB patients.
• Building a rapport with communities through counseling, empowering and educating the truths behind TB as a curable disease. Encouraging the practice of preventative measures taught and compliancy to treatment.
• Providing opportunities of economic value for local residents in the communities we work in.
What is your timeframe for growth, in the short and mid-term? What are the growth milestones and key activities going forward?
By 2016 we foresee the number of centers increasing to 329 covering a combined population of 11 million people.
We will initiate projects in Swaziland and Vietnam. Our projects in Cambodia will continue to expand and presently underway, ensuring maximum leverage.
Growth milestones include:
• Adaptation of eCompliance for the totally illiterate, opening employment opportunities to the most disenfranchised.
• eCompliance being totally transferable even to the most geographically hard-to-reach areas.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Each case of TB treated is at least 12 prevented cases of TB and each TB case successfully treated is one less MDR-TB patient. With eCompliance default rate reduced to nearly 2.75%. In total over 30,000 patients have been cured, and 180,000 infections averted. To date there are 153 centers reiterating the successful progress Operatiom ASHA fulfills and is therefore encouraging and most exciting.
Through targeted-counseling patients feel there is more to OpASHA than just their treatment but a genuine interest for their well-being. Through community impact and engagement we empower the people, at the grass-roots to, to seek advice sooner, ask questions and to learn more valuable information about TB and MDR-TB.
Furthermore, through the integration of community in our model we have 190 Full-time jobs created for semi-literate people and 177 micro-entrepreneurs who earn additional income in disadvantage communities that serve as a locations for OpASHA DOTS centers.
What methods for quantification of social impact are you applying (if at all)?
eCompliance is our main source for providing quantitative information that efficiently demonstrates our impact. eCompliance acts as a comprehensive Electronic Medical Record System model that provides accurate recording on each individual patient. Due to its infrastructure it has multi-level accountable and transparent components ensuring that it works as an accurate platform and prevents tampering.
eCompliance can eliminate absences and defaults by being a transferable model which can be taken to the doorstep of any home. Yet, the recording of a patient will still be accounted for, therefore not compromising, or jeopardizing effective treatment.
Could your solution work in other geographies or regions? If so, where?
OpASHA has successfully expanded in Cambodia serving 6% of the population and 8% of TB patients. Here we work in five operational Districts in two provinces. Detection here had increased by 70%.
In June 2012 we replicated eCompliance in Uganda, a remote area in Ruhiira, eCompliance brought the death and default rate down from 16% to 0%!
In Vietnam we will replicate PPM and DOTS expansion whilst in Swaziland we will roll out eCompliance in the entire country.
eCompliance is reliable, adaptable and versatile and at just $434 per terminal it is the most cost effective model monitoring compliancy for TB treatment.
eCompliance can be upgraded for a number of other medical reason;
• Daily dose regimen,
• Adherence for MDR-TB,
• HIV treatment and
• Diabetes: Midday Meal Schemes.
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
TB patients detected, enrolled and treated. Less fatalities caused by MDR-TB cases and effective treatment for those with MDR-TB. These impacts are to resonate in all areas of our work, including in the expansion to Vietnam and Swaziland. By 2016 we foresee that these impacts will be producing as effective results as in India, Cambodia and Uganda. Our model will be adapted to any need that we come across and with a dedicated tech-team this will be fulfilled and achieved to maximize effective impact.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Elaborate on your current financing strategy
There are 3 elements of OpASHA’s financing strategy. First is working in close collaboration with the National TB Program (both in India & Cambodia).This ensures medicines and access to diagnostic facilities and physicians, all for free.This takes care of 57% of our total cost.Of the balance 43%, an additional 17% is paid by the Government starting 2 yrs after establishing work in any city.Thus, from day 1,Govt. takes care of 57% of all expenses & after 2 years, 74%.
Substantial support from the Govt. provides great leverage and is strongly liked by donors.They bring in the balance 43% for first 2 yrs & 26% thereafter.Institutional donors (foundations, companies, bilateral and multilateral) belong to India, US, Europe and Australia.Individual donors are distributed all over the world, as far as Korea.Most of this funding pays for one-time expenses, technology development & expansion to new areas.
The last, but perhaps the most important element of our financing strategy is aggressive cost reduction.Many innovations were tried, improved & adopted for this purpose.As an e.g., physicians, who work as counselors in most NGOs were replaced with semi-literate local youth.The latter are part of the community and easily accepted compared to highly educated physicians, who are considered “outsiders” among TB patients most of whom are poor.Our strategy improved results & reduced counselor cost by 20 times.No wonder,“OpASHA’s cost for treating each patient in India is approximately 19 times lower than the nearest other provider.”(Joan Yao,Investment Manager,LGT Venture Philanthropy)
Share of revenue generation in total income of organization (in percent)
Direct sales to patients or other beneficiaries (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these sales listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
个人, Patients, Caregivers.
Licensing fees, e.g., for technology/franchise model (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these licensing opportunities listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
非政府组织.
Service contract with organizations, e.g., government, NGOs (in percent)
Of the possible sources of the service contracts listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
非政府组织.
Explain your revenue generation strategy in more detail
Share of philanthropy in total income of organization (in percent)
Philanthrophy strategies you are using
Explain your philanthropic approach in more detail
Expand on your selections; explain how you will sustain funding over the next 1-3 years.
Our long term goal is to become totally independent of donor funds. This is in accordance with our belief that responsibility of donors is limited to kick-starting an innovation. But long term responsibility of providing public health for the poor rests with the Government. So the Government should fully fund path-breaking innovative business models that use technology to ensure accuracy of data, have measurable outcomes, offer low cost, high SROI (Social Return On Investment) and provide jobs with a low one-time investment. Having achieved all these criteria, we are regularly working with donors (like the World Bank), advocacy groups (like Partnership for TB Care & Control in India), activist groups (like ACTION and Results TB) and peers (like TB Alert) to convince the Government that investment in TB provides massive returns to the society and deserves higher priority than currently accorded. We are in regular discussion with the Federal & Provincial Ministries of Health, Planning Commission and many other bodies to convince the Government to defray full cost of TB treatment. The Government has already circulated a draft plan that envisages upto six times increase in grant.
Simultaneously, Operation ASHA continues to reduce costs even further. With the roll-out of eCompliance in 70 more centers, staff productivity is up and costs are down by 9%.
Cost reduction and increase in Government funding will help eliminate our dependence on donor funds except for rigorous testing/ experiments and dissemination of our model.
Created on 03/31/2013 by Travis Horsley
TOHL developed a patent-pending technology for installing pipelines cheaply, quickly sustainably, and in any location. This technology utilizes much longer segments of pipeline than what is traditionally used. Single segments of pipeline are manufactured in lengths of 500 meters to several kilometers, and these long segments are loaded directly onto large spools that are deployed via helicopter or truck.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Title
Mobile Infrastructure: Water Installations for Marginalized Communities in Chile
该组织在哪些国家/地区创造了社会影响力
Chile, RM, San Jose de Maipo
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了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Name Your Entry
TOHL: Mobile Infrastructure
请选择最符合您的解决方案的阶段：
发展（从试行步入正轨，并开始扩展）
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
TOHL developed a patent-pending technology for installing pipelines cheaply, quickly sustainably, and in any location. This technology utilizes much longer segments of pipeline than what is traditionally used. Single segments of pipeline are manufactured in lengths of 500 meters to several kilometers, and these long segments are loaded directly onto large spools that are deployed via helicopter or truck. The pipelines have fewer connections, which decreases labor hours during installation and allows the pipelines to be in operation faster than is possible if using conventional infrastructure technology. The installation methods also allows for TOHL to access previously unreachable areas.
www.thetohl.com
Documentary: http://youtu.be/_vkmSIEaqiQ
TOHL Services: http://youtu.be/3fpUKXYT9VU
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
-Have five installations complete in separate Chilean communities by the end of 2013
-Hire a Chilean country manager so that upper-management can focus on expansion to other Latin-American countries
-Measure impact on an estimated 1,100 individuals who will be receiving water at a constant flow for the first time in their lives
Need #1
Staffing Capabilities
Need #2
Opportunity Analysis
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
TOHL has demonstrated significant demand for their services globally, partnerships and alliances have been formed with key industry players, and legal corporate structures as well as patents are in place. Now TOHL needs to grow their team in order to be able to implement the infrastructure contracts that will be signed in the coming months and years. Some of the pieces of the team are in place, but some clear positions are missing. TOHL’s growth is severely hampered if we are unable to hire salaried team members now. TOHL’s management see no reason to wait reason to wait until having enough cash flow from operations. It is inefficient to wait for organic growth when there is a clear demand for TOHL’s services globally. In order to hire the experienced professional needed for implementing these projects and pursuing others through our strategic partnerships, TOHL is raising between $500,000 and $1,000,000 USD. This money will be used for working capital for operations, to hired a CFO, 2 operations team members, a Chilean country manager, and two more sales team associates. TOHL plans to build the best company possible in line with the financial and human resources it currently has.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
As TOHL continues to address the global demand for increased access to water and other fluids, it is important for TOHL to locate an human capital partner with the ability and the aptitude to assits our team in its growth. As our product seeks to scale in the Latin American sphere, and potentially outside of this region, we believe that American Express excels in areas of social impact and targeted growth. We are seeking partners to scale outside of Chile, and could uses American Express' help in writing a narrative that coincides the the mission behind a social enterprise.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
Our board of advisors includes five separate individuals who are experts in their fields: from heavy industry (construction, mining), academics (civil engineering professor), to innovation and inventiveness (CEO of an innovation center in Chile). All of these individuals provide in-depth technical support, and and wide breadth of industry know how. However, due to the nature of our new product, we are seeking to define a new paradigm in infrastructure development. Our previous consultants/advisors have succeeded in bringing us a few contracts, but we seek consultancy in defining our technology
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
# of people receiving constant flow of water via our pipeline installations (rural/industrial)
2.
# of lives who rank that their livelihood has improved 1 and 5 years post installation
3.
% fossil fuel and carbon output reduced due to the installation of our system vs. tradition means (conventional pipeline and wa
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
The technology behind TOHL’s success is proven and market-ready for a variety of industrial and humanitarian needs. The first successful pilot of the Mobile Infrastructure technology took place in July 2012 with direct assistance from a variety of Chilean-based partners, including the Chilean Red Cross, Tigre, EcoCopter, SIDE Chile, and CORFO. This working product demonstrated the ability to deploy 1.2 kilometers of pipeline over an 86 meter elevation change in mountainous territory. The actual pipeline installation occurred in 9 minutes, with the subsequent power source, pump, and filtration system being installed in another 8 hours. A flow rate of 14 liters/minute was achieved in this pilot, which is a significant amount considering the small size of the tubing.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
With TOHL’s plans for gradual global expansion outside of Chilean operations, a similar path will guide the management team’s actions. The passion to provide continuous water flow technologies to marginalized communities in emerging economies acts as a motive to seek out such customers. Stakeholders with a vested interest in these communities (municipalities, local businesses, NGOs and multinational organizations) will pay for such systems. The provision of such services to industrial clients outside of Chile will be sought in the near future as well. Prospective industries that have already been in contact with executives from TOHL include defense industry, construction, and oil and gas. Over 135 separate municipalities are currently on TOHL’s list of possible clients.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/23/2013 by katiekay
Many indigenous communities here in Canada and around the world are struggling with the right to a healthy environment including access to fresh clean water to drink, fertile soil to grow food and many lack access to employment and education. Furthermore, many indigenous children are in foster care or orphaned and require guidance and support. Water is the key to life and without water we cannot grow food, work or go to school.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Title
Learning and Development Consultant Aboriginal Education
组织名称
Vancouver Board of Education
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了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Name Your Entry
Social Justice Cooperative Program
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
Many indigenous communities here in Canada and around the world are struggling with the right to a healthy environment including access to fresh clean water to drink, fertile soil to grow food and many lack access to employment and education. Furthermore, many indigenous children are in foster care or orphaned and require guidance and support. Water is the key to life and without water we cannot grow food, work or go to school.
The program that I am proposing is to work with indigenous communities to provide them with employment in their communities and developing sustainable projects that enhance the quality of life among their people such as building water catchment systems, creating agriculture programs and building schools, orphanages and health care facilities.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
Establish partnerships with various communities, government agencies, and NGOs here in Canada and in Kenya as well as secure funding for the project.
Do a SWOT assessment to prioritize our next steps and which communities to start working in first.
Secure and obtain specific permits, land and permissions to start the project and solidify partnerships and communities to work in.
Need #1
Customer Relationships
Need #2
Opportunity Analysis
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
We need to first establish partnerships with various NGO's and government agencies that want to be involved in the project here in Canada as well as in Kenya. We then need to do a SWOT analysis to discover which communities we should target first and how local community members can be involved in the development of the project and working on the project to gain employment skills.
We also need to know all the specific building permits and land purchases required to make the project happen including how to go about obtaining those permits.
1.
Gender Equality and fairness regarding offering employment opportunities to local community members.
2.
Respect and understanding regarding cultural differences, cultural practices and beliefs.
3.
Trust between organizations, government agencies and communities regarding contract obligations, permits, land and funding.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
We need assistance with ensuring partnerships from various NGO's and government agencies to assess the products and services needed to make the project happen.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
I have worked with various NGO's and government agencies such as CIDA here in Canada as well a 3 NGOs in Kenya.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Establish water and agriculture programs that are sustainable for the communities we are working in.
2.
Offer work experience and employment to youth and community members in the areas we are working in.
3.
Assist with building schools and medical facilities to remote areas that don't have access to those facilities.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
I have worked with many Aboriginal youth here in Vancouver offering them work experience opportunities and leadership opportunities and they have become better people as a result. I have also worked with youth and various NGOs in Kenya and interviewed many community members and they are in dire need to have access to clean water and food. They also need employment opportunities. I worked in one school outside of Nairobi and the youth did not have opportunities to be involved in work experience out in the community which is a valuable experience. I also spent time with Aboriginal youth from Canada in Kenya and it was amazing for them to interact with Kenyan youth because they were able to identify with each others hardships and culture and made new friendships and connections.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
To offer indigenous communities around the world with the right to a healthy environment with access to clean water and fertile soil through developing water and agriculture programs as well as offering employment opportunities and assist with building schools and medical facilities in remote areas.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/21/2013 by kityojames
Our first project were the Shades that were constructed with information on breast feeding, prevention and testing for cancer.These shades provide critically needed venues for public health education on the benefits of breast feeding, malaria, cervical cancer screening for women and HIV/AIDS and addressing malnutrition . We have since widened our focus to Environmental Health Initiatives.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Organization's Country of Operation
Type of Organization
Non‐profit/NGO
Year of launch of the organization
Years in Operation
Operating 1-5 years
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
We want to hear about your “Aha!” moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution’s potential to change the world.
do not adress.Health education is what we started with. Prevention is better than cure. We create avenue for oublic health education and route populations into the health facilities.
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了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Name Your Entry
SHADES for Health - Environmental Health Initiative
Explain what the "innovation" is about, e.g., is it the idea and/or the model you use to accomplish the idea, or your understanding of the target population, etc.?
Health education through shades, now uses available public avenues to create awareness about critical health challenges at the time. We started by building shades, whci we used as health education avenues. Our health education is now in te rural areas where access to information utilities is lacking.
We are offered land by the community, we put up a health education facility, te community take care of the facility, we also penetrate the village communities with more health education, like about cervical cancer screening, HIV and direct the clients to the health facilities.
We have contructed 15 shades and targeted 12000 people in the past 12 months, we are now seeking to purchase public address systems to channel populations to the health facilities.Our belief is that, people need to be socially mobilised into seeking health behaviour. They need to be screened early for cervical and breast cancer, they eed to be tested for HIV... and consequently learn to stay healthy.
Describe how your innovation model is distinct from any other organization in your field?
Our model is supported by the communities. We establish a long lasting partnership with the community, because they give us land and materials. We build a facility that enables us to come back in the community and display health education information. we believe that, the health system, needs t be kept busy, by the prevention approach. We are strugling to establish a preventive approach to health other than the tradtionally curative approach. Our initiative now focusses on moving to the communities, to preach preventive health. Just go to the health facility, and have yourself examined, is our message
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
We have a team of committed volunteers who are always ready to work with, but we are also connected to Village Health Teams located in 39 sub counties where we have reached. The members from the village health teams, assist us in establishing the national health strategic direction. Our intervention, is in line with Global, regiona natoonall and local health direction. We work in very rural communities, which are deprived and do not easily have access to preventive health information.
How do you make sure you constantly innovate in light of (potential) external challenges, or your growth plan?
As 'Shades For Health', we are committed to innovation. We started out as shades for health, but we have since evolved into an environmental health initiative. We are planting fruit trees as sources of Vitamin C, but also reducing smoky stoves wood charcoal, as a prevention agaisnt breast cancer. Our apporach is multi directions, and we are contsntaly taking up, anything that works. We are usin the environment and a strategy to improve our health, but we are also concerned about the traditional health needs. People need information, information is power.
This Entry is about (Issues)
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏The systemic challenge you are trying to overcome (select one)
Bring accessible healthcare to communities in emerging markets
Health area (target market) where the need is [select only one]
Primary healthcare services
Categories along the health continuum you are covering [select all that apply]
Prevention.
Please describe in more detail: what problem are you trying to solve in the organization's specific context?
We are concerned that most of the populationsin the rural areas are not aware that they need to be examined early for signs of very many illnesses. The complacency that people have is that, as long as iam not bed riddedn iam not sick, is the greatest health harzard. Through our health deducation campaign, we need to take people to health facilities for examination: cacer, HIV, Diabetes, High Bllod pressure etc
Stage that best applies to your solution [select only one]
Start-up and growth (pilot is successful and starting to expand)
Core strategies of your business model [select all that apply]
Approaches to behavioral change at the individual level, Redesign of the public healthcare system for more efficiency (in terms of processes, structure etc.), Unconventional partnerships (between traditional healthcare players and players outside healthcare).
Most relevant tools you are using to implement the strategies outlined above [select only two]
New skills, Education/training, Community financing.
Please describe your solution in more detail
We have already built structures (shades) that display some basic health information.We now aim to visit communities and use Public adress systems, with experts to encourage them to visit health facilities, to have themselves examined. We also aim at displaying more relevant health information on billboards and simple leaflets available in local vernacular.
What are your vision and overall objectives?
A population that is aware of its health needs and regularly responds to examinations. We expect that when ailments are detected early, most preventable diseases can be identified and remedies provided.
We hope to create more health education on the key health challenges and this will facilitate the movement of people to the health facilities to be examined. We are confident that in future, we can reduce the burden of disease because people were encouraged to utilise the opportunity for preventive services
What is your value proposition?
Community involvement, volunteerism, health and social interaction. We value partnerships with local communities and the role the public sector plays in providing health
Who is your customer(s)?
Local villagers, schools children, women groups, university students and the general public
What approaches to you use to reach your customers?
Church gatherings, local meetings, community gatherings, billboards and public display utilities. We also publish leaflets for distribution to the public. Ours is mainly focussed on community engagements that yield results.
What are your primary activities?
Health education, community mobilisation, environmetal health, tree planting, social marketingof health products, behaviour change and commmunication
Who are your peers and competitors? What problems could these players pose to your success or growth?
Oour major competitors are the highly funded social marketing campaigns, on TV and radio. But we believe that our approach is more in the community, is interactive and reached far and wide. As long as our competitor may have huge funding but can not reach the people physicall, we bet that our unique model, trancends theirs.
What other challenges - individual, organizational, or environmental – are you currently facing or might hinder future success of your business, and how do you plan to overcome those?
major challenge to our project is accessibility. Poor roads that need state of the art, Four wheel vehicles whci we have not yet acquired. We do not have our personal vehicle, to reach the villages, so we hire We also hope to purchase temporay shelters that and movable, for creating garthering space. We are are also yet to have mobile generators and PA system for hard to reach areas, as part of our work.
Briefly describe your growth strategy going forward
We are looking at a future, when we can hire specialists physicians and travel with them to rural areas, and not just let people go to health facilities. We document the process of our activities, our output is recorded on news and website. But mainly, we are looking at involving other partners in this strategy.
What dimensions for growth are you currently targeting for your innovation [select all that apply]
New customer group(s), New regions(s).
What makes your business "ready" for growth?
We have the initial plans and we have already started, we have local partnerships and we are ready to move to areas in the community. We are positioned amidst a very committed community for social change and we are ready to exploit this need for further growth and development.
What are your key growth objectives?
Expand on the outreach, to areas where we have not previously reached, explore potential for hiring physicians and take them to areas that are inaacessible and also acquire our mobility that will enable us to do our work without major inconvinience
What is your timeframe for growth, in the short and mid-term? What are the growth milestones and key activities going forward?
1-2 years: establish the immediate needs, like pa systems
2-3 years: Further expansion, reach to areas/districts where we have not been before
34 years: establish a stronger base and capacity to hire physicians whom we can pay and go with in the villages
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Todate we have been ablse to report more than 12000 people who have responded to our interventins to visit healt facilities. We have contrcuted 15 shades that are located at busy spots where up to 250 people in a day, read those messages
What methods for quantification of social impact are you applying (if at all)?
We asses the number of people who read ou messages and for people reporting in health facilities,our review asks: How did you know about this opportunity. this anables us to account for our impact
Could your solution work in other geographies or regions? If so, where?
yes. mainly rural African settings. Our experience has noted that these are the challenges faced by other communities in Africa, and we are willing and ready to provide mentor ship for the replication of this model for preventive health.
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
We hope to scale up this project toother parts of Uganda
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Elaborate on your current financing strategy
Fundraising, membership contributions, donations, sell of farm produce and corporate offers
Share of revenue generation in total income of organization (in percent)
Direct sales to patients or other beneficiaries (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these sales listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Private businesses, Other beneficiaries.
Licensing fees, e.g., for technology/franchise model (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these licensing opportunities listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Others.
Service contract with organizations, e.g., government, NGOs (in percent)
Of the possible sources of the service contracts listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Private businesses.
Explain your revenue generation strategy in more detail
We carry out regular fundraising activities and also take part in competitions. But our regular income also comes from the local government
Share of philanthropy in total income of organization (in percent)
Philanthrophy strategies you are using
Diversified strategy.
Explain your philanthropic approach in more detail
We request for offers and assitance from all well wishes
Expand on your selections; explain how you will sustain funding over the next 1-3 years.
We have regular membership contributions and we have assurances from local governmet fund for 3 years
Created on 03/15/2013 by Local Lenders
Local lenders is a non-profit organization founded in 2009 with a vision to provide small and affordable loans for sustainable agricultural entrepreneurship in Knox County, Ohio. The organization is completely staffed by students from Kenyon College and Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Our loans range from $500 to $5000 and are set to be paid back in 12 months with 4% fixed interest rate.
Created on 03/14/2013 by Engineering Leadership Council - Engineers Without Borders
Infrastructure shapes our communities and our lives. In the 21st century it is economically and technically possible for engineering infrastructure projects to build thriving communities that enrich social wellbeing in balance with environment. However, ”the way it has always been done” often impedes innovation in the development on infrastructure, which hinders vibrant communities from being built.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏组织名称
Engineering Leadership Council
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了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Name Your Entry
Engineering Leadership Council
请选择最符合您的解决方案的阶段：
发展（从试行步入正轨，并开始扩展）
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
Infrastructure shapes our communities and our lives. In the 21st century it is economically and technically possible for engineering infrastructure projects to build thriving communities that enrich social wellbeing in balance with environment. However, ”the way it has always been done” often impedes innovation in the development on infrastructure, which hinders vibrant communities from being built.
The Engineering Leadership Council is creating a community of practice to advance the social and environmental outcomes of infrastructure projects through collaborating with multiple sectors, stakeholders, and levels of industry. We are engineers, working from inside industry organizations to move beyond 'the way it has always been done' to develop infrastructure for the 21st century.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
-Support and coach intrapreneurs throughout industry to enable their organizations to develop and engage with infrastructure projects that contribute to stronger, more resilient communities
-Build a strong partner base throughout multiple sectors of industry in Vancouver, BC, and Calgary, Alberta, growing the strength and size of the ELC network
-Improve financial sustainability through: expanded membership programs, scaled fund development, and increasing investment and sponsorship from partner corporations.
Need #1
Message & Brand Strategy
Need #2
Digital Marketing Strategy
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
We are really good at explaining to people with detailed industry knowledge what we are doing, and why it will change the future, and getting them excited and on board.
But to succeed sustainably, we need to build partnerships with with communities, with granting agencies, and others that don't have detailed industry knowledge.
To do this we need to communicate our programs in a fun and compelling way to a general audience.
1.
Impact: is this ultimately useful to the communities we want to see strengthened
2.
Systemic Change: Is this going to make the scale of change that is needed?
3.
Shared Values: Will the partnership persevere through challenges because we both care about the outcome?
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
This support will be used for the Engineering Leadership Council’s overall programming over 2013/2014. Interest has been expressed from engineers from a variety of sectors throughout industry in contributing to the ELC’s community of practice for infrastructure and the development of best practices for infrastructure development. The Engineering Leadership Council is well positioned to work with diverse stakeholders and utilize this interest to improve infrastructure projects and their delivery for community benefit and this support will greatly enable the success of our work.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
We have focused on the above area internally, but we lacked the capacity to create the quality of communication material needed and are seeking outside assistance.
We are very familiar with partnering with outside consultants in a professional context, however, we this would be our first opportunity to address this gap with an outside consultant.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Build partnerships with organizations outside of industry but key to impact including granting organizations and communities
2.
Communicate our program plans concisely and compellingly to potential industry partners. 1:1 conversations won't scale.
3.
Support our volunteer intrpreneurs to more easily implement programs by communicating our programs more clearly to them.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Infrastructure planning design, construction, and maintenance is a complex process involving many stakeholders. To change this we have taken an innovative approach that engages with multiple organizations and actors throughout society. In our first year we have seen some very promising results that speak to the growing movement behind the ELC’s vision for infrastructure:
1) ELC Training being sponsored and delivered through APEGBC and APEGA. These associations are responsible for the licensing and governance of engineering practice in the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta
2) Intrapreneurs at three engineering consulting companies are actively changing the type of projects their companies engage with through ELC approaches, leading to stronger outcomes for communities
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
This professional support will be used scale the Engineering Leadership Council’s proven innovations in engineering practice, while also seizing opportunities to harvest the next set of innovations that will unlock further potential in our work.
The immediate outcomes we will work towards are:
-Increasing our ability to deliver ELC training to a diversity of organizations, partners, and markets.
- Expanding our network to include more intrapreneuers, while improving support for existing intrapreneuers
- Delivering high quality results in all ELC core activities to improve ELC’s pitch to key industrial partners
All outcomes contribute to our overall impact: the creation of an active community of infrastructure practice that enables strengthened communities.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/13/2013 by Teaching and America's Future
NCTAF STEM Learning Studios organize teachers, professionals, and students into cross-disciplinary inquiry teams that work on significant community challenges. Studio investigations promote deeper student learning, continuous teacher development, and high impact industry engagement. As students learn STEM by doing STEM, they become curious, thoughtful learners who develop the 21st century knowledge and skills they need to prepare for college, careers, and life.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏组织名称
National Commission on Teaching and America's Future
组织所在的国家/地区
United States, DC, Washington DC
该组织在哪些国家/地区创造了社会影响力
United States, MD, Prince George's County
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了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Name Your Entry
NCTAF STEM Learning Studios
请选择最符合您的解决方案的阶段：
发展（从试行步入正轨，并开始扩展）
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
NCTAF STEM Learning Studios organize teachers, professionals, and students into cross-disciplinary inquiry teams that work on significant community challenges. Studio investigations promote deeper student learning, continuous teacher development, and high impact industry engagement. As students learn STEM by doing STEM, they become curious, thoughtful learners who develop the 21st century knowledge and skills they need to prepare for college, careers, and life. Teachers develop deeper knowledge and skill in the sciences and engineering by working with their colleagues and industry professionals to design and execute cross-disciplinary inquiry projects. STEM professionals, working as long-term, part-time Studio residents, discover how to translate their expertise into engaging learning.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
NCTAF’s goals are to:
1. Develop a well-documented and evaluated Learning Studio implementation and technical assistance strategy that enables us to mobilize and army of STEM professionals, including recent retirees, in education.
2. Add momentum to this mobilization by building and leading a national movement of similar initiatives that are remodeling education for the 21st Century
3. Partner with industry, school districts, and schools of education create Educator Development Studios for Next Generation STEM Educators, who acquire their professional knowledge and skill as Learning Studio team members.
Need #1
Message & Brand Strategy
Need #2
Digital Marketing Strategy
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
NCTAF Learning Studios received a 2011 Changemakers award for “creating well-structured, long-term, part-time opportunities for STEM experts to make significant contributions to more effective teaching and deeper student learning… that is a particularly effective way to engage young women and students of color who too often tune out traditional STEM education.” In partnership with NASA, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and the U.S. Naval Academy we created 24 Studios in 21 Maryland middle schools and high schools where 144 teachers and 30 STEM professionals work with teams that include 4,200 students; in New Hampshire five school districts have seven Studios where 42 teachers and 200 students work with advanced manufacturers and a regional medical center. NCTAF’s stretch goal is to build a national Learning Studio movement to mobilize 100,000 Baby Boomer professionals who join forces with 10,000 teachers and 300,000 students in citizen science projects that address significant community needs. To grow this movement we need to develop a clear brand and marketing strategy that attracts commitments from business partners, educators, government agencies, and community based organizations.
1.
Our partnerships build a clear game plan to orchestrate diverse resources around well-defined goal.
2.
Partners are mutually accountable for building their capacity to meet well-defined benchmarks.
3.
Each partner contributes and each has an opportunity to benefit and grow.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
NCTAF is a nationally recognized advocate for rebuilding American education with teamwork to improve teaching, learning, and school performance. Learning Studios are innovation incubators where educators, business partners, and community leaders are teaming up to reinvent STEM education for the 21st century. American Express support will enable us to: 1.) scale-up Learning Studios to ensure that thousands of youth have a genuine opportunity to prepare for success in a global innovation economy; and 2.) drive our national leadership agenda.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
NCTAF has been developing this initiative for six years with grants from Carnegie Corporation of New York, MetLife, NSF, Gates, NASA, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and the Deerbrook Charitable Trust. We have a strong track record for issuing school reform publications and recommendations that are widely covered by traditional media (newspapers and radio). We are novices when it comes to digital media. We have not previously used brand or marketing consultants.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Develop a clear and compelling "must have" brand identity for Learning Studios.
2.
Launch an effective media campaign to recruit new business, education and community partners.
3.
Launch studios in five more states and three large metro regions during the 2013-2014 school year.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
With NSF, MetLife, NASA, Gates , Pearson , and Carnegie grants, we have developed core principles we use to train and deploy teams of teachers and STEM professionals who have well-structured responsibilities for engaging students in deeper learning. We are also evaluating the impact of Studios on student learning, teacher development, and professional engagement in education. In partnership with NASA, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and the U.S. Naval Academy we created 24 Studios in 21 Maryland middle schools and high schools where 144 teachers and 30 STEM professionals work with teams that include 4,200 students; in New Hampshire five school districts have seven Studios where 42 teachers and 200 students work with advanced manufacturers and a regional medical center.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
Half of the 78 million Baby Boomers in our country want to give back to their community and most want to do that in education and youth service. The Learning Studios movement will give them well structured pathways for working with youth as citizen scientists to support learning with meaning that makes a difference in their communities. The DC region will have 1.5 million new retirees in less than five years; our goal is to deploy one percent (15,000) in Studios to demonstrate the potential of a national Learning Studio movement that could deploy at least 100,000 Boomers (the best educated, most experienced generation we have ever had) in Learning Studios by 2020 (one percent of Boomers is 780,000, which would exceed our goal by seven fold).
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/9/2013 by stephanie.davidson
I am planning on initiating a program to increase environmental awareness in elementary school students. This program will be led by my high school's environmental program so that both sides will have an increased appreciation for our environment.
Created on 03/6/2013 by eniware
Although Eniware is poised to provide low-cost, portable, power-free sterilization to military forward field hospitals and low-resource hospitals and clinics in the developing world, our partnership with American Express should focus on building out our domestic disaster preparedness and medical response capability.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Title
VP of Resource Development
组织所在的国家/地区
United States, DC, Washington, Washington
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了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Name Your Entry
Eniware: State of the Art Sterilization in Disaster Areas
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
Although Eniware is poised to provide low-cost, portable, power-free sterilization to military forward field hospitals and low-resource hospitals and clinics in the developing world, our partnership with American Express should focus on building out our domestic disaster preparedness and medical response capability. Whether after hurricane-driven flooding and power-outages in New York City or New Orleans, a devastating earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, or a tornado flattening Joplin, MO.'s Medical Center, healthcare facilities and personnel can be enabled to deliver safe and clean care even, and especially, in the direst emergency conditions.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
Work with public and private partner organizations to co-create appropriate units for post-disaster surge medical response.
Co-develop appropriate, systems-integrated user-training programs for professionals and volunteers.
Deploy and field-test verified sterilization units under disaster-like conditions.
Need #1
Customer Relationships
Need #2
Consumer/Audience Acquisition
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
By strengthening our messaging and building out our brand identity we hope to deepen our relationships with current and pending public and private U.S. disaster response partners including UPS, the National Guard, Team Rubicon, AmeriCares, Mercy Corps, Mobile Med One and Doctors Without Borders. By building consumer awareness and acquiring new audiences for our products and programs, we enable individuals and funders to activate public readiness, support disaster preparedness and enable emergency medical response through donations of units or directed-purchase funds to partner organizations. Appropriate user training programs will further support effective disaster response by medical professionals and trained citizen volunteers.
1.
Experienced in medical emergency and humanitarian/disaster response.
2.
Willingness to partner and co-create appropriate, user-friendly Eniware units.
3.
Willingness to field-test and train staff/volunteers in use of Eniware units for medical disaster response.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
As mentioned above, we would like our partnership with American Express focus on domestic disaster preparedness and emergency medical response.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
Eniware has been steadily building sector-appropriate partnerships and enthusiasm for our technology and product. Eniware has assembled a passionate, seasoned management/advisory team with diverse backgrounds in medicine, public health, international development, disaster response, cross-sector partnership, entrepreneurship and business. The importance of partnering with end users, for-profit businesses (including parent company, Noxilizer), educational institutions, NGOs, and government agencies, to design, evaluate, distribute and maintain our product, will be key to our success.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Of critical importance to us is to identify end user partners to co-create user-friendly units
2.
To attract partners to co-design and implement simple, effective training programs that integrate well with existing practice
3.
We also look for nontraditional, cross-sector partnerships to more fully build out our business model.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Our goal is a world-class product that solves a growing global health challenge. Extreme weather events driven by climate change and increasing reliance on an insecure power grid make Eniware's low-resource, disaster response work urgent. A growing network of local and international NGOs, government officials, multinational corporations, and social impact investors, are aware of the company, the technology, and the potential impact, and are eager to work with us to change the way billions of people around the world access healthcare, even under the direst of conditions. A list of Eniware Advisors can be found here: http://eniwaresterile.com/who-are-we-2/the-board/
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
Eniware strives to be a recognized leader and trusted partner in bringing innovative, self-sustaining, public-private healthcare solutions designed to meet the unique challenges faced by healthcare professionals in low-resource settings. We envision a world where every man, woman and child will have access to state of the art healthcare, including infection-free surgical, maternal health and other medical procedures, whether they need care in a blacked-out hospital in post-hurricane New York City or New Orleans, a remote hogan on the Navaho reservation, or at a temporary facility set up in a parking lot in tornado-stricken Joplin, MO. We believe our low-cost, energy-independent, portable technology that sterilizes surgical and medical instruments will help make this vision a reality.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Farming for conservation entails a new paradigm: shifting the focus away from protecting the environment from farmers, to investing in farming as a way to enhance the delivery of a wide range of public goods and services. It is highly innovative in terms of the measures adopted, the simplicity of approach and the output based payment system. It has been piloted in a highly complex protected landscape of the Burren and has proven envirnmental, agricultural and socio economic benefits.
Westerly United States
41° 22' 39.3564" N, 71° 49' 38.2332" W
The team convinced five towns / cities in RI and CT to place 10 WCO receptacles at their transfer stations. They distributed thousands of flyers / calendars and made over 50 presentations to students and adults. The project partnered with grease collectors, biodiesel refiners, and local charities to collect, refine and distribute biofuel to needy families. With 122 restaurants participating in the program, TGIF has collected 130,000 gallons of WCO and produced 100,000 gallons of biodiesel, which has helped heat 210 homes to date.
Created on 03/5/2013 by eniware
Cutting-edge Eniware sterilization technology enables clean and safe care in low-resource healthcare settings from disaster areas to conflict zones and from urban hospitals to rural clinics around the world. Eniware is poised to provide co-created, user-friendly, portable and power-free sterilization of medical equipment for existing and expanding primary healthcare anywhere, at any time.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏组织所在的国家/地区
United States, DC, Washington, Washington
Organization's Country of Operation
Year of launch of the organization
Years in Operation
Operating 1-5 years
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
CEO Dr. James Bernstein was recently named one of the “Ten Americans Doing Great Things for Pakistan” in Dawn, Pakistan’s most widely read English-language newspaper. Eniware’s sterilizer is recognized for its potential to be a game-changer for the provision of healthcare in countries like Pakistan, where care is unreliable and inaccessible for much of the population. See article: http://dawn.com/2013/01/17/10-americans-doing-great-things-for-pakistan/
We want to hear about your “Aha!” moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution’s potential to change the world.
While Eniware parent company, Noxilizer, Inc., is focused exclusively on sales and service to US/European medical manufacturers and hospitals, Dr. Bernstein instantly recognized the potential for Noxilizer’s breakthrough gas technology to positively impact under-resourced healthcare settings and improve the safety, affordability and accessibility of healthcare for billions of the world’s people.
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了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Name Your Entry
Eniware: Portable Power-Free Sterilization, Anytime, Anywhere
Explain what the "innovation" is about, e.g., is it the idea and/or the model you use to accomplish the idea, or your understanding of the target population, etc.?
Eniware’s portable sterilizer is a state-of-the-art, disruptive technology, with exponential potential to improve healthcare accessibility, acceptability and affordability for the billions of the world’s people living with intermittent, insecure or non-existent access to power. Eniware will employ “local hacking”, a user-centered, co-creation design process, to create our sterilization units, and will expand the social impacts of our ground-breaking medical device by creating “last mile” economic development opportunities for consumables production and/or resupply chains in emerging markets. By partnering with local, government and private and public international entities, Eniware will participate in model projects – for example, a rural internet mEducaton/mHealth effort in Kenya and an innovation lab in Tanzania – helping to evolve new, locally generated models for integrated healthcare innovation and delivery. Essentially, Eniware’s many innovations can be generally described as a holistic approach to design, production, distribution, training and utilization that integrates a state-of-the-art technology with a triple bottom line, social impact business plan, maximizing an affordable, effective technology’s impact on health and development in low- and no-resource healthcare settings.
Describe how your innovation model is distinct from any other organization in your field?
Existing methods of medical instrument/supply sterilization are inappropriate for hospitals and clinics in the developing world, disaster areas, and conflict zones due to their resource requirements, high costs, material incompatibility and/or training and maintenance needs. The Eniware solution is a model that recognizes and accounts for the realities of healthcare provision in all environments. Eniware has licensed a proven, effective NO2 gas sterilization technology that works at room temperature without electricity, fuel, or water, that is scalable, both in terms of unit size and production. The simplicity of the concept provides for minimal training requirements, widespread use, expanded access to safe and effective sterilization, and cost-efficient function at the point of care.
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
Eniware has assembled a passionate, seasoned management team with diverse backgrounds in medicine, public health, international development, disaster response, cross-sector partnership, entrepreneurship and business. Collaboration, both internally and externally, is a core value at Eniware. The importance of partnering with end users, for-profit businesses (including parent company, Noxilizer), educational institutions, NGOs, and government agencies, to design, evaluate, distribute, and maintain our product, is constantly reiterated. This model of collaborative capitalism will allow Eniware’s innovative technology to serve the largest number of people, whether they receive care at a government-run hospital, a rural clinic, or the temporary medical facility of a humanitarian organization.
How do you make sure you constantly innovate in light of (potential) external challenges, or your growth plan?
Feedback and outreach are key to the success of the Eniware business model. Our management team has built communication and self-examination into daily operations, and end-users, diverse experts on our Advisory Board, and experienced health professionals of our Global Ambassador Corps all comprise critical components of the product design/implementation and verification/field-testing process. This emphasis on collaborative innovation will continue as Eniware collaborates with non-traditional cross-sector partners to develop/implement training programs and track our economic and health impacts.
This Entry is about (Issues)
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏The systemic challenge you are trying to overcome (select one)
Bring accessible healthcare to communities in emerging markets
Health area (target market) where the need is [select only one]
Primary healthcare services
Categories along the health continuum you are covering [select all that apply]
Prevention, Detection, Intervention, Social integration.
Please describe in more detail: what problem are you trying to solve in the organization's specific context?
The WHO estimates that 11% of the world’s global burden of disease can be addressed by basic surgery. Maternal and infant morbidity/mortality can be reduced through the use of sterile materials during routine births and the availability of safe and clean obstetric surgery for more complex ones. Preventable surgical site infections and other HCAIs cost hospitals, clinics and Ministries of Health billions of dollars. In a world where 3 billion people lack access to power and clean water, there is a need for an affordable, portable, low-tech solution that will allow healthcare workers to perform surgery and deliver care safely in low-resource settings. Economic development focused on Eniware consumables production and resupply will further empower low-income people in the healthcare space.
Stage that best applies to your solution [select only one]
Piloting (a pilot that has just begun operating)
Core strategies of your business model [select all that apply]
Redesign of the public healthcare system for more efficiency (in terms of processes, structure etc.), New/redefined roles for healthcare service provision, New approaches to distribution of health products and services, Unconventional partnerships (between traditional healthcare players and players outside healthcare), 其他.
If other, specify here:
Co-created, end user-centered product design
Most relevant tools you are using to implement the strategies outlined above [select only two]
Technology, Others.
If other, specify here:
Non-traditional, cross-sector partnerships
Please describe your solution in more detail
Our business model replaces an out-dated standard of medical practice with an integrated co-created product, co-designed end-user training and education, economic development through “last-mile” value chains for production and resupply, and an elegant, cutting-edge new technology that is affordable, user-friendly, and adaptable to any setting where healthcare is provided. The current standard of sterilization for most healthcare settings is the steam autoclave, invented in 1879. Low-resource providers must often resort to boiling medical supplies or cold treatment with bleach, which disinfects, but is not an adequate substitution for full sterilization. Eniware’s low-cost, portable sterilizer will be designed for easy use and efficacy, and is functional without water or power sources.
What are your vision and overall objectives?
Eniware strives to be a recognized leader and trusted partner in bringing innovative,
self-sustaining, public-private healthcare solutions designed to meet the unique challenges faced by the developing world. We envision a world where every man, woman and child will have access to state of the art healthcare, including infection-free surgical, maternal health and other medical procedures, whether they need care in New York City, a rural village in Uganda or on the frontlines of a natural or manmade disaster. We believe our low-cost, energy-independent, portable technology that sterilizes surgical and medical instruments will help make this vision a reality.
What is your value proposition?
Eniware’s outcome-driven value lies in lives saved, diseases treated, and disability avoided through expanded access to healthcare. For local economies, improved health leads to greater potential for education and productivity. For health workers, increased capacity to work effectively within infrastructure constraints enables and incentivizes the provision of care in resource-poor settings. For health systems, the ability to affordably sterilize re-usable instruments and reduce the harms of medical waste increases safety and sustainability, decreasing reliance on disposables and reducing exposures to biohazards. Lastly, hospital and national healthcare budgets will realize reallocatable savings from reductions in expensive extended/repeat hospital stays for healthcare-related infections.
Who is your customer(s)?
Hospitals, clinics, and mobile healthcare workers in areas where power grids are non-existent or unreliable are all potential users of Eniware units sold to government health ministries and private health care systems. Humanitarian/disaster response organizations providing emergency medical care comprise another robust customer sector. Healthcare professionals, including members of our Global Ambassador Corps, who travel to low-resource settings on medical missions could sponsor the purchase and resupply of Eniware units. Additional customers include dentists, veterinarians, and proprietors of businesses that are potential vectors for disease transmission including beauty salons and barbershops, particularly those in countries where risk of infection with HPB, HPC and HIV remain high.
What approaches to you use to reach your customers?
Eniware will cultivate customers through our co-creation partnerships with end users, NGOs, global health organizations, and academic centers for Public Health. Eniware has a signed MOU with Population Services International, and has been invited to develop rural mHealth programs in Kenya with the Mawingu Project. Discussions have been initiated with potential partners ICRC, UPS/UPS Foundation, CAMTech, MSF/Nigeria, Mercy Corps,and AmeriCares. Sterilizer units and consumables will be also distributed to hospitals and clinics through National Ministries of Health, Education and Gender. Finally Eniware units and consumables will be manufactured locally in the countries where they are sold, and will be easily accessible and affordable to health providers at every level of care provision.
What are your primary activities?
Eniware’s activities are ultimately integrated into our core goal of collaborating with diverse partners to achieve global health equity by expanding access to primary healthcare, including basic surgery. The sterilizer is an essential piece of this expansion, but Eniware will have maximum impact when implemented alongside other innovative systems and solutions that address the unique challenges of low-resource healthcare in the developing world. To this end, our activities include the facilitation of design and evaluation processes that incorporate input from users in the developing world, development of a training program that introduces sterilization as one component of good hygienic practice, and cultivation of partnerships that support local production and re-supply chains.
Who are your peers and competitors? What problems could these players pose to your success or growth?
In resource-limited environments, NO2 sterilization uniquely provides the ability to sterilize supplies independent of clean water and electrical power/other fuel sources. Academic institutions and companies are experimenting with designs for solar-powered autoclaves, but these are still in trial phase. Whether or not these experiments result in effective, low-cost, electricity-independent sterilization systems, they still require daylight and access to clean water to function, and most, while moveable, are not truly portable. Eniware’s effective and adaptable system requires minimal training, and can be used in any setting at any moment, providing singular advantages over potential competitors when it comes to economy of acquisition/use/maintenance, user acceptance, and business growth.
What other challenges - individual, organizational, or environmental – are you currently facing or might hinder future success of your business, and how do you plan to overcome those?
Fundraising in the impact-investing sphere has been, and continues to be challenging, but addressing this issue has positively pushed the company to expand our vision and to more clearly define potential impacts and goals. Also, because health care in the developing world is provided across a diverse array of systems and structures, there is no cookie-cutter go-to-market strategy that will effectively reach all potential customers. A network of on-the-ground local and international organizations will be key to getting the Eniware sterilizers to those who will most need and use them. The Eniware Global Ambassador Corps, health professional sponsor/advisors with extensive experience in low-resource countries, will also help the company understand and access remote health systems.
Briefly describe your growth strategy going forward
Marketing and distributing Eniware requires a phased strategy. Initial penetration of markets will be through NGO partnerships. Partners will acquire products for their own use and local distribution, and train humanitarian responders and local healthcare staff in product use/maintenance. Support and acceptance by Ministries of Health will expand Eniware’s reach to public clinics/hospitals.
What dimensions for growth are you currently targeting for your innovation [select all that apply]
New customer group(s), New regions(s), New market(s)/country(ies).
What makes your business "ready" for growth?
The need is urgent. With Eniware’s core technology and essential system design proven and patented, regulatory hurdles overcome and CE/FDA/EPA certifications on track, and with partnerships in place for initial market penetration, our next step is working with identified beta sites collecting baseline data and end-user input to “hack” an acceptable and appropriate vehicle for the technology.
What are your key growth objectives?
Our immediate growth objective is the initiation of the user-centered design process in partnership with academic research centers and healthcare providers in the developing world. Subsequent objectives include verification of the co-created product design by Noxilizer and field testing and evaluation at selected beta sites.
What is your timeframe for growth, in the short and mid-term? What are the growth milestones and key activities going forward?
Eniware’s goal is to have a CE-marked, ISO-verified, affordable and user-friendly product within 18 months. Short-term growth milestones include a finalized agreement with a university-centered or private design team, and executed MOUs with end-users and beta testing sites collaborating in the co-creation process. Financial milestones include completed capitalization raise, and MOU agreements with select NGO partners and Ministries of Health for pre-orders of units and consumables. Supply chain establishment and distribution development will evolve concurrently, supported by micro-business economic development of consumables production and resupply. By Year Two we expect to see income growth from pre-orders and sales, and to realize a net profit of $3-4 M by Year Three.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Our goal is a world-class product that solves a global health challenge. A growing network of local and international NGOs, government officials, multinational corporations, and social impact investors, are aware of the company, the technology, and the potential impact, and are eager to work with us to change the way billions of people around the world access healthcare. In service of our broader goal of global health equity, we have been asked by a team of innovators, the Mawingu Project, to help design a model low-resource, rural health care delivery system in Kenya, enabled by solar internet access across available TV broadcast “white space”. Accepting this invitation has exponentially grown the scope of our corporate vision beyond the dissemination of a disruptive technology and an innovative device to company that will act as co-catalyst for the formation of a sustainable health care system applying cross-sector innovations to the unique challenges of low-resource healthcare.
What methods for quantification of social impact are you applying (if at all)?
Eniware will analyze the nature and extent of our social, economic and health impacts through rigorous qualitative and quantitative evaluation on an ongoing basis. Evaluation strategies will be co-designed with end-users, taking into account the perspectives, concerns, and priorities of all stakeholders on a country-by-country and organization-by-organization basis. Assessment engagement with stakeholders begins with initial stages of the co-design process. Data related to Eniware use and changes in infection rates will provide measurable evidence of health ROI, but Eniware will also seek a broader understanding of social impact to quantify Eniware’s economic development impacts, as well as systemic interventions that further improve health in low-resource settings.
Could your solution work in other geographies or regions? If so, where?
Eniware’s solution will work in any geographic region, from a rural area with only the most basic resources, to the most technologically advanced operating room in a bustling urban environment. As evidenced by recent natural disasters such as Hurricane Sandy, there is no hospital infrastructure that is immune to an unexpected loss of the resources on which our modern health systems are so reliant. And there is no health system that could not benefit from a technology that delivers an elegant state-of-the-art technology, at a significant reduction in cost, yet that can enable clean and safe care, everywhere, by providing essential medical sterilization anytime, anywhere.
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
Once the design process is complete, marketing and distribution will be achieved through a phased strategy, beginning with aforementioned key partnerships. Project partners acquire the product for their own use and for local distribution, and help to train humanitarian responders and local healthcare providers in project use/maintenance. The first goals for measurable impact include the reduction of maternal and neonatal infections resulting from childbirth in regions with high maternal and infant mortality rates, and a reduction in morbidity and surgical-site infections in clinics and hospitals that perform basic surgery.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Elaborate on your current financing strategy
Eniware has learned to be flexible and creative in its strategy for raising start-up capital. Private foundations, angel investors, social impact investment funds, and government grants through partnerships with academic and non-profit organizations, are all being pursued as sources of financing. Once sufficient funds are raised to design, manufacture and distribute the product, the company will become self-sustaining through profits generated by sales of the device and consumables.
Share of revenue generation in total income of organization (in percent)
Direct sales to patients or other beneficiaries (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these sales listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Caregivers, Private businesses, Other beneficiaries.
Licensing fees, e.g., for technology/franchise model (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these licensing opportunities listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Private businesses.
Service contract with organizations, e.g., government, NGOs (in percent)
Of the possible sources of the service contracts listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
非政府组织, Regional government, 国家政府.
Explain your revenue generation strategy in more detail
Revenue is generated by sales of the sterilizer units as well as cycle consumables in a razor/razor blade model. The three primary market channels for Eniware units are NGOs working in humanitarian and disaster medical response, frontline military medical units and government health ministries in developing and emerging economies. Where needed and appropriate, Eniware availability and training will support and expand primary health care delivery. Local manufacturing and resupply chains will add value and support local economic development, particularly for women, in the healthcare space.
Share of philanthropy in total income of organization (in percent)
Philanthrophy strategies you are using
Diversified strategy.
Explain your philanthropic approach in more detail
Where and when appropriate, Eniware will utilize grant support and foundation MRI/PRI to achieve our health and economic impact goals. Although we prefer the term “collaborative capitalism”, one could describe the philanthropic core of Eniware’s business model as the affordable adaptation to low-resource use of a ground-breaking healthcare technology, originally developed to service high-end medical manufacturers and tertiary care hospitals in the U.S. and Europe. We likewise consider our emphasis on a local economic development component for consumables production and resupply to be a collaborative, not charitable effort. We would especially like to see women increasingly economically empowered as providers and businesspeople in the healthcare space.
Expand on your selections; explain how you will sustain funding over the next 1-3 years.
To ensure sustainability, Eniware is organized as a for-profit LLC. Once initial capitalization goals are met, the business will become sustainably sales-driven. Initial contract sales of Eniware units will be made to larger institutional NGO partners such as ICRC, IRC, Partners In Health, Mercy Corps and MSF/Doctors Without Borders, in the medical humanitarian/disaster space. Sales to these entities can be either direct purchase from a general acquisition fund or supported by directed individual and institutional donor funds. Additional sales will be driven by smaller lay and faith-based medical NGO partners, as well as the medical mission doctors of our Global Ambassador Corps. In-country co-creation opportunities and beta-testing sites for the units will be leveraged to build out awareness, acceptability and adoption by Government Ministries of Health, Gender and Education. With critical Ministry approvals and support , Eniware will provide units through government purchase and country-wide distribution to healthcare facilities and trained healthcare providers. Partnerships with local medical schools will provide additional opportunities to train and supply graduating health care professionals with Eniware units. Financial and economic development support will be driven by locally financed micro-business opportunities for NO2 gas production and consumables resupply.
Created on 03/5/2013 by sgring
With the growing demand/requirement for green in design and construction, the building industry is experiencing challenges finding a qualified workforce. This bottleneck is due to a lack of entry-level green project experience available for professionals and students.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏组织所在的国家/地区
United States, CO, Lakewood, Denver County
该组织在哪些国家/地区创造了社会影响力
United States, CO, Denver, Denver County
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了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏请选择最符合您的解决方案的阶段：
发展（从试行步入正轨，并开始扩展）
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
With the growing demand/requirement for green in design and construction, the building industry is experiencing challenges finding a qualified workforce. This bottleneck is due to a lack of entry-level green project experience available for professionals and students.
Thus, BOULD partners with community projects (ie a Habitat for Humanity home) and transforms it into a hands-on green building education experience for developing professionals and students. We connect a cohort of emerging architects, engineers, and builders seeking entry-level access to a local green project to capture that difficult to find green building experience -- while also building green, affordable homes for low-income families!
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
Our company’s top three priorities are to:
1) Establish partnerships with schools, workforce centers, and building industry firms to develop a consistent pipeline of participants to receive our crucial green building training.
2) Expand our programming to 10 new major municipalities, serving 800 new students and supporting 100 new affordable homes.
3) Continue building new programming and piloting new delivery methods (online, condensed) .
Need #1
Consumer/Audience Acquisition
Need #2
Peer Benchmarking Analysis
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
BOULD is currently transitioning from a direct sales model -- to a partnership model with schools, universities, and businesses. Historically, the programming has be sold directly to consumers, interested in filling their professional "experience gap." This model was tough, given the amount of effort it took to attract, then sell each individual consumer. Thus moving forward, BOULD is developing a partnership model to work directly with major universities and community colleges to embed this crucial programming into undergraduate education. This route will streamline our operations and revenue cycle -- in that, we will be working with only one payment agent (the school) and we can anticipate a consistent crop of committed participants. We're currently exploring the structure of those relationships with 5 schools across 2 states -- and constantly learning about how to effectively navigate school/university relationships.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
The support will be targeted on how BOULD navigates partnerships with schools/workforce centers/veterans/local governments to source program participants.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
BOULD has worked with other social entrepreneurial accelerators to help refine our business model. However, we have never specifically tried to tackle this problem with a group of consultants. We have tried to approach these different groups with our internal team, but have had very little success to formalize a partnership.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Establish Clear Strategy/Plan and Begin Executing on Building Formal Partner Relationships
2.
Benchmark our Product Against Online Competitors to Focus our Branding
3.
Receive Feedback to Continue Refining our Model
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
225 Professionals graduated. We're focused equipping the next generation building professional with the skills and experience required to tackle the environmental challenges of today. Down the line, we're aiming build up a job placement pipeline -- and measure jobs created -- but presently, we're laser focused on building a better-trained and qualified work force. By 2015, we plan to have trained 800 professionals.
27 Affordable green Homes built. Each of the projects we transform into our "learning laboratories," ultimately becomes an affordable home for a low-income family. And, because we take additional green steps and have support from program participants -- these homes are incredibly affordable and environmentally friendly. By 2015, we plan to have supported 150 homes.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
BOULD impact could double with the help and support of this program. Once we are able to establish and build out long lasting partnerships with institutions, we believe we can train 1,600 students and build over 300 LEED homes for low-income families by the end of 2014.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/2/2013 by athena.theny
Most garments and accessories are made of leather that is tanned using toxic chemicals (mostly in India and China), which is destroying the watersheds of the areas and causing severe negative health outcomes for those who live within the vicinity. ATHENA Atelier provides an alternative to consumers who want to own quality leather goods and who wish to be environmentally and socially responsible. We use ancient, natural, non-toxic tanning methods so our customers don't have to sacrifice the environment to be a style-setter.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Title
Owner and Creative Director
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了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Name Your Entry
We Are All Connected: Quality Leather Goods Made from Ethical Leather
请选择最符合您的解决方案的阶段：
开始（刚开始运作的试行阶段）
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
Most garments and accessories are made of leather that is tanned using toxic chemicals (mostly in India and China), which is destroying the watersheds of the areas and causing severe negative health outcomes for those who live within the vicinity. ATHENA Atelier provides an alternative to consumers who want to own quality leather goods and who wish to be environmentally and socially responsible. We use ancient, natural, non-toxic tanning methods so our customers don't have to sacrifice the environment to be a style-setter. We stimulate local place-based economies in diverse indigenous nations through our sourcing and local manufacturing. At our core, we acknowledge that we are all connected: earth, animals, and people, and we provide a platform for respectful and beneficial relations.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
1) Solidify our customer base. We intend to reach an international market, through wholesaling to select boutiques in metropolitan cities, and through direct online sales via our website.
2) Increase production. We wish to have consistent manufacturing that will keep up with global demand.
3) Develop a growth plan. Currently we are in the start-up phase, and a demand for our product has been demonstrated. We will begin with limited wholesaling, but intend to expand in the next 5 years to having more international boutiques.
Need #1
Consumer/Audience Acquisition
Need #2
Digital Marketing Strategy
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
We are a new consumer goods company (leather accessories, jewellery), and we have developed a moderate clientele in our hometown (Vancouver, BC); however, if we are to expand as planned, we will need to develop our international client base. Cities such as New York, Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, Berlin and Paris have been identified as promising markets for our upscale artistically-inspired product. High-end materials, careful craftsmanship, and artful design place us in the luxury category. Furthermore, our product offers a significant advantage: we only use ethically-sourced, naturally tanned leather. While both the luxury and green markets are strong, we need to identify customers who belong to both categories. We need to clarify our message to communicate our brand's merits, and choose the appropriate medium to distribute this information. As we establish a growing customer base, we will need to adapt and increase our manufacturing processes.
1.
Problem-solving orientation and a positive attitude
2.
High skill level and consistency
3.
Respect, honesty, and dedication.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
Support will be focused on our organization as a whole, primarily in structuring for growth and in identifying customer acquisition and appropriate online marketing strategies. With additional markets, we will need to have a solid plan for scaling-up our sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution processes. Naturally, staffing demands will increase, as well as legal implications. We would benefit from the input of a trained professional who has the big picture foresight to anticipate problems we might face, and contribute to our pool of solutions that will benefit us.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
I have never worked with paid consultants, but I do have various business mentors. I meet with one of my mentors weekly, and since he owns an international footwear company he is able to provide sound advice when needed. However, he is not in the high-end market, which is distinct from the entry-market for consumer goods.
Additionally, I have attended a Social Venture Institute conference, where I had the good fortune to receive a few peer-to-peer mentoring consultations. I met with one Operations expert, and one Branding specialist.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Raise awareness of dangers of current leather tanning techniques and offer an ethical alternative
2.
Provide a desirable product that is ethical from sourcing to manufacturing and satisfies customer's needs
3.
Sustainable development of culturally-relevant economies in rural communities in Canada, elevation of First Nations knowledge
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
I have travelled to an Algonquin Reservation and have tanned leather with experts there, reinvigorating the local interest in natural leather tanning and learning new skills. I have opened a boutique in a trendy Vancouver neighbourhood, where I have sold out of large portions of my inventory in 3 months. I have educated many people about the merits of ethical leather; shockingly, most people have no idea how toxic the leather industry is. ATHENA Atelier has been featured in numerous online publications. I have designed new styles of handbags, and have hired individuals with disclosed disabilities to assist in manufacturing. I have forged strong relationships with prominent First Nations to discuss opening leather tanneries in their territory.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
With additional professional support we will be able to take this company from start-up to growth, with the real potential of changing how leather is produced internationally. Campaigns such as Greenpeace's "Fashion Detox" are forcing major companies (e.g. Zara, Levi's) to alter their sourcing and production to be more eco-friendly; however, no one has tackled leather yet.The European Union is moving towards all cars being 100% recyclable, hence the Chrome-tanned leather will not be appropriate anymore--this is just one of the many avenues for growth. Importantly, this project has the potential to stimulate rural economies and to provide culturally-relevant income to indigenous communities. Furthermore, in doing so, indigenous knowledge, skills, and traditions are respected and celebrated.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 02/27/2013 by paramjaggi
EcoViate is a research and development company that focuses on disposable, efficient, and inexpensive green technologies. The primary technology is a device that fits onto the exhaust of motor vehicles and reduces carbon emissions using algae.
Created on 02/27/2013 by jummy22
Mission:
Jam2fit is a non-profit organization, which inspires people in the community to live healthy lifestyles by providing fun fitness activities and educational opportunities to learn how to incorporate healthy habits into their lives in a sustainable way.
Vision:
Jam2fit envisions healthy communities, characterized by people's access to equitable and sustainable resources, positive energy and physical and mental well-being.
Apart from a strong emphasis on environmental protection programs, MISS EARTH BVI also aims to showcase and promote territory as a tourist destination. Every year, 6 candidates from all over the British Virgin Islands will compete on beauty and knowledge of environmental issues. The winner of MISS EARTH BVI will serve as the Ambassador to environmental protection campaigns throughout the territory.
Created on 02/4/2013 by sfulton
PsYOUconnect (www.psyouconnect.com) is an online platform created to connect individuals with oppportunities in their educational, social, and physical environment. The website is designed to serve as a resource for events, networks, and activities within the realm of social innovation and entrepreneurship, sustainability, local agriculture and the outdoors on the Penn State - University Park campus and in the surrounding State College community.
Efficient positive change goals are reached first by those nearest making an effort for impact. Our change goals for the world are based on this local model. We help provide consulting, education, training, volunteers and resources to the causes in need and those who live there.
There are LARGE organizations with infinite funding that improve many problems in the world. What makes the Helping Hands Network unique is that we actively search for the causes that are left behind and we try to help them.
EXAMPLE:
Created on 02/2/2013 by jasonlin
Project TGIF is a sustainable system designed to collect waste cooking oil (WCO) and convert it into bio-fuel. This renewable fuel will be distributed to local families in need of heating assistance.
Empowering for a smartly distributed energy and information network, through entrepreneurship.
VIDEO: http://www.ruralspark.com/beinspired
Rural Spark designs systems for entrepreneurship from within the context, to grow the world's next energy network, smartly distributed, viable and sustainable. Start the energy revolution today!
The Sustainability Leadership Development program is a leadership program educating its students on sustainability and designed like a military academy. This innovative service was created to help individuals who are "stuck" and instill discipline in them while training for market driven 21st century roles.
Courses:
Introduction to Sustainability – This course will be an introduction to what sustainability means and will cover the topics we will discuss in the program.
This project also has a Changeshop where you can read more about its latest progress.
Go to Changeshop: Inspired By Nature.
Created on 01/15/2013 by inspired
Our focus is on creating livelihoods and ensuring environmental sustainability. We aim to enable communities to expand their product line and develop new natural sustainable products. By utilizing invasive species or other waste materials, we can help them protect the environment.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Tell us about yourself/your team.
I am a mechanical engineer who is passionate about having a positive social impact. I have worked on a couple development projects related to waste management and product development. My team consists of people with backgrounds in engineering (chemical and mechanical) as well as international development and economics.
What makes you an intrapreneur? What are the skills, capabilities, and personality traits that make you an intrapreneur?
I have collaborated with our local community partner to develop new products and advise on the product development process in order to increase income generation for the local people. We hope to replicate this process with other communities and organizations.
Company Country
United States, MA, Cambridge
Primary country where this project is creating social impact
Additional countries or regions
Industry
Consumer Products
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了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏The Need: What social or environmental problem are you trying to solve?
In remote communities across the world, people often do not have access to sustainable sources of income. By working with these communities to develop new natural products, we could help create jobs and provide an example to others that it is possible to use waste or other natural materials to create high quality eco-friendly products.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
We aim to work with sustainable communities to develop and sell locally sourced natural products to increase income generation and job creation for the local people. We would help communities with any part of the natural product development cycle from R&D of new products, to marketing and sales strategy, to actually getting their product to customers via the network we are building. Our customer would be organizations similar to our current community partner in that they are focused on sustainable living and are working with natural dyes. Based on experience with our current pilot project, we would be able to work with the organization through the entire process of developing the product to bringing it to market. By promoting their products and increasing demand, they will be able to employ more people to produce the volumes to meet the demand as well as train them to develop the new products.
The Solution: Why is this solution innovative for your company and industry?
We are connecting the market needs in developed countries to communities in developing countries by helping the communities better utilize their local resources to develop natural products.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities.
The current model is to work closely with the community on developing the new product based on previous experience and knowledge of the market. We would be able to help them increase competitiveness and profitability through product expansion strategy and understand international quality standards, research and develop new products, with capacity building and training for the new processes, market and sales strategy, and connect them to distribution channels.
For our pilot project, we have been working to develop natural dye crayons with a community in Northern India. We used one of the byproducts of another process they have and utilized local materials to develop the current product. We are in the midst of pilot sales for this product. Having worked on this from scratch, it seems like a process that could ultimately be adapted to other communities around the world.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Other companies focus on developing agrarian or other technologies and trying to mass produce and distribute them to rural communities. Our focus is on developing new products to create livelihoods and also ensure environmental sustainability. Working on sustainable product development will greatly benefit the communities we are working with in terms of providing jobs but it will also benefit everyone else because these communities would be able to show that it is possible to use waste or other natural materials to create high quality products.
This Entry is about (Issues)
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
After spending over two and a half months in India working with the people in the community to develop the natural dye crayons, we spoke to potential customers to get some feedback on the product and found that they were interested in not only giving us feedback but also in purchasing sets. We have been working on getting the crayons into stores and also see potential for other natural art products which are non-toxic.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
The crayons are currently being sold in India but we are still working out the logistics of selling in the US. The profit will enable the community to hire more people to produce the crayons.
What is your projected impact over the next 1 to 3 years?
Over the next 1-3 years we hope to expand to working not only on developing other natural art products but also on working with other communities around the world.
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
We are currently looking into getting certification for the crayons and one of the challenges is dealing with the logistics of selling in the US. We are looking for another teammate who may have that experience.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏What is the benefit or value you're creating for your business?
We are helping the community increase income generation while still being environmentally friendly by using waste materials to create natural products.
How are you leveraging internal resources (funds, time, knowledge, etc.) to support this initiative?
We are currently working as part of the MIT IDEAS Global Challenge to develop the pilot project and launch the crayons in the US.
Expand on your answer, explaining the long-term funding and support plan.
In the long term, we hope to make a profit by selling the products that we helped develop and also from consulting with the community organization.
Tell us about your partnerships across your company and externally that are key to your project's success.
We are partnering with a network of farmers and artisans in Northern India to produce the crayons and hope to work with them on future products as well. We are also working with mentors from MIT to develop the project.
What internal support have you gotten for your project? What kind of push-back have you received?
We have gotten valuable advice from our mentors on key things to think about moving forward.
Created on 01/15/2013 by gbolabowale
Vision:
An African Continent where Democracy and Good Governance is firmly entrenched, the Rule of Law impartially upheld, Civil Society participation/engagement is popular and Sustainable Socio-Economic Development is aggressively pursued and implemented by all concerned stakeholders on the African Continent.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Tell us about yourself/your team.
A Global Citizen; a Nigerian & African Patriot committed to the renaissance of Nigeria, Africa & the Global Village.
What makes you an intrapreneur? What are the skills, capabilities, and personality traits that make you an intrapreneur?
I see things from a different perspective ` creative insight.
Skills: social work, community development, mobilization and empowerment, mentoring, youth work, public speaking, social activism.
Traits: empathy, open minded, forgiving.
Company Country
United States, MD, Baltimore City
Primary country where this project is creating social impact
Additional countries or regions
Africa (e.g. Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Gambia, Congo, Uganda, Libya, Egypt, South Africa, Cote D'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon,
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了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏请选择最符合您的解决方案的阶段：
发展（从试行步入正轨，并开始扩展）
The Need: What social or environmental problem are you trying to solve?
A Nigerian nation and African Continent where participatory democracy is still the exception than the norm and where where political activists and human rights campaigners are regularly persecuted, jailed and killed for daring to broaden the public discourse on participatory democracy and encourage a more democratic society where the leaders are committed to serving the best interests of their constituencies and not self centered/interested in perpetuating the status quo of endemic poverty, under development, chronic human rights abuses, abuse of office, unending civil strives, uneducated/unenlightened populace, exclusion from opportunities for socio economic advancement, a voiceless and dispossessed citizenry.
Target :- Nigerians and Africans on the African Continent and Diaspora.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
Mission:
To promote all across Africa in general with particular emphasis on countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote D’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, & Sudan the following
# Democracy and Democratic Governance,
# Civil Society Empowerment and Engagement,
# Constitutionality and The Rule of Law,
# Accountable Leadership,
# Sustainable Socio-Economic Development (Private, Public & Not For Profit Sector Driven),
# Women, Youth and Community Empowerment,
# Holistic Human Capacity Development.
Modus operandi:-
Creative and proactive use of all my social networking platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Blog, Pinterest, etc) to reach out and network/interact with Keystakeholders in the target audience to promote workable ideas about sustainable human and community development
The Solution: Why is this solution innovative for your company and industry?
using social platforms, i can reach out and network with + influence key decision makers and stakeholders in Nigeria and Africa whom I might not be able to interact wth in a one on one meeting due to the restrictive manner politics and leadership is being practised in nigeria and Africa at the moment.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities.
1) Using my social media platforms, I contributed to ensuring that the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was honored after the sudden demise of former President Sheu Yar'Adua and a succession crisis was about to break out.
2) Using my social media platforms, I contributed to quickly ending the post election violence that erupted in Nigeria after the election of Goodluck Jonathan as President.
3) Using my social media platforms, I have been mounting a vigorous one man campaign for leadership accountability and responsiveness in Nigeria and other African countries.
4) I used my social media platforms to mount pressure on the United Nations to ensure that a Rwanda like genocide was not repeated in Libya when Libyans in Benghazi rose up to demand for democratic reforms.
5) I used my social media platforms to link up with Egyptians during and after their uprising which put and end to the Hosni Mubarak's dictatorship.
6) Using my social media platforms to interact with the new leadership in Egypt to prevent the emergence of an Islamic dictatorship which limits the rights of Egyptians with different religious views/believes.
7) Using my social media platforms to engage the leaders and people of Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Gambia, etc to catalyze an orderly transition to participatory democracy
8) Using my social media platforms to interact/network with key stakeholders involved in the unending Congo DR crisis towards finding a sustainable solution to the crisis which has destabilized the country and caused the death of over 6 million Congolese
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Peers:- fellow activists (political, human rights, community, etc) and enlightened youths/community members engaged in the quest for advancing participatory democracy, sustainable development, community and human empowerment, etc
Competitors:- Status quo oriented leaders (public, traditional, etc), some citizens who don't believe anything better than what currently obtains can be achieved.
I hope to collaborate with peers to quantum my impact and reach.
I expect continued opposition from competitors including possible grievous bodily harm/elimination to preserve the status quo.
This Entry is about (Issues)
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
During the crisis that erupted after the demise of Nigeria's former President (Musa Yar'Adua) in Saudi Arabia and some in the Nigerian political class were trying to subvert the constitution of Nigeria as it pertains to succession .
I vigorously used all my social media platforms to mobilize and raise awareness locally and internationally on the need to follow the Nigerian constitition in ensuring that the Vice President succeded the late president.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Noticeable change in development policies and investments in Nigeria and across Africa.
What is your projected impact over the next 1 to 3 years?
To raise mass awareness in Nigeria and other African nations to catalyze a massive movement to entrench participatory democracy all over the African continent and ensure leadership accountability alongside sustainable development.
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
Status quo oriented leaders (public, traditional, etc), some citizens who don't believe anything better than what currently obtains can be achieved. I hope to collaborate with peers to quantum my impact and reach. I expect continued opposition from competitors including possible grievous bodily harm/elimination to preserve the status quo.
I plan to keep on with my public enlightenment campaign using my social media platforms and recruit more likeminds to the cause I am promoting.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏What is the benefit or value you're creating for your business?
An African Continent where Democracy and Good Governance is firmly entrenched, the Rule of Law impartially upheld, Civil Society participation/engagement is popular and Sustainable Socio-Economic Development is aggressively pursued and implemented by all concerned stakeholders on the African Continent.
How are you leveraging internal resources (funds, time, knowledge, etc.) to support this initiative?
Volunteering my time and resources to develop the idea and get it off the starting block and moving forward.
Using my resources to attend networking events, conferences and other trainings to add value to myself
Expand on your answer, explaining the long-term funding and support plan.
To get more buy in and support (financial, logistical, etc ) from partners, stakeholders, etc.
To undertake training programs for organizations and countries where fees will be charged and used to sustain the idea.
Tell us about your partnerships across your company and externally that are key to your project's success.
social networking with:
United nations and some of its agencies,
United States (White House, State Department, USAID, etc).
Canadian Development Agency (CIDA),
DFID,
African Union,
South African Presidency,
Nigerian Presidency & Political class,
etc.
What internal support have you gotten for your project? What kind of push-back have you received?
I hope to collaborate with peers to quantum my impact and reach. I expect continued opposition from competitors including possible grievous bodily harm/elimination to preserve the status quo.
The Zoom System is a user centered, leapfrog technology that embraces both a need for energy in rural Africa and the innovative, entrepreneurial nature of Kenyans. With the prevalence of mobile phone technology as primary means of Internet and telecommunications, our distribution model will reach the movers and shakers of rural Kenya and empower these entrepreneurs to take matters into their own hands. Collaborating with family and neighbors and taking advantage of mobile phone payment system, the Zoom System will bring modular energy storage to the bottom of the pyramid.
Created on 01/14/2013 by Anth
Dragon Social Responsibility aim to provide public awareness and direct funding for deserving causes and organisations by supporting our clients to add a social, external and non-operational emphasis to their activites, in return for the provision of our unique CSR services and benefits.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Tell us about yourself/your team.
Dragon SR is a new operation bringing together a small team of experienced experts from the world of community development & conservation project implementation and the finance and consultancy sectors.
With vast experience in both sectors from Europe, Africa and Asia the team includes specialist experience in, amongst others, assessing and implementing social and environmental projects, crisis preparedness, social and traditional media interaction, business auditing, on and offline content creation, CSR and business consultancy.
Based in Malaysia but with a scope that aims to include South East Asia and beyond, the experience of the team and flexibility of the business model allows the company to think beyond national borders in terms of client partners and project implemantation.
What makes you an intrapreneur? What are the skills, capabilities, and personality traits that make you an intrapreneur?
Having worked across the Financial & Consulting sector for 9 years & the Expedition & Social/Enviro Project Implemtation industry for 7 years, I've attained experience and knowledge from both, much of it transferable across industries, that gives me confidence and enthusiasm that the lessons learned can be shared. More socially aware corporates and more business like social enterprises, sharing insights and working together can make a lasting difference.
Unafraid to make mistakes but with (hopefully) the experince to spot them before they happen, I aim to make Dragon SR a portal for Corporates and Social Enterprises alike.
I'm driven to succeed but have an empathy often missing in corporates and I hope to convince others that Social Responsibility can be about just that!
Primary country where this project is creating social impact
Additional countries or regions
South East Asia, Africa, Latin America
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了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏请选择最符合您的解决方案的阶段：
开始（刚开始运作的试行阶段）
The Need: What social or environmental problem are you trying to solve?
To many onlookers current Corporate Social Responsibility programmes and some NGO/NFP organisations have drifted away from their original honourable intentions, with CSR seeming more and more concerned with share value and streamlining processes than social concerns and some NGOs/NFPs looked upon sceptically with unnecessary overheads and little transparency for their actions.
Not For Profits are often uncertain that a business will follow through with their funding intentions, whilst businesses often wonder how their funds are spent with little feedback. This leads to rather insipid CSR programmes focused on internal factors with little social focus and a lack of funding for deserving and essential projects with funds difficult to attract or going to less deserving programs.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
Dragon SR aim to actively support companies with entirely new or purely internally focussed CSR programmes to engage with social and environmental projects external to their own business. These could be projects with a specific link to their area of operations or entirely separate.
Before introducing a client to a project, the NGO/NFP will be assessed by Dragon SR on various criteria to understand its aims, sustainability and transparency amongst other factors to ascertain as far as possible how the client's funds will be used and offer certain assurances for the client, whilst the project itself recieves funding guarantees from the client.
In return Dragon SR will then provide various CSR and marketing services to the client including Annual Report CSR compliance, regular project feedback and reports, Cause Related Marketing, client facing content for internal use, customer facing content for external use and support for their ongoing CSR and staff engagement activities.
The Solution: Why is this solution innovative for your company and industry?
As it stands the CSR industry is booming, but in our opinion it has lost sight of the original premise of social responsibility being now concerned with reducing overheads, increasing profit and adding value for the shareholder to whom most of the corporate responsibility seems to be aimed at.
Dragon SR aim to re-align the focus of CSR showing that it need not be at the expense of good business practices while at the same time providing funding streams for deserving causes
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities.
The end goal in everything that dragon SR does is to create awareness for and help support some of the most deserving causes on the planet, be they social, environmental, scientific, the arts or otherwise. However, at every point our activities aim to benefit the clients, projects and social awareness together. As part of our remit we hope to use the Dragon SR online presence as a portal to create awareness not just for the projects and the clients funding them but for social and environmental causes in general, encouraging open discussion and ideas and featuring projects and programmes whether they are linked directly to Dragon SR or not.
This awareness has the added benefit of creating interest from potential new clients who would bring more funding.
Once engaged a we sit down with a client to understand their current Social Responsibility activities and see how our services can support them and at this point see if their interest lies with operationally linked projects (a property developer funding a housing project) or entirely separate (an MD's personal interest in Women's Rights programmes).
Before linking a business and a cause the Dragon SR team will personally visit a project (if they are new to us) to understand more about its aims and management processes in order to protect both the client's potential funding and also make sure the client is right for the project.
Once linked with funding streams put in place our team use both new and traditional media to create awareness of the partnership and implement the more traditional client CSR services.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Whilst there are many CSR consultants in the Malaysian and SEA market as part of large international corporations or in house teams, most focus on what we call "Internal CSR" with only a small percentage of time dedicated to external Social Responsibility which is generally left to the company itself to arrange for better or worse. Of the locally based consultancies only one other offers specific Project Consultation offering to link their client with a partner project.
Our most obvious asset is the experience in working on both sides of the funding fence, being able to bring both Corporate and in-field project experience to our activities, giving us a unique position in the marketplace when offering SR services.
This Entry is about (Issues)
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
I struggled for many years to find funding for community and enviro projects I was involved in. Then in spring 2012 I was invited to an AGM for a company in KL during which I saw a speaker from the HR department proudly present the group's CSR activites for the previous year and announce they met all the requirements expected for a listed company on the Malaysian Exch, but in my oppinion met none of the requirements expected to be Socially Responsible.
Deciding to look further into this I found many Annual Reports contained CSR sections that counted basic staff training, the stopping of ilegal operational practices and in one case the increase of parking space size for management as CSR. The better cases shouted about the money being saved through staff and process streamlining. Only a small percentage reported tangible CSR activites that represented Social Responsibility.
Understanding why Corporate funding was so difficult to source in SEA the seeds of Dragon SR were planted.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
As we have been operating for only a matter of weeks our impact has been limited thus far (though fingers crossed) but we have actively helped raise awareness for a number of organisations and causes through our activities and received vital support and great feedback from CSR experts and Social/Enviro changemakers alike, so we believe we are on the right track.
More specifically we are currently looking to support some of the team aiming to re-assess current legislation regarding CSR compliance for Malaysian listed companies which at the moment is very loose. We hope to be able to offer future clients more specifc advice on what constitutes adherence to future legislation and how funding through us can help meet those requirements.
A different example can be seen through one of our potential clients who hope to fund through us in order to help improve their public reputation in response to some very specific critisicm aimed at them regarding the environmental policies.
What is your projected impact over the next 1 to 3 years?
Over the first three years of operation we aim to increase from 3 to 10 clients, supporting their CSR programmes, improving the quality of Social Responsibility activities and helping to define for them causes which not only deserve their support but have long term sustainable and tangible goals.
We hope to support the ongoing development of CSR Reporting legislation in South East Asia, helping to shape what actually constitutes CSR and what should iare actually just general operational activities.
We aim to support through raising awareness and client funding 10 - 20 social and environmental programmes and offer those that require it advice on the various criteria that responsible donating clients look at when choosing a recipient project to support.
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
Current CSR Reporting legislation for listed companies in Malaysia requires companies listed on the stock exchange to report their CSR activities but provides little information on what those should be leading to a situation where hundreds of listed companies report a huge range of activities many of which have little to do with CSR.
This lack of lack of definition gives no incentive to companies to change their current CSR practices and may hinder our growth. To this end we are actively engaging business leaders and government officials to offer our support for and find out more about future changes to CSR reporting legislation which can be fed directly into our clients in order to support their future adherence to new legislation.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏What is the benefit or value you're creating for your business?
As the company founder and Managing Director my influence runs through Dragon SR shaping what we do yet hoping to be shaped by the people I have chosen to work alongside me.
I have pulled together a small team with specific experience to help us grow into a fully operational enterprise, who mirror my own enthusiasm and passion for what we are building together.
At the moment our services are based on my experience but I will look to add to that with staff and partners that can help our company and services evolve beyond my initial ideas.
How are you leveraging internal resources (funds, time, knowledge, etc.) to support this initiative?
We are fortunate because the business model we have chosen has little by way of initial set-up costs or ongoing overheads during the formative months. We are a small team working wirelessly from an office at the MD's residence with a flexible working routine.
The two directors of the company are working without pay and are supporting the low overheads through external work until we arrive at the point that the company can sustainably operate without support and can increase staff numbers organically.
Until then all 5 members of the team (MD, CFO, Sales Manager, Sales exec and the Marketing, Conent and Social Media manager) will cover all elements of the job each selling, writing content, networking and supporting the company as required.
Expand on your answer, explaining the long-term funding and support plan.
The current small team can opperate and meet client service levels for the foreseeable future with the current projected client numbers and the Directors covering any initial financial requirements beyond that. The business model does not foresee a time when outside investment will be required unless the company is a much greater initial success than anticipated, at which point outside funding may be required to meet our own service commitments, especially regarding the assessment of new projects which would require further costs.
We aim to make the growth of the company as organic as possible to prevent overstretching our requirements and enable us to focus as much of our time as possible on finding funds for the recipient projects.
Tell us about your partnerships across your company and externally that are key to your project's success.
Key external contacts that will shape our initial success are the network of organisations and projects I assessed during my previous role. These "pre-assessed" projects in South East Asia, Africa and Latin America, covering community development, environmental conservation and sustainable energy amongst other subjects, enable us to have a ready list of partners that we can use as examples of responsible and sustainable projects when negotiating with potential clients.
What internal support have you gotten for your project? What kind of push-back have you received?
Though this question is not necessarily applicable to Dragon SR at this stage, I would say that the passion and commitment of my small team has taken me by surprise so far. One team member even quit their job and moved 7000 miles to help make the company a success. With that sort of passion on show I'm extremely confident about our prospects.
Created on 01/14/2013 by Miriam Turner
Building a community-based value chain for discarded nylon fishing nets which will:
• improve the coastal & marine ecosystem
• create supplementary income for coastal communities
• supply Interface with an innovative source of recycled material for its core product
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Tell us about yourself/your team.
The Co-innovation team itself is very small, very new – and a very exciting place to work! As AVP Co-innovation I support the business to innovate together across regions and functions by becoming more 'permeable', open and collaborative.
The project in this application is not our first attempt at inclusive business. I brokered a partnership with an social enterprise which launched in 2008 but was not successfully commercialised (see vimeo). Learning is richest when things haven't quite gone as planned, and in retrospect without that 'successful failure' this project would not have flowered.
We’ve been incubating this particular idea since 2011 and have built a brilliant cross-disciplinary team from inside and outside the company to develop, prototype and now grow this new project.
What makes you an intrapreneur? What are the skills, capabilities, and personality traits that make you an intrapreneur?
Sustainability is ‘the mother of all collaborations’ so I have always mixed and matched expertise and ideas from inside and outside the company in pursuit of sustainable innovations.
Not all of them have been successful, but what I have honed is my ability to work across sectors and geographies on projects with a higher purpose. I broker and translate between partners, and of course 'navigate' the project's passage through the corporate landscape.
I get excited when someone says “that won’t work because x”, or “we’ve tried that already and it’s not worth it because y“. Why? Because I honestly believe we can overcome systemic challenges by getting the right people in the room and asking the right question... (And anyway, if it were easy it would boring, right?!)
Primary country where this project is creating social impact
Additional countries or regions
We are also at an earlier stage in India and West Africa (Sierra Leone, Liberia, Senegal)
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发展（从试行步入正轨，并开始扩展）
The Need: What social or environmental problem are you trying to solve?
Around 640,000T of discarded fishing ends up in the oceans each year, or 10 percent of the world total of marine debris, (FAO/UNEP study). Many fishing nets discarded due to wear and tear and then replaced. In developing countries, Artisanal fishers often dispose of their nets on beaches - where they cause pollution - or in the sea, where they can last for centuries continuing to catch or injure marine life - a process known as “ghost fishing”.
The fishers that discard these nets are often living in extreme poverty and locked into declining fisheries which are only further degraded by ghost nets. 23 million people rely on the oceans for their livelihood and have few opportunities to break the cycle of poverty and environmental degradation.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
Global carpet tile manufacturer Interface, and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), a conservation NGO, have teamed up to develop an innovative supply chain approach that aims to tackle the environmental problem of discarded fishing nets whilst helping to address issues of poverty and overfishing: We’ve christened this partnership ‘Net-Works’.
Building a community-based value chain for discarded nylon fishing nets will:
- improve the coastal & marine ecosystem
- create supplementary income for coastal communities
Nets will then purchased by one of Interface's yarn suppliers, Aquafil who will recycle them to new carpet yarn. This will provide Interface an innovative source of recycled material for its core product.
We have tested and are expanding this solution in Danajon Bank - a double barrier reef in the centre of the Philippines, and one of the most degraded coral reefs in the world. The area has high population densities as well as high levels of poverty.
The Solution: Why is this solution innovative for your company and industry?
I worked on Interface’s first foray on inclusive business in 2006 . The product was not core and the line was discontinued. This is our first inclusive model on core product.
Our yarn supplier (Aquafil) purchases thousands of tonnes of feedstock pa - including some industrial trawler nets . So it’s not new that fishing gear has gone into nylon yarn. What is new is the socio-economic and conservation benefit created by supplying this demand in a different way.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities.
Imagine you live on Danajon Bank in the Philippines in a village..
You find it tough to get cash other than through fishing which is becoming more and more difficult as stocks decline. Through a community organiser you hear about a village meeting – you learn that you can join a Village Saving and Loan Association (VSLA) which will give you access to financial services. You don’t have much to bank in the first place though… and loans are always such high interest rates. At the meeting you learn that your old fishing nets can be deposited instead of cash! A simple test kit is demonstrated and it seems easy to run - if the prong melts the net it’s the right material, and pretty much all the nets used around here are the right stuff. When you go crab fishing you have to replace hundreds of metres of nets every few months. You had no idea this material was valuable to someone else. It turns out that for every 2 kilo of net you could buy almost one kilo of rice. This sounds better than some of the ‘craft’ training sessions you have done before – difficult to get the hang of and then the orders dry up. It actually turns out that the nets last for hundreds of years and when you use them to protect your seaweed farm they get washed out to sea and end up killing fish that you then never get to catch and sell. You hadn't realized that your used nets would do this... You let your neighbors know about the next meeting..they're too old to fish now and don't have nets themselves,but there are plenty they could collect from beaches right by their house...
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Many organisations are working on vital projects to tackle marine debris, alternative livelihoods for poor fishing communities and conservation programmes. What is exciting about Net-Works is that it integrates many of these aspects into one programme which has the potential to be commercially viable longer term and not propped up by aid/charity. Conservation experts also seem interested in how this programme integrates financial services with conservation objectives.
The waste nylon market is nascent in the areas we are working most successfully so far. If local competitors for nylon emerge and are able to pay a higher price this will challenge the model. The differentiating factor is the access to financial services that our model offers communities.
This Entry is about (Issues)
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
“Couldn’t we buy nets from communities in India we worked with on that other project” our Sustainabilty Director Ramon Arratia asked me, after learning that one of our major suppliers was purchasing trawler nets made of nylon to feed their huge recycling plant. I’d started “the other project” in 2006 as Interface’s first foray into inclusive business. It wasn’t core nylon product, but a new natural fibre range, and had been discontinued. Could this be an opportunity to bring an inclusive model to carpet, and differentiate us from other recycled carpet? Hmm.. I started badgering smart people in the marine and development sectors about artisanal fisheries - the volume of nets? what happened at the end of their life? who owned them? who made them? We got some of these people in a room together in London in 2011 . The “aha” moment? Dr Hill reviewing his PhD and calculating that enough net was discarded annually from a handful of Filipino villages to go round the world more than once..
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
A pilot was run for 6 months which successfully completed in October 2012. We chose to run the pilot in the Philippines, which is global centre of marine shore fish biodiversity, but it faces some of the greatest levels of threat of all marine areas globally.
The objectives were to:
• Build a detailed model plan with options for implementation
• Build the social infrastructure and implement net collection in 6 communities (the target – which was met – was to collect 1-2 tonnes by the end of 6 months)
• Initial evaluation of social and environmental impacts (after 6 months)
• Improved understanding of costs involved in implementing and supporting this programme
Our real impact so far has therefore been limited to the 6 pilot communities in Danajon Bank, where training, beach clean ups and supplementary income was generated.
The pilot demonstrated that the model of working through VSLAs/MFIs was viable and that running costs once scaled could be covered by cash flow.
What is your projected impact over the next 1 to 3 years?
Project impact from first full year (from Nov 2012 - Nov 2013)
1. Improved access to financial services (through initiation of VSLAs/MFIs) for 1,400 people by helping them to manage household finances and improve their capacity to access basic services (e.g. education, health, housing).
2. Measurable improvements in the condition of beaches and mangrove areas
3. Reduced the practice of burning waste (and associated detrimental health affects)
4. Measurable reduction in the practice of discarding nets at sea (and associated effects of “ghost fishing”)
5. Diversified livelihoods resulting in increased resilience to shocks and disasters from the sale of nets into rural and impoverished communities (average family income is < £100/month)
6. Full-time employment for 4 local people
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
Exporting ‘waste’ has been challenging so we've e worked with our yarn supplier from the start of the project to ensure material can make it the final leg to their plant at the correct purity level and packed density.
The emergence of competition for buying the waste nets could represent a challenge if they match or exceed our pricing. Unfortunately for the planet there is little sign of this in many poor regions where plastic waste like nets is most of a problem. We are designing for this now though, by making sure that engaging with our value chain brings additional non monetary benefits of access to financial services through the VSLAs, and by working in remote areas that are unlikely to be attractive to more conventional operations.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏What is the benefit or value you're creating for your business?
Thanks in part to Interface’s sustainability leadership 100% recycled nylon yarn is now manufactured by Aquafil, one of our major suppliers. This nylon is purchased by us and our competitors, and others outside our industry.
Net-Works takes ‘recycled’ up a notch. By supplying our supplier and having exclusivity on the story we give our salesforce an important sustainability differentiator at core product level in a mature and highly competitive market. This 'social ingredient brand' could ultimately supply other sectors too (e.g. auto/electronics)
How are you leveraging internal resources (funds, time, knowledge, etc.) to support this initiative?
I’ve had the pleasure of working with colleagues across all disciplines on this project to support ZSL on this project. Our small Co-innovation team has worked with procurement, legal, marketing, design, sustainability and technical teams to put this new value chain together and plan how to integrate it into an offering for our customers.
Funds have covered expert scoping trips in India, West Africa and the Philippines . After selecting the Philipppines for the pilot we invested in a 6 month pilot and have just secured Interface commitment for a year long expansion of the model into Growth phase.
Expand on your answer, explaining the long-term funding and support plan.
We see the role of Interface as connector , catalyst and market maker. But we will not ‘prop up’ or otherwise subsidise the model. It must stand alone and supply our supplier at market prices in the long term. Our pilot demonstrated that in Danajon Bank the ongoing maintenance costs can be covered by cash flow.
Set up costs (all research, model iteration and piloting) have been invested by Interface . We are starting to explore how set up costs for expansion into other areas could be sought elsewhere, or seeded concurrently to accelerate scaling speed. The longer term plan for replication in SE Asia and beyond is to build our learning into a Net-Works ‘tool-kit’’ that development agencies and/or conservation groups can integrate when working in coastal communities the world over.
Tell us about your partnerships across your company and externally that are key to your project's success.
ZSL and local partner PSF bring scientific rigor and local expertise which has put meat on the bones of an idea and made it happen. We have pulled in many other external organisations and experts – many of whom have collaborated both formally and on their own time.
I also talk about this seminars I give - we have ended up collaborating with engineering students from Imperial to make sure our nylon ID methods will work in the field and can be replaced in country.
What internal support have you gotten for your project? What kind of push-back have you received?
Interface has been extremely supportive of this initiative. We have kept investment request incremental and reasonably low (<£250K total since 2011).This has supported numerous small assignments with various experts globally to assess viability and partnership opportunities in different parts of the world.
Push back has been limited until the investment requests expand which is why we continue to work hard to show the model can maintain itself once established.
Created on 01/14/2013 by nmenon@reedsmith.com
Reed Smith has established a global Social Impact Finance Group (SIFG), which undertakes both pro bono and billable representations. The SIFG focuses on increasing access to funding for organisations that deliver both economic and social returns, such as social enterprises and microfinace institutions.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Tell us about yourself/your team.
Social impact finance continues to influence the social well-being and economic prosperity of millions of people and organisations worldwide. In response to a growing demand from clients, Reed Smith formalised a global Social Impact Finance Group (SIFG). The SIFG initiatives focus on increasing access to funding for organisations that deliver both economic and social returns, such as microfinance institutions, impact investment funds and other social enterprises.
Reed Smith’s SIFG consists of an international, cross-practice team of lawyers, The group includes authorities from the structured finance, funds, banking, tax and regulatory fields, as well as from groups such as commercial, corporate and litigation.
What makes you an intrapreneur? What are the skills, capabilities, and personality traits that make you an intrapreneur?
As a group SIFG seeks to apply legal skills to assist clients in innovative and unique ways within the sector of social impact finance. Social impact finance focuses on increasing access to credit for organisations that deliver both economic and social returns. Through working with our clients to develop such ground-breaking solutions, we are developing our experience of such transactions and are utilising this in both a pro bono and fee earning context. This breaks down the traditional divide between these types of work, which exists in most law firms.
As a team we have the drive and hunger to take on new challenges, find innovative solutions and provide optimum service to our clients within the area of social impact finance.
Company Country
United Kingdom, LND, London
Primary country where this project is creating social impact
United Kingdom, LND, London
Additional countries or regions
United States, Middle East
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏请选择最符合您的解决方案的阶段：
发展（从试行步入正轨，并开始扩展）
The Need: What social or environmental problem are you trying to solve?
Social impact finance continues to influence the social well-being and economic prosperity of millions of people and organisations worldwide. In response to a growing demand from clients, Reed Smith formalised a global Social Impact Finance Group (SIFG), which undertakes both pro bono and billable representations. The SIFG initiatives focus on increasing access to funding for organisations that deliver both economic and social returns, such as microfinance institutions, impact investment funds and other social enterprises.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
Reed Smith’s SIFG consists of a cross-border, cross-practice team of lawyers, which sits across its offices. The group includes authorities from the structured finance, funds, banking, capital markets, tax and regulatory fields, as well as from groups such as commercial, corporate and litigation.
The Solution: Why is this solution innovative for your company and industry?
The idea itself as well as the manner in which it was implemented exemplify innovation within a business. For example, SIFG came about through a group people within the firm who had some previous experience of the social impact finance sector, such as through work for funds, charities or academic research. Additionally, SIFG operates on a hybrid pro bono / billable basis, and thus blurs the traditional lines between pro bono and billable work – we focus on sustainability.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities.
Reed Smith advised venture philanthropy fund, Impetus Trust, who co-led an investor syndicate with Bridges Ventures, to fund a special purpose vehicle to deliver a 3-year, £3.25 million payment-by-results contract awarded by the UK Government, Department for Work & Pensions Innovation Fund. The innovative project will be delivered by charity Teens and Toddlers, and other UK charities investing are Big Society Capital, CAF Venturesome, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the Barrow Cadbury Foundation. The Innovation Fund was set up by the UK Government to improve education, employment and training outcomes for disadvantaged young people. The Teens and Toddlers programme provides teenagers with an opportunity to act as a role model to vulnerable toddlers in a safe and supervised nursery environment, helping the teenagers to build a sense of responsibility. Revenues are earned from the Innovation Fund only on delivery of improvements in the behaviour, attendance, attitude and qualifications gained by participating teenagers.
Further, Reed Smith has provided structural and tax advice in relation to the setting up of the US entity of Willow Impact Investors, an award winning impact investment firm that manages social impact funds with a focus on Eastern Africa, Middle East and North Africa.
Provided advice on the formation of social impact investment funds, including working with client I-DEV International to develop a unique structure for a fund designed to invest in environmentally sensitive enterprises operating in communities in areas of high biodiversity.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
We definitely see other leading law firms, namely Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance and Linklaters as peers in this sector, rather than competitors. As with such a collaborative effort, we seek to solve social issues, such as through structuring social impact bonds.
This Entry is about (Issues)
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
As part of our firm-wide pro bono efforts, it has become clear that there is interest amongst fee-earners across different practice groups to get involved in pro bono work related to social impact finance and microfinance. We clearly had enormous resources across our international network – people with a real mix of skills and expertise in many areas, not only law. Forming a group devoted to social impact finance would help to harness the legal skills and enthusiasm of our people around the network to make a valuable contribution to the sector.
Therefore, we established the SIFG, consisting of members from a variety of practice areas across our global network of offices at Reed Smith. The aim of the SIFG was to foster collaboration and greater awareness of issues relating to social impact finance. Moreover, the group would act as a first point of call for social impact finance and microfinance-related instructions and projects.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Some recent representative matters include:
• Provided structural and tax advice in relation to the setting up of the US entity of Willow Impact Investors, an award winning impact investment firm that manages social impact funds with a focus on Eastern Africa, Middle East and North Africa.
• Provided advice on the formation of social impact investment funds, including working with client I-DEV International to develop a unique structure for a fund designed to invest in environmentally sensitive small and medium enterprises operating in communities at the base of the economic pyramid in areas of high biodiversity.
• Represented Conservation International and Acumen Fund in relation to various social impact finance matters, including loans to companies operating in fair trade industries in Africa and debt-for-nature swaps.
• We are currently advising clients on an innovative social impact bond that will help raise funds for their global immunisation programmes.
What is your projected impact over the next 1 to 3 years?
We are keen to develop our domestic and international impact over the next 1 to 3 years. This can be achieved by continuing to work on a wide variety of projects across a variety of sectors. This can include advising on transactions and working closely with academics who specialise in this area.
As is in line with the ethos of our firm, we would also seek to develop close relationships with key social impact investors, governments and funds. This would enable us to meet our target of completing both pro bono and chargeable work. Our aim is to build our capacity as a team allowing for sutainable growth over the long-term. This can be supported by continuing to develop our practice on a global level and by integrating ourselves with all the practice groups in the firm.
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
The SIFG is of course operating against the backdrop of the global economic crisis which puts constrains on governments and philanthropists alike to provide help and support to those most in need. Ideologically, such troubled economic times provide additional barriers and limits to financial innovation and original solutions.
In order to combat this, it is the aim of the SIFG to continue to seek innovative solutions by working in a multi-disciplinary approach with a variety of market participants. We seek to leverage our global platform as an international law firm to continue to provide advice to clients in the social finance sector and draw upon the wide variety of experiences of our members.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏What is the benefit or value you're creating for your business?
Our lawyers are committed to making a difference to the lives of others through the support of these social impact finance and microfinance initiatives. Beyond advising on a range of social impact initiatives, we also provide training and research to support the microfinance legal sector thereby improving knowledge and awareness. We believe that we can pioneer the development of innovative business models to address this pressing social need.
How are you leveraging internal resources (funds, time, knowledge, etc.) to support this initiative?
The SIFG is a multi-disciplinary group consisting of members from a variety of practice areas across our global network of offices at Reed Smith.
In order to leverage internal resources, we sought to bring together fee-earners with social impact finance and microfinance experience, as well as people who are interested in becoming more involved in such work. We saw this as a prime opportunity to pool talent across our various practices. This also allows us to facilitate the sharing of microfinance related know-how.
From an organisational standpoint our role within the firm is also that of a coordinator. We act as the first port of call for social impact finance and microfinance-related instructions and projects.
Expand on your answer, explaining the long-term funding and support plan.
In terms of a support plan, we have integrated ourselves within the firm as and have been supported by a variety of individuals and groups within the firm. As a whole, the business is committed to the SIFG. Our unique structure, which combines both pro bono and chargeable work has been very useful in encouraging others within the firm to contribute to our growth.
Our rapid development over the past year has shown to both the firm and the legal industry at large what can be achieved by a growing team in an area such as social impact finance. We are confident that with the continued support of the firm as a whole and the contacts provided by our members that we will continue to develop over the coming years.
Tell us about your partnerships across your company and externally that are key to your project's success.
We also view the Group as an excellent way to develop skills, experience and contacts which will be of use in future fee-earning work in this sector. As commercial lawyers, we often use our professional skills sets to assist charities and NGOs. SIFG turns this around and uses work on impact finance and microfinance matters as a tool for young lawyers to gain professional skills, networks and experience aside of their day-to-day practice areas.
What internal support have you gotten for your project? What kind of push-back have you received?
We have received considerable support from the Corporate Social Responsibility team at Reed Smith, who gave us a foundation upon which to build the group. Such advice was invaluable as the SIFG has been created from scratch. The Senior Management Team at Reed Smith has also been extremely helpful. They have used their extensive contacts to help build global support for the group across our network of offices, in order to help our social impact clients achieve their goals.
Port Elizabeth South Africa
Innovation at the Base of the Pyramid
How can simple and low-cost technologies tackle the most pressing problems in the developing world?
The impact of appropriate technology becomes particularly noticeable when innovative solutions are used and promoted by social entrepreneurs who put social impact at the heart of their business. The combination of low-cost technology and social entrepreneurship can have far-reaching implications
http://www.businessfightspoverty.org/profiles/blogs/innovation-at-the-ba...
This project also has a Changeshop where you can read more about its latest progress.
Go to Changeshop: Mycelium.
Created on 01/7/2013 by wprice
To create a successful, trusted, socially and ecologically responsible, ecommerce business which integrates the best mushroom related products and technologies. This business will serve as a base to support the educational databases of the site and will fund global projects to conserve ecologies and fight hunger,
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Tell us about yourself/your team.
I turned 21 in Tamil Nadu, studying Intentional Communities.
My first business was shoveling snow when I was 10, at 16 I started my own landscaping company, at 22 I started my own construction company, .
I attended the University of VT for one year in 94-95. I took and class on the environment. I learned about all the problems, but no solutions.
So I read books.
I learned permaculture from Fukuoka, radical ecology from Bookchin, globilization from Norberg-Hodge, mycology from Stamets, I learned education from Friere, educational inequality from Kozol, french intensive gardening from Jeavons and Coleman I learned Buddhism from Hahn and commerce from Hawkins.
What I found were ideas, which became solutions.
I earned a degree a degree in Biology.
I enjoy puzzles.
What makes you an intrapreneur? What are the skills, capabilities, and personality traits that make you an intrapreneur?
Stubborn, patient, synergistic problem solver, relationship builder, communicator, ability to listen. Ability to listen some more. Can visualize the invisible, dream the impossible, and still have a sense of humor.
Carpenter, Scientist and Jewish (but not Jesus).
Computer savvy.
Not afraid of working hard. Learn from failures, change accordingly.
Biophilic. Empathic. Don't know everything. Humility. Ask for help.
Believe is something. Believe in others. Believe in myself. Set goals.
Take responsibility. Remember how to breathe.
Not afraid of learning new things. Not afraid to use the tools I have.
Not afraid to try and try and try.
Saddened by the state of the world.
Not afraid to cry.
Hopeful.
Integration. Interconnection
Father. Brother. Husband. Son.
Company Country
United States, MA, West Yarmouth, Barnstable County
Primary country where this project is creating social impact
United States, MA, West Yarmouth, Barnstable County
Additional countries or regions
Look to have a global impact, not restricted by country
Industry
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
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了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏The Need: What social or environmental problem are you trying to solve?
1. Over 1 Billion Hungry, Over 1 Billion Malnourished
2. Population Growth Expected to Reach 9 Billion by 2040, 11 billion by 2050
3. Deforestation for protein production and fuel increases arable land under cultivation
4. Ecosystem thresholds are being stretched to capacity : Water Pollution, Air Pollution, Landfills, Ocean Pollution (see Worldwatch Institute Report and "Our Ecological Footprint")
5. Cultural and Biological diversity is being destroyed by 'current paradigm' business practices (see "Ecology of Commerce")
6. Product Design Crisis created by Market Forces which elevate Profit over Sustainability (see "Cradle to Cradle")
7. 15 Global Challenges located at http://www.millennium-project.org/millennium/challeng.html
8. Integrated, place based solution
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
1. Databased support network to rapidly increase transfer of information leading to a more intelligent conversion of agricultural waste products, utilizing greater biological efficiencies, leading to a more stable, less energy intensive food supply chain.
2. Technology provides easier access to education and global issues
3. establish Mycelium based network for protein production, decreasing reliance on myopic agricultural practices
4. Mycelium based restoration, regeneration of degraded ecosystems, leading to an integrated sustainable permacultural roadmap
5. Innovative "Cradle to Cradle" business whereby cost externalization is rendered impossible and considered irresponsible
6. Utilize natural systems as guideline for product design cycles (specifically enzymatic degradation pathways)
7. http://www.millennium-project.org/millennium/challeng.html
8. My current model is under development and would require a confidentiality agreement for further agreement. Cradle to Cradle...
The Solution: Why is this solution innovative for your company and industry?
Integrates an untapped network of people with common interests, goals and vision.
Engenders an Empowerment through shared knowledge and new human connections.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities.
b2b, b2c, triple bottom line, Hybrid,
Mission Statement
At Mycelium, we believe that ecology is economics.
It is this belief that is at the core of our business model.
We believe in a vision which elevates the understanding of our dependence on the health of the Earth’s Ecosystems. And this understanding is acted upon through our Triple Bottom Line (people, planet, profit) Hybrid Business Model.
We strive to promote ideas, products and technologies which integrate the “Cradle to Cradle” design philosophy.
In so doing, we are working to conserve, protect and sustain the rich cultural and biological diversity, which makes our planet unique, rich and habitable.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
I have undertaken a detailed investigation of peers/competitors in this industry/field from local to global.
My peers are those who recognize the need for a radical shift away from business as usual. My competitors are those, whose commitment to profit is still primary.
My peers may also prove to be my competitors, but this will not serve to hinder my proposed solutions, it should increase the speed of their implementation. By creating a self sustaining business, whose charter is socially and ecologically focused, we will be able to help implement (through education and customizable, localized-mycelium based systems planning) a long term, culturally sensitive and ecologically sensible answer to the question of global/local human impact.
see "Mycelium Running" by Paul Stamets
This Entry is about (Issues)
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
Each year for my birthday, or Christmas, my mother would buy me a puzzle. The ones with a thousand pieces were, and still are, my favorites. The only puzzles that i enjoyed doing were of Norman Rockwell paintings. He was, and still is, my favorite artist. I would sit for hour upon hour studying the nuances of color and light, wondering how anyone could paint like that, all while putting the pieces where they go. This youthful penchant for puzzles has influenced the way I perceive the world and how it is I came to my "Aha" moment. A moment, which for me is still happening. A moment that is being built upon the momentum of a lot of hard work and years of wandering. In 2004 I went to study for a month with Paul Stamets as an internship, while working towards my degree in Biology (microbiology). I was touched by Paul's genuineness and sense of purpose.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
As of now, I have been networking, working on the edge pieces of this proverbial puzzle.
My solution is actually an anti impact solution. That is, it aims to help transform waste streams into nutrient streams. And by so doing, anticipates alleviating some of the burden which we have bestowed upon our children, while simultaneously empowering people to work with nature and eachother.
What is your projected impact over the next 1 to 3 years?
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏What is the benefit or value you're creating for your business?
The value is a business organization which is principled in a cradle to cradle design philosophy and serves as an business model example for others to learn from and adopt . This company will strive to create a network/supply chain to accomplish social and ecological goals and seeks to become a trusted, expert source of knowledge/information and to, through social networking, distribute that knowledge to where it is needed.
I am creating a business that will highlight the value of mushroom and mushroom related products, a key component to ecological and social sustainability as well as part of the hunger solution in the coming century. Waste equals food.
How are you leveraging internal resources (funds, time, knowledge, etc.) to support this initiative?
It is said that 20% of one's work is responsible for 80% of ones results. Meaning the intelligent use of time, money and knowledge is imperative for a successful initiative.
I have taken a two free online courses through ITunesU on ecommerce. I have organized a searchable database in my hours after my full time job. I have learned how to build a website (www.capecodmushroom.org) using online tools. I have taken the free training courses offered by the ecommerce platform Magento to familiarize myself with how to run the website. I have consulted with web designers, marketing specialists, social networking companies, and branding consultants, all in an effort to leverage internal resources. Using my time to work with experts in there fields save money and costly mistakes, creating a positive feedback loop
Expand on your answer, explaining the long-term funding and support plan.
The Social and Ecological mission of this company will be accomplished through and during the successful operation of the business. The long term funding of this initiative will be based on the triple bottom line business model (people/planet/profit).
Tell us about your partnerships across your company and externally that are key to your project's success.
Relationships are the key to any successful initiative and/or enterprise. This is true in both the short term and long term. I have made inroads with numerous product manufacturers, suppliers, and distrtibutors, through email and phone conversation, both locally and internationally. I will be carrying items which are not currently available in the U.S. market.
What internal support have you gotten for your project? What kind of push-back have you received?
I have only told a few people about this project. Those with whom I shared it are excited and optimistic. I have been advised by them to take baby steps and not get overwhelmed by the size and scope of what I am working on.
Push back I received is people questioning my motivation and very real concerns on how to pay for start up costs.
Everyone I have spoke with thinks I have a sound idea and am capable of developing and implementing it.
I have undertaken a detailed investigation of peers/competitors in this industry/field from local to global.
My peers are those who recognize the need for a radical shift away from business as usual. My competitors are those, whose commitment to profit is primary.
Created on 12/31/2012 by Birgit Berglund
We partner with NGOs that work with vocational training for vulnerable women. In spite of empowerment programs stigma and high unemployment rate obstruct job opportunities. As a social enterprise we will hire members from these NGOs, and together we will manufacture ethical and fashionable high quality leather bags.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Tell us about yourself/your team.
We are three young women with background from voluntary work, social work, business and marketing. Our skills and qualities are quite different from one and another, and this is what makes us a adequat and good team.
We are currently taking a master within entrepreneurship and innovation, and our ability to work and communicate as a team has been tested several times.
Considering that we are a business in the nascent phase it is confiding that we have seen eachothers strengths and weaknesses. We know when to support and when to enchourage eachother, and this we consider as an advantage.
What makes you an intrapreneur? What are the skills, capabilities, and personality traits that make you an intrapreneur?
A good intrapreneur is one that can create new ideas and make positive changes from within the business. We are in the start up phase, and it is part of our vision to see change in the women that will work within our business. In order to do so we will be working "on the ground" with the business staff as a whole. It is here will find the dynamo for good ideas. Motivation and encouragement of the women we work with is what will make us succeede as an intrapreneural business. Our utter most important personality trait is therefor the ability to show emapthy.
Communication amongst our colleagues is key to pick up the good ideas for viablity of our bottom line.
Primary country where this project is creating social impact
Additional countries or regions
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了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏The Need: What social or environmental problem are you trying to solve?
Since 2010 we have been working alongside a volunteer organisation in Livingstone, Zambia, whose purpose is to eliminate prostitution. Kwenuha offer a variety of programs with the goal of empowering former sex workers, as well as vocational training, where prospective work or self-employment is the desired outcome.
However, over the years it has proven to be difficult to reach this objective. Stigma and high unemployment rates are the leading factors that prevent Kwenuhas members in obtaining future employment.
This also creates a great challange for the organisation. If the women can't move forward the organisation will not have staff to help others "off the streets", and the organisation will not be able to create positive ripple effect.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
We are starting up a social enterprise in Livingstone, where we will create and sell high quality leather bags for the concious consumer under the brand WayaWaya.
As a social entrepreneurial organization our vision is to “fulfill dreams and strengthen the individual through sustainable work”. We are establishing a sewing factory in Livingstone, Zambia. This will operate as an extended job prospect for vulnerable women, and will be a possibility for them to engage in an ordinary work environment. The fashionable leather bags that we manufacture will be exported internationally under the brand WayaWaya.
The Solution: Why is this solution innovative for your company and industry?
Over the past years the fashion industry has been critizised for the lack of collaboration along the value chain. The demand has created poor working conditions, and there is need for change. It is not only the manufacturers wrong-doing, but a value chain as a whole. High demand for quick delivery gives little room for flexibility and change. By being in charge of designing, manufacturing and sales we are shortening the value chain and improving transparency.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities.
We are collaborating with several NGOs in Zambia who work on a basic level solving emergent social problems. Our organization will be the next step for the people involved. We are offering proper work with good salaries and uplifting work conditions.
We believe in transparency and as we, unlike most other fashion brands, are in control of our own production, we have a unique position. We strive to maintain our social and ethical value throughout the whole value chain, and partner only with suppliers who can meet our requirements. Local suppliers are preferred.
We will strive to uplift our employees through skills training, respect, empowerment, motivation and close and personal follow-up of each individual. Workdays will be no longer than 8 hours, 5 days a week, and wages will be on a good Zambian level with possibilities for a bonus.
We will continuously scale our production based on the market demand. More products sold, means more people employed. We will continuously search for more NGO partners to recruit from. When we have a good working production model, we want to scale to other African countries to scale our social impact.
Our brand story will be concentrated around the unique stories of our women. How they find strength and motivation despite their background. Through our brand the consumer will get a feeling of knowing the person who made their purse. Story will be communicated through elements such as tags, leaflets, webpage, PR stories and social media/viral videos.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Our main target segment is trendy, wealthy and conscious female consumers from 25-40yrs. We are entering the luxury market, which is growing. Products will be sold on the Internet and in fashion stores first in the Nordics, then US and other European countries.
This Entry is about (Issues)
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
We didn´t have the "aha" moment for our idea while working for the peace corps, but on our time off. It didn’t take long for a couple of shopaholics to discover that Livingstone lacked proper clothing stores. And with a big passion for fashion we quickly trailed the solution to our problem.
In Livingstone there are hundreds of informal second-hand clothing stores. Vintage, second hand, beta products, high end. You name it they’ve got it. And so the treasure hunt had begun. Any garment with an outdated design, nice colour or good quality we took to Emmah´s Wear, the local seamstress.
Over the year of 2010 Emma and her employees made many nice things for us, but that is merely all they have done. They taught us about Zambian courtesy, work ethics and everyday struggle. We have to date a much appreciated relationship. Emma is an important piece in our puzzle, and we are very grateful to have her as part of our network.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
When Merete and Iris enrolled a master in innovation and entrepreneurship in Norway Birgit becacme engaged. From here we have worked with the project as part of school and on our time off, which has helped us strucutreize our nascent business idea.
We are still in the nascent phase, and we have not yet made any impact to any individual. The creation and composition of our team and help from teachers and professional guides through our school have helped consolidate our business model. We have reviewed several ways on how to implement further training for our future staff. The design of our product has been evaluated carefully both to satisfy the consumers need and in order for our business to survive and grow organically. As an example we wanted to use off-cuts and second hand material, but after evaluating access to the supply and quality of material we saw this as a less sustainable model. Using leather from a local tannery is more viable and will support the local economy.
What is your projected impact over the next 1 to 3 years?
Job creation will have a tremendous impact on the individuals, their families and the community. They will have the possibility to earn their own money, which will buy food, shelter, clothes and medicines. Our partner organizations will also be able to help more people when spaces are opened.
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
The biggest barriers for success within the handbag-market is distribution and customer loyalty. This can be contract with distributors, placement in store, realtionship to the fashion-press, scale advantages within marketing and production and branding familiarity. We are actively working on lowering these challenges.
An example of lowering the challanges is to use under the line marketing to get our brand recognized.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏What is the benefit or value you're creating for your business?
The possibility for the women to earn their own money, which will buy food, shelter, clothes and medicines. Our partner organizations will also be able to help more people when spaces are opened.
in accordance to our growth we will also be supporting the local economy.
How are you leveraging internal resources (funds, time, knowledge, etc.) to support this initiative?
In order to run the start-up process as smoothly as possible with the necessary resources available, we account with a capital requirement of $350 000 distributed over 2yrs. This will result in a surplus after 2 years. At this point we have employed 100 women in Zambia and are selling 10 000 purses a year.
We are currently working on applications for support through philantropic funders and supporters. We are also working on carrying out fund raising in Norway and Zambia.
For the first period our biggest expenditures will be location, equimpent and expert staff (designers and seamstresses).
Expand on your answer, explaining the long-term funding and support plan.
As mentoined above it will take us about 2 years to break even. It will be important with funding and support in the very beginning. Our advantage is that we can sell our product from the very first manufacturing day locally in Zambia. It is part of our strategic plan to make use of the tourist market in Livingstone to cover expenditures while expanding and streamlining the business.
Tell us about your partnerships across your company and externally that are key to your project's success.
We are in contact with suppliers in both South Africa and loccaly in Zambia. The supplier in South Africa has already helped us with leather for our prototypes, free of charge.
We have a good network in Zambia, and have involved both a local accountant and advisors. We are collaborating with individuals that with can create pull-effects locally.
We are also in contact with three large NGOs that are working with vocational training for vulnerable women.
What internal support have you gotten for your project? What kind of push-back have you received?
Our board is to date our most important internal support. Livingstone is the tourist capital of Zambia, and one of our board members are heavily involved in LTA (Livingstone Tourist Association). As part of the strategy to obtain cash flow on an early stage we will attract tourists locally to buy our products. Our board has already been in contact with different lodges, and they will set up tourist shuttels to come to our manufacturing site.
The Mardi Gras industry in the Greater New Orleans region is worth at least tens of millions of dollars, likely hundreds. This means there is a huge demand for what are locally known as "throws." Throws can be anything from cheap, plastic beads to hand-painted coconuts, and they are thrown out by the ton during the weeks of celebration culminating in Mardi Gras.
Created on 12/19/2012 by Katelin Kennedy
In partnership with Feeding America and the Global FoodBanking Network, Hilton Worldwide is we are piloting perishable food donations from hotel banquets. The pilot will explore how to enhance operational capacity among food banks and their agency partners to allow them to accept donations from hotel restaurants to reduce waste.
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Tell us about yourself/your team.
We have a small but agile team that works to identify opportunities within the company to align business objectives with societal needs.
What makes you an intrapreneur? What are the skills, capabilities, and personality traits that make you an intrapreneur?
Ability to leverage relationships from across the business to gain support and buy-in for your work. Flexibility and ability to adapt to ever-changing internal dynamics and external challenges that you'll inevitably encounter. Willingness and openness to learn from all involved parties to adapt approaches to figure out what works best. And perhaps most importantly a never-give-up attitude!
Company Country
United States, VA, McLean
Primary country where this project is creating social impact
n/a
Additional countries or regions
United States (multiple cities), Egypt, Australia, India, Japan, and others as we scale
Industry
Accommodation and Food Services
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了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏请选择最符合您的解决方案的阶段：
开始（刚开始运作的试行阶段）
The Need: What social or environmental problem are you trying to solve?
In the United States along 40% of food goes to waste according to Natural Resources Defense Council. As one of the largest hotel companies in the world, we are also one of the largest restaurant operators. We recognized that often food we produce from banquets or daily operations is wasted. Furthermore, this contributes to our costs as we pay to dispose of waste. While the idea to donate this leftover food is conceptually simple, the reality is much more complex. The majority of food banks are not positioned to accept perishable foods, and the recipient agencies often don't have the infrastructure in place to collect food in a timely manner. Further, you run into the challenge of matching supply of food available with demand for food given the added complexity of food being perishable.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
We have partnered with Feeding America and the Global FoodBanking Network to pilot food rescue and donation activities in key markets, with a focus on learning best practices in order to make food donation opportunities available to our 3,900 hotels in 90 countries. We are examining existing food collection processes to identify opportunities to integrate perishable food collection systems into food banking operations and hotel food and beverage operations. We will leverage the expertise of both organizations to then develop tools and resources that can guide hotels outside of the direct pilots in establishing safe food donation systems with local recipient agencies. Further, we will examine the business impact to understand potential cost savings achieved from this activity to make the case for continued investment from the enterprise.
The Solution: Why is this solution innovative for your company and industry?
To our knowledge other companies haven't attempted to develop a scale-able solution to the problem of perishable food waste. We are uniquely positioned to develop a model that our hotels can leverage to not only reduce waste, but potentially save money in the process. We see great potential to integrate donation opportunities into our current operations and divert waste to do good in the process.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities.
In some of our properties thousands of pounds of usable food is thrown away on a regular basis while simultaneously the surrounding communities suffer from hunger. For example, in some Middle Eastern countries it is customary to order sometimes over 100% more food than is needed for weddings or other large events. Hotels have usable food and food banks have networks of partners that can use the food, but no one is making the 'last mile' connection to enable the transfer. Through our pilot we are leveraging our expertise in food and beverage operations and our partners' expertise in food handling, collection, and distribution to develop tools and resources to support donation on a larger scale. First we are working to understand the problem and why it isn't happening organically. Next we will focus on making individual connections and facilitating donations at a local level to identify best practices. Finally, we will develop the necessary tools to scale to our broader portfolio. We rely heavily on the expertise of our partner organizations and their affiliates to co-create and guide the development of our solution and truly consider this a partnership that leverages the expertise of the public and private sector to address a societal issue.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
There are many hotels or restaurants that do this at an individual or local level, but to our and our partners' knowledge there aren't other food and beverage outlets that are attempting to scale learnings across a broader enterprise. I believe our biggest challenges will not come from competitors, but will come from the reason we don't have competitors: this is a tough nut to crack! There are a lot of challenges from an operational perspective in terms of food packaging, safety, pick-up and delivery, and legal liability. We would really benefit from ADP consulting support around how to scale this pilot across countries and markets.
This Entry is about (Issues)
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
This concept was developed by our VP of Corporate Responsibility and VP of Sustainability as a broader strategy to reduce waste coming from our hotels. They recognized the societal value of reducing the massive amounts of food being wasted on a daily basis, and recognized the opportunity to partner with experts in the field to try to identify a solution.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
The pilot launched in November 2012, so we are just getting up and running. However, we have committed to the pilot via a commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative.
What is your projected impact over the next 1 to 3 years?
We hope to provide resources to enable hundreds of our hotels to develop local partnerships with food banks and recipient agencies to accept food.
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
Operational and infrastructure challenges have been the first barriers. We have also recognized a challenge to identify hotels that have a commitment and energy around community relations that can match with recipient agencies within a reasonable distance of the hotel that also want to develop capabilities to accept perishable food. To overcome these challenges we are surveying agencies and hotels that have already started the donation process to better understand the critical elements to success in the partnership.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏What is the benefit or value you're creating for your business?
Through food donation we will directly reduce the amount of waste produced by our hotels which is a direct cost to each of them. We will be able to calculate the cost savings given the pounds of waste that are diverted from waste services. Further, these donations will go to charity so there is an opportunity to claim tax deductions as well (though we anticipate this will be less impactful than the value savings from waste reduction).
How are you leveraging internal resources (funds, time, knowledge, etc.) to support this initiative?
We have worked with our food and beverage teams, and operations teams to identify hotels to participate in the pilot. We plan to develop a working group made up of a cross-functional team from the business to advise on the development of the program as it expands.
Expand on your answer, explaining the long-term funding and support plan.
For the initial year the project is being supported by the corporate responsibility department. The bulk of the cost should take place up front as we implement the pilots and develop supporting resources. Ideally we hope to make the business case to pass any additional costs on to the operations and/or food and beverage teams.
Tell us about your partnerships across your company and externally that are key to your project's success.
Our partnerships with Feeding America and the Global FoodBanking Network are critical to our success. We would not be able to implement without the opportunity to leverage their relationships and expertise in food recovery. Internally we have leaned heavily on our operations team to socialize the partnership with our hotels.
What internal support have you gotten for your project? What kind of push-back have you received?
At the corporate level we haven't received any push-back. At the hotel level we've identified some properties that aren't sure they will have enough food available to donate (remember that our properties range from ~100 rooms to ~1000+ rooms depending on brand, location, type, etc) so we are working to identify the best process for selecting hotels and the ideal hotel 'profile' for donation. Otherwise people have largely been supportive.
Created on 12/7/2012 by Emma Harvey
Achieving sustainable affordable fuels for aviation would be a major breakthrough in the war on climate change, with transferrable benefits to the wider transportation industry, and major global benefits. The challenge, like the opportunity, is significant – but it is possible!
了解详情 ↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Tell us about yourself/your team.
What could be a bigger challenge than trying to get sustainable solutions for aviation? And where better to go for it than at a pioneering brand like Virgin, with a values-driven Chairman like Sir Richard Branson? This was what drew me to the role of Head of Sustainability at Virgin Atlantic, 2.5 years ago. It's my passion to drive us to achieve truly sustainable fuels for aviation. Having such an ambition was never going to be a solitary activity – this is very much a team effort, involving fantastic people from across our business, as well as from the wider Virgin Group and airline industry. In fact, to single out individuals in a recognition roll-call would (with only 100 words!) inevitably mean missing out people who’ve contributed something valuable. .
What makes you an intrapreneur? What are the skills, capabilities, and personality traits that make you an intrapreneur?
Oh gosh, I hate putting myself forwards, so I’m already uncomfortable with this question (– is that one of the traits?). But I’m passionate about doing what I can to make this work, so I see the Intrapreneurs’ programme as invaluable to that. I’ve been working in international, multi-stakeholder teams for years. I was lucky enough to be introduced to this way of working about 20 years ago, and collaborating within and across organisations has always made sense to me. No one can be an expert in all things – you make the big stuff happen when you get the right people round the table, identifying barriers to develop real world solutions. This involves (I hope) having reasonably good people skills, and knowing how to leverage our brand and people to broker the right relationships.
Company Country
United Kingdom, WSX, Crawley
Primary country where this project is creating social impact
n/a
Additional countries or regions
As climate change has no borders, and as we as a business operate in many countries, this programme is truly international.
我们会使用您在此处提供的信息来填写您个人资料中任何留空的部分，例如兴趣、组织/机构信息和网站。所有联系信息都不会公开。如果您不希望发生这种情况，请取消选中此项。.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏请选择最符合您的解决方案的阶段：
发展（从试行步入正轨，并开始扩展）
The Need: What social or environmental problem are you trying to solve?
Aviation represents 2% of worldwide carbon emissions and growing. But it's also critical to the global economy, supporting 3.5% of global GDP and contributing nearly 56.6 million jobs worldwide, as well as connecting families, communities and businesses around the world. To lose it would have major socio-economic implications. We’re committed to reducing the carbon emissions from aircraft operations, while maintaining these vital benefits. This includes implementing top notch fuel efficiency measures and also, critically, pioneering efforts to steer us away from dependency on fossil fuels and towards low-carbon fuel solutions. This has the potential to make a significant contribution to the international transport industry, climate change and people worldwide.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
It’s early days in the development of sustainable aviation fuel solutions and the challenges are significant. There are many new, early stage suppliers out there, all claiming to have the next big thing – very confusing. There’s also a significant gap in terms of funding the most promising options: from lab, to pilot, to demo, to full commercial plants. We believe we’ve taken a very exciting step in the form of our ground-breaking partnership with new, low-carbon fuels company LanzaTech. LanzaTech makes ethanol from carbon monoxide (CO) gases (usually flared directly into the atmosphere as CO2), from heavy production facilities like steel making sites, then converts this ethanol into jet fuel. We plan to start buying commercial volumes of sustainable fuel as soon as 2014. Plus we’re collaborating with the Carbon War Room (CWR – see video) to encourage development and financing of suppliers beyond LanzaTech – to kickstart a new market of sustainable, affordable fuels worldwide.
The Solution: Why is this solution innovative for your company and industry?
LanzaTech fuel offers a major sustainable technology breakthrough, already positively received by NGOs, scientists and industry. It avoids the problems of using crops for fuels (land, food and water competition issues) by ‘recycling’ waste carbon for a second use, resulting in 50-60% lower LCA carbon emissions than kerosene. If successful, it’ll be the first time a sustainable fuel has been used in routine aviation use. Just the first step in a bigger, pioneering programme!
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities.
Aviation makes a massive global, socio-economic contribution (Oxford Economics 2011). Growth is generally fastest in developing countries, precisely because it’s so intimately linked to economic development. At the same time, it's clear aviation is carbon-intensive and in need of low carbon solutions. It’s a huge challenge, and huge opportunity to make a big difference. Any breakthroughs could not only change aviation, but also the wider transport industry, with its big carbon footprint (2% global carbon contribution for aviation, and growing; 4% for shipping; 12% for other transport: WRI, 2005). Our biggest opportunity to make a significant difference is by supporting next-generation, low carbon fuels, while avoiding the problems of earlier generation ‘biofuels’, by using novel feedstocks like waste gases, liquids and solids. (How amazing to make a fuel from ‘recycled’ carbon that would otherwise end up in our atmosphere, rather than taking new carbon out of the ground?) We insist on suppliers using the RSB gold-standard, international, independent, multi-stakeholder standard for sustainable fuels, which includes robust LCA methodology. We encourage the technological know-how. But much supplier work is early-stage, and there’s a big funding gap that airlines alone cannot address. We at Virgin are accelerating the fuels’ route to commercialisation by convening key leading stakeholders (inc. suppliers, NGOs, scientists, policy-makers, industry, and – crucially – financers) to create a market and solutions. Much of the detail is confidential, but this is the essence of it.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
We collaborate and compete with other airlines. In 2008 we were the first airline to conduct a biofuel test flight when everyone else said it was technically impossible. Also in 2008, we were one of a small number of airlines to found the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group (SAFUG), to promote solutions: membership now covers 25+% of world aviation fuel demand. We are the first airline to work with the CWR, which assesses new suppliers against key sustainability and commercialisation criteria to encourage transparency and financing: their work is now open to others. We were the first airline to pioneer the ground-breaking new LanzaTech technology. Our (confidential) plans for beyond LanzaTech, to create a new fuels market, will ultimately benefit the whole industry and beyond.
This Entry is about (Issues)
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
There have been a few! For a long time I’ve believed it’s crucial we wean our world off fossil fuels and on to renewables. So when the post came up at Virgin, in a carbon-intensive industry, with an organisation whose Chairman is known for pioneering – it seemed too good an opportunity to miss. When I joined the company, I realised that finding commercial aviation fuel solutions is no easy task. But in 2010, we came across two great organisations: LanzaTech and the CWR. Because we discovered that LanzaTech is about using a plentiful, cheap, low-carbon feedstock to create an affordable fuel, and has a scaleable growth model, i.e. fuel that is low carbon, that an airline can afford, and which can be rolled out (if applied to all eligible steel plants worldwide, it would provide 19% of the world’s aviation fuel demand). When we heard about it, we knew we were onto something significant! We also need more suppliers, so the audacious ambitions of CWR immediately struck a chord too.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
This programme is still in development, and there are many challenges to overcome, but unlike most other suppliers, as well as their fantastic new technology, LanzaTech already has two ethanol demonstration plants built and running in China. When scaled up to commercial size in 2014 (the equipment ‘bolts on’ to existing plants), one facility alone will have enough capacity to provide jet fuel for all our flights out of China (and more besides), so this offers an extremely promising commercial solution. We’re collaborating to bring the LanzaTech technology to other locations, including Europe, India and beyond – it has so much potential to be scaled. And as described, we’re looking beyond LanzaTech. We need a range of supplier solutions, and we’re collaborating with CWR and other key stakeholders to accelerate crucial funding to the wider market, which could really change the state of the industry. But there are many barriers and we need all the help we can get!
What is your projected impact over the next 1 to 3 years?
By 2014, we plan to have the LanzaTech fuel in routine commercial use, which would be a major industry breakthrough as: 1. The technology itself is ground-breaking and has the potential to lead to even more exciting breakthroughs; 2. It doesn’t rely on agricultural feedstocks and has a fantastic, low LCA carbon, sustainability profile; 3. It would be the first time the industry has moved beyond test flights (with expensive, small-scale fuel volumes), to a solution that is affordable and appropriate for routine business use. By 2015 we plan to do the same in India and Europe. And by working with CWR and other organisations, we intend to have new approach to supporting leading, low carbon aviation fuel suppliers within the next 1-2 years, creating green growth and new low carbon jobs.
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
This is where we need you – there are so many! Much of the detail is confidential right now, but suffice to say this is all superbly possible, but also incredibly challenging. We could fall at m/any hurdles. I would divide these into: technological (that new suppliers can’t scale their technologies through to commercial viability); financial (that we can’t get financers and policy makers to see the merits of switching their support from fossil fuels into sustainable fuels); cultural (that with any new ideas and developments, key stakeholders need to be encouraged to shift their thinking and actions); and regulatory (we need the right policies and incentives). We plan to overcome them by tapping into the best of the Virgin spirit and involving all the pioneering allies we need.
了解详情↓↑ 隐藏↑ 隐藏What is the benefit or value you're creating for your business?
Sustainable fuels are an essential part of our Change is in the Air (CIITA) sustainability programme and align closely with our company values, which are also of significant appeal to our customers. In addition, they make good business sense in that they offer the opportunity to: provide affordable low-carbon fuels; take some of the volatility out of escalating and significant fuel costs; provide fuel security; and lower our exposure to carbon taxes and other penalties, therefore improving Virgin Atlantic’s competitive position.
How are you leveraging internal resources (funds, time, knowledge, etc.) to support this initiative?
I spend about 50% of my time on our sustainable fuels programme, as it’s by far our biggest priority. I also work very closely with our Sustainability Strategy Group, which provides high-level governance to our wider Change is in the Air Sustainability Programme, and is led by our Chief Commercial Officer (second in command in the business) and includes most of our Directors and other key senior managers. This gives us much of the support we need to make the fuels’ programme work. For that, I collaborate with all our key departments, e.g. we have invaluable input from our Heads of Fuel Management and Procurement, and from our Engineering Director – all of whom are essential to this programme. Many people across the business are very excited by, and supportive of, the possibilities.
Expand on your answer, explaining the long-term funding and support plan.
The aviation sector is very lean financially, and fuel represents a high proportion of operating costs. This means airlines alone cannot fund the development of a new fuels market. Also, any new fuels need to be affordable. We can leverage our role as a leading brand and buyer of sustainable fuels, to demonstrate that a market exists and stimulate investment (as we’ve done with LanzaTech). To go bigger, we’re working with CWR to identify other suppliers (those that are truly sustainable and scaleable), and with other airlines to demonstrate wider demand (e.g. SAFUG members). Getting a new market started also needs investors, policy makers and scientists among others. Crucially, we need to encourage financers to inject money into the right places, so that we can make this happen.
Tell us about your partnerships across your company and externally that are key to your project's success.
From our Chairman Sir Richard Branson who describes LanzaTech as “one of the most exciting developments of our lifetime and a major breakthrough in the war on carbon”, to the CWR (see accompanying videos), to our Executive team and senior managers, Virgin Group, airline members of SAFUG, scientists (we collaborate with Imperial College London), NGOs (the Carbon War Room, RSB), policy makers in the UK, EU and beyond, and essentially, the finance community.
What internal support have you gotten for your project? What kind of push-back have you received?
Internal support for the programme is described above. The biggest challenges we have are that fuels need to be affordable (at least on a par with kerosene costs) and that airlines are not in a position to fund a new supplier market themselves. Instead, we must go where the money is, using our brand and access to expertise and leverage support. In short, any initiatives must make business sense – they must be developed in the real and challenging world of aviation.
