Two important lessons from Comic Relief’s tech for good showcase
Creative tech agencies can be catalysts for social problem solvers learning tech entrepreneurship
Super Global enables social problem solvers to supercharge their impact through technology. The creative & tech agencies in our community are committed to using their expertise for good.
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Last month I attended a tech for good event where Comic Relief grant funded charities/social enterprises were pitching their latest projects in coordination with tech agencies. Here are two most important things about social impact X agency partnerships I took from it — apart from the craft beers and finger food, mmm…
1. Impact organisations and agencies need to align their thinking before working together
Here’s what you need to understand.
Companies driven by social impact put their mission first. As a result they work with a totally different dynamic than commercially driven enterprises. Planet Organic founder, Renée Elliott, was discussing her company’s success and ambitions for the coming years. When asked about future plans and development she was clearly primarily focused on the present and doing things right before going any further. What was she trying to convey?
Elliott’s mission to bring health to the community through the discovery of new healthy and organic ways of shopping for food doesn’t only relate to what she’s selling in her stores. She also makes sure that her suppliers and employees are aligned with her mission. This takes time.
She prioritises integrating her company’s mission and values throughout its network of actors before expanding, before considering the commercial benefits. It’s not that she doesn’t think about them, they’re simply in second place.
Molly of Disrupt Disability, whose aim is to create a completely modular wheelchair, who told me about how they plan to use a digital platform to facilitate participatory, user led innovation and open-source design. An issue she faced was that they were moving too fast with the technology for partners and employees to keep up. She had to take decision to slow down for the well-being of the company — as partners and employees were not following.
So what?
There is a clear need for both creative/tech agencies and the charities/social enterprises to understand each other before starting to work together. Getting mission statements and values on the table before deciding to work together or talking tech.
As Rachael, founder of Disrupt Disability, puts it:
“Imagine you find yourself at the bottom of a massive mountain you’re aiming to climb. But to get to the soft white snowy peak you’ll need to walk miles on a dangerous, slippery, rocky slope with high heeled shoes two sizes smaller than what you normally wear.”
I could immediately visualise the challenges and pains of the hike. We all could.
2. Creative tech agencies can teach social enterprises to think like tech entrepreneurs
Social entrepreneurs: are you trying to solve a problem using tech in a innovative way? Yes? You’re you’re a tech startup — act like one.
Okay, so you may not be a new venture and have a sustainable business model, but thinking like a tech entrepreneur will help you to get the most out of a collaboration with an agency.
Working in the startup scene in London I meet entrepreneurs every day who are still looking for a valuable problem to solve. They can take months and even years identifying one, understanding the best people to target and, if they ever make it that far, finding those people. YOU are an entrepreneur’s dream. You need to act like one. More than that, you need to act like a tech entrepreneur.
At the Comic Relief tech for good pitch day all the presenters expressed the difficulty they had learning new concepts such as agile methodology, minimum viable product (MVP) and user experience (UX). This education might be daunting but it’s more than essential in learning how to develop tech efficiently and get the best out of relationships with agencies.
Having learned about the agile process from an agency partner, one project manager from Shelter Scotland is now using this method for all of his other projects at the charity.
So what?
Creative tech agencies can be the catalyst for a huge shift in terms of how charities and social enterprises work. This is a very big deal! By teaching them how to structure a project and be efficient you’ll convey the most important lesson of being a tech entrepreneur: how to experiment while minimising cost and risk.
It’s not over yet agencies! I have another mission for you. Teach them what you’re doing. You’ve understood what they want to achieve and you’re c0-creating a genius product. You’re doing a good deed but your social enterprise/charity partner will need to modify it at some point.
By helping them to understand what happens on the journey from A to B you’re not only helping them to avoid a whole new world of problems, but giving them independence and accountability. And even better you’re offering them essential knowledge that will aid them in achieving their mission.
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