Exploring Growth to Scale Impact with Project Etico

The Social Impact Hub works with social enterprises across Australia to help them amplify their impact. The meaningful and innovative work these organisations undertake never ceases to amaze us and as such, we always jump at an opportunity to share the stories of some of our clients.  

Recently we've had the privilege of working alongside the team behind Project Etico Australia (Project Etico). Project Etico is an Australian registered charity behind Hotel Etico in the Blue Mountains, Australia's first social enterprise hotel providing on-the-job work, training, and live-in opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. Based on the model established in Italy, Project Etico are currently exploring how the organisation can optimise and replicate their model so they can grow their impact in Australia.

To support this work, consultants from Social Impact Hub's Professional Impact Network teamed up with Project Etico's Board, leadership team and staff to explore growth options for the organisation and consider the implications of these options on the enterprise's business, operating and social impact model.

The team came together in the Blue Mountains for a full day workshop to identify and prioritise a set of growth options and then co-created a 6 month action plan to build growth readiness for Hotel Etico. We even had time for some team building and drinks to wrap up the day.

REFLECTIONS ON EXPLORING GROWTH

1. The importance of carving out dedicated time to be strategic. A lot of the social enterprises we work with are at that exciting stage of scaling their impact, but whilst exciting, it's no mean feat! Teams are often running at 100 miles per hour to get through the day-to-day so it can be difficult to find time to focus on strategy. By planning well in advance and hosting the workshop at an offsite location, the Project Etico team were able to clear their diaries and dedicate a full day to focus on thinking strategically.

2. Collaborate and co-design for the best outcomes. Great ideas and innovative thinking is always better with a diversity of perspectives around the table (or whiteboard!). Being able to bring everyone together face-to-face was a great opportunity to ensure everyone had the opportunity to share their ideas and perspectives.

3. Have fun on the journey. We love social enterprises and we love working with them. But there's no denying that there's a lot of hard work that goes into creating awesome businesses that do good and have viable business model. Sometimes it can be hard to take a step back, smile and enjoy the ride. Finding time at the end of the day to have some fun and socialise together was a good reminder of this!

Keen to learn more about Strategy? Check out our Education Playbook here.

Strategic Planning with Health Consumers NSW

Health Consumers NSW (HCNSW) provide support and training to health consumers working with health services in NSW, as well as working with health services to build and improve their engagement with patients, families and health consumers. COVID-19 saw fundamental changes to the healthcare sector and the team at HCNSW recognised the need to develop a new strategy to effectively position itself for future success and sustainability.

With support Social Impact Hub, HCNSW embarked on a journey of identifying a set of new goals as part of a roadmap that would culminate in a strategic plan to align the organisation and provide them with clear guidance on a way forward, in line with their overarching vision and mission. As part of this work, Health Consumers NSW explored opportunities to diversify its income sources, looking at a range of value-adding services it could provide to the communities it serves whist improving financial sustainability.

Watch the video case study below to find out more.

Diversifying Revenue with PlateitForward

PlateitForward aims to re-invent the definition of equal opportunity by providing food, education and employment where opportunity isn’t equal. The team identified an opportunity to provide meal delivery service for NDIS participants in minority communities, offering modern, healthy and culturally appropriate food. Whilst the team had identified an opportunity, the next step was to dive a bit deeper and understand what the go-to-market strategy would need to be to make this new product offering successful in the community, as well as financially viable.

With support from Social Impact Hub, PlateitForward developed a go-to-market strategy for their new NDIS meal delivery offering that included strategic choices around market positioning and associated value propositions, customers, competitor defensibility and distribution channel. This was coupled with a sales, marketing and operations plan and financial model so the team could effectively execute this new offering in the market.

Watch the video case study below to find out more.

Demonstrating Impact with the John Moriarty Foundation

John Moriarty Football (JMF) is an Indigenous football initiative for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families, employees and communities in remote and regional NT, Qld, and NSW. JMF is a permanent presence in each of the 18 communities where the program operates, and uses football for talent and positive change to improve school attendance and resilient and healthier outcomes.

As part of the SSTF program, the Social Impact Hub worked with the JMF team to revisit the purpose behind their program and the impacts that they were having on the communities they serve. A theory of change and impact measurement framework was developed to ensure that JMF were able to collect the data required to demonstrate the impact they sought to achieve. The process allowed the team to align on their purpose and to help prioritise and focus their efforts on activities that will make the biggest difference.

Watch the video case studies below to find out more.

Articulating & Measuring Impact with Dandelion Support Network

Dandelion Support Network provides vulnerable families with essential items for their babies and children. They achieve this by accepting, sorting and safety checking preloved items from the public which are then provided to families via referrals from social workers at hospitals and welfare agencies.

As an organisation focused on demonstrating its impact, the team have invested a lot of time measuring its impact and in 2020 they created a Social Return on Investment (SROI) of $2.54:1. However, this calculation didn’t capture the full value of the services Dandelion provides and given this, the team wanted to update its impact measurement approach to encompass the full range of items being provided to vulnerable families. Doing so would enable Dandelion to better communicate the full extent of the impact it is creating for the communities it serves to its key stakeholders, including funding partners. Dandelion needed external expertise to support them on this journey given they didn’t have the in-house expertise and capacity to undertake this work alone.

Through the Social Sector Transformation Fund (SSTF) program, a consultant from the Social Impact Hub’s Professional Impact Network was able to provide expertise and an external perspective to help Dandelion to understand the impact it seeks to create, measure the outcomes associated with this impact and update its SROI calculation to quantitatively describe its impact. The organisation worked with the consultant to undertake 3 phases of work:

1. Develop a program logic to articulate the impact that Dandelion aspires to, specifically capturing the short, medium and long term outcomes that arise from the organisation’s activities.

2. Create an outcomes measurement framework, providing Dandelion with a clear view of what indicators would demonstrate outcomes had been met, and what data needed to be collected to support this. As part of this phase of work, the consultant supported the Dandelion team to identify how data could best be collected through existing data collection processes to streamline effort.

3. Update the SROI calculation. Working with the Dandelion team and Board, the consultant developed a fit-for-purpose template that could be used to capture the financial value associated with the social outcomes in the measurement framework, and then work through a process of attributing a meaningful amount of that value to the work that Dandelion does. The updated SROI figure was used to support Dandelion’s communication back to its funders, communities and supporters.

As a result of the work, Dandelion were better positioned to communicate the impact it creates to its community, funders and partners, better understand where it creates value and ensure its work aligned to its overarching mission.

Strengthening Governance with Kyogle Together

Kyogle Together Inc. is a local community development organisation that nurtures community leadership and holistically works towards a connected and inclusive community. They provide key community services and activities via innovative programs, including Kyogle Youth Action, inclusive of the Village Youth Program, Kyogle Community Gym, The Fair. Share. Kitchen and the Kyogle Resources Innovation Collective (KRIC). They committed to listening to and working with the community and promoting openness and respect.

As a relatively small not-for-profit community organisation based in regional NSW, it can be difficult to attract and retain Board members. The leadership of Kyogle Together Inc. saw a need and opportunity to engage the Board and build capacity with greater strategic focus and clarity of processes and roles.

Through the Social Sector Transformation Fund program, a consultant from the Social Impact Hub’s Professional Impact Network was able to provide expertise and an external perspective with practical governance advice. The consultant worked with Kyogle Together Inc. to understand their current governance framework and areas for improvement including reviewing governance policies. The organisation then worked with the consultant to clarify the role of the Committee members including how the Association and Committee works and Constitutional rules and regulations. They also developed practical governance templates guides including a Committee charter and treasurer guide.

As a result of this work, Kyogle Together Inc.’s board has received training and ongoing support in the development of board requirements and more specifically the role of the treasurer. The training provided can also be adapted to be utilised as an onboarding document/process for new and or interested board members and a document was also created to support the work and functions of the role of treasurer. The support offered was practical and offered immediate application and opportunities for future development.

Throughout this process we faced challenges such as time constraints however our support person managed this by being flexible and understanding and supported me to achieve the best out of this amazing opportunity.

Designing & Implementing Strategy with PlayGroup NSW

Playgroup NSW is part of a national network of playgroup organisations that delivers around 200,000, playgroup sessions nationally, connecting communities, parents and children to enhance their overall health and well being. The organisation has a vision to grow its impact and needed a fit-for-purpose multi year strategy that would align everyone around a common set of goals.

With support from Social Impact Hub, Playgroup NSW developed a new multi-year strategy focused on growth to provide a ‘guiding light’ and ‘backbone’ for the organisation. In the words of Playgroup NSW’s CEO, “We're getting where we want to go. We know what we're good at. We know what we're aiming to achieve and the impact that we're aiming to create and having a clear strategy is what enables us to do that.” Together, with the Board and team, we’re supporting Playgroup to implement the strategy through effectively business planning and execution.

Watch the video case study below to find out more.