We’ve finished writing it.
And it’s been made to look pretty.
I’m talking about ‘Learning from the Labs: how to fund and deliver social tech for charities and social enterprises.’
(You can get a free copy below)
The guide is the summation of what we’ve learnt over the last 4 years, and particularly the last 18 months of watching and helping the 7 Labs projects build their products.
If you’re planning to build or looking to fund a social tech project then this guide will help.
By social tech we mean ‘any digital product or service with a social mission’.
It could be an app or just a content-based website.
It could be an interactive online service or a full gamified life simulator.
The principles are pretty much the same.
Here’s what you’ll get in the guide.
Guidance for Funders
- What we got wrong – How we would have funded the 7 projects differently
- Understand social tech funding formats – so you can pick a format that suits your approach
- Get to know tech development processes – so you can talk the same language as bidders and techies
- Learn about development cycles – so you can assess progress and structure funding to fit them
- How to assess applicant technical capabilities – so you can sort those who really know what they are doing
- Provide mentoring – your projects will need it more than they think
- How to make learning immediately actionable – so that projects make better decisions before launching
You’ll also get guidance for delivery organisations.
Guidance for Delivery Organisations
- Understand the Principles – digital projects are different to human powered ones.
- Get Funded – how to write a better bid or make a better pitch
- Choose a Technical Partner – not all web developers are created equal. Sort and choose.
- Understand What Developers and Software Engineers Do – you’ll save time and make much better decisions if you do
- Choose a Development Methodology – that way you’ll know what you’re doing
- Start with Customer Research – don’t assume, understand the problem better
- The Value of Storyboards and Customer Journeys – why you’ll need these tools
- Prototyping – why it saves time and money and leads to a better product
- Maintain a Roadmap – why it helps and why its better than a project plan
- Think Adoption Before Marketing – how to build a core fan base from Day 1
- Start with a Business Model – why you need to design your product with a model in mind
- Measure Lean and Smart – knowing what to measure and how is easier than you think
The guide is free.
Download the Guide
