Edventure Strategic Planning November 2013

How shall we develop edventure: Frome as a sustainable and replicable social enterprise over the next 3 years?

VISION:   What do we see in place 3 years from now?

• An inspiring demonstration of positive impact 
  • A BBC Documentary about ‘the way of edventure’
  • Case Study :  Leader in innovative methods
  • A strong visible portfolio of case studies
  • Landlords Inspired by use of space
  • We can demonstrate the impact of edventure using an effective evaluation tool
  • Statue of Johannes with kaboodles of money and a knighthood
  • An array of success stories
• Meaningful livelihoods make thriving Frome
  • The capacity built by edventure stays within Frome
  • Young people are staying and setting up responsible business
  • Network of offshoot enterprises
  • ‘One planet’ edventure
  • Frome is a hotbed for social enterprise
  • Frome is a better place because of edventure
• Edventure is embedded, valued & influential in Frome
  • Established and valued service provider in Frome
  • Active, visible, respected group in Frome
  • Advocates for edventure from a cross-section of Frome
  • University of facilitation practice
  • Linked into & valued by FCLP
  • Diverse purposeful & fun youth culture
• Edventure is recognised as local, inclusive, diverse & accessible
  • Bringing people together and creating opportunities
  • We are holding a celebration for people involved with edventure (0-120 years)
  • Have case studies of working with all the communities of Frome
• A well-resourced and sustainable business
  • Well-resourced and thriving hub
  • Strong supportive admin team
  • 3-year core funding
  • £100k in reserves and a full team of staff
  • A thriving Welshmill community space
  • Edventure is sponsored by Lord Sugar
• Seeds are taking root
  • An apprentice has started another edventure
  • A strong replicable brand
  • Edventure umbrella body
  • Clear vision & identity
• A magnet for young people
  • Every young person in Frome knows edventure can help
  • A raft of young people
  • There is a waiting list

CONTRADICTIONS: What is blocking us from moving towards our vision?

• We have limited capacity to meet access requirements
  • Restrictions on use of space
  • Not inclusive – physical access, special needs
• We tend to overstretch ourselves
  • Doing too much at once
  • Concern & energy spread too wide
  • Short-term activity compromises long-term vision
• Tension between being driven by demand vs. mission
  • People don’t necessarily want/ seek diversity
  • Limited packages limit accessibility
  • We are not yet creating enough opportunities to unite people who are different
  • We are not responding to demand of young people of Frome
• Suspicion of the new & different deters people from engaging
  • Not able to communicate effectively
  • People are threatened because they don’t understand
  • Perception of exclusivity (hippy, alternative, middle class)
  • Actively not valued or trusted by agencies
  • Not enough advocates with influence
  • Giving impression of being too alternative
  • Being new/ threatening in an established community of service providers
• Unclear outcomes deter engagement
  • Outcomes for edventure are unclear
  • Difficult to communicate vision convincingly
  • Misunderstanding of expectation by & of apprentices
  • Difficulty of accessing long-term funding
  • Unknown entity to young people (risk, justify on CV)
  • We do not yet know our niche
  • Not able to communicate edventure effectively
• We are start-up pioneers
  • We are believing our own assumptions
  • No tried & tested business model
  • Experience, time, track record – build before collapse
  • Unknown entity to other bodies (new, different)
  • Edventure hasn’t flowered (yet)
• We have yet to find a way to measure impact
  • Not able to communicate effectively
  • Learning, income, social impact – tension
  • How to measure impact?
  • Difficulty measuring reach & impact
• Our background is not business
  • Financial vulnerability
  • Business expertise needed
  • Misunderstanding of business needs

STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS: What practical actions will deal with our underlying contradictions and move us toward our vision?

Creatively Pioneering and Demonstrating Social Impact

• Experiment
  • Trial new support packages, record & evaluate
• Evidence
  • Document learning as part of pioneering approach
  • Seek input on creative tools to measure impact
  • Build simple measurement into day to day procedure
  • Strong social media coverage
  • Use ‘Good Analyst’ framework to define & measure impact
  • Create an impact portfolio
  • Find out how others (similar) measure impact, e.g.: for funding
  • Participants tell edventure’s story through their own experiences

Nurturing Supportive, Beneficial Networks and Partnerships

• Connect
  • Join Frome community learning network
  • Meet & talk to more local community groups
  • Going out to meet people & build relationships in community (i.e.: join a group)
• Partner
  • Partner with existing business learning places
  • Link with established partner, i.e.: Princes Trust, UnLtd
• Be supported
  • Seek similar examples to edventure
  • Seek business support relationship
  • Guidance from pioneering start-up for now & future
  • Scheduled time for business planning with mentors
  • Seek support from other pioneering organisations
  • Seek out business expertise

Delivering Clear and Focussed Outcomes

• Relax
  • Creative use of the truth to fundraise
• Clarify
  • Design a partnership contract
  • Clarify on needs requirements for apprentices
  • Clear guidelines about services regularly updated & improved
  • Write clear rules of engagement for users
  • For each vision create a detailed account of what it would look like
  • Understand and acknowledge access restrictions
  • Agree our capacity to support individual needs
• Focus
  • Narrow frame of intent
  • Decide on criteria for taking on new projects
  • Do less but better: prioritise, be patient