Enterprising Communities SWK1048

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STUDENT NAME: Danielle
STUDENT NUMBER: xxxxxxx

Assignment Title

Using the outcomes from the exercises in the Community Organising and Social Innovation Handbooks AND the exercises you have been asked
to do in class, devise a new social venture using the Social Venture Canvas planning framework provided.
(you could also build on your Volunteering module activities)

How to complete this assignment:

To complete this assignment you are required to do the following;

Firstly you need to only put bullet points on the Social Venture Canvas. You will be going into more detail about these points on the
following page in the relevant sections. (if the diagram is too complicated, just type all your answers with the questions on page 5
onwards)
When going into more detail about the points on page 2 onwards remember that you need to be as specific as possible. The more
detail you put in the better grade you will get.
You are expected to have spent about 50 hours on this assignment.

Assignment Marking Criteria

This is the criteria that we are going to be using to assess your Social Model Canvas assignments.
To complete this assignment you are required to work in groups to gather the research and develop ideas but the submission for this
assignment is individual.
Completed Social Model Canvas
Evidence that you have considered Community Organising principles

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Evidence that you have done field research based on the class and home activities
We are going to be looking for a clear statement of problems/solutions
There has to be evidence that you have challenged your assumptions
There also has to be evidence of the research that you have done

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Click on the image and type in the appropriate boxes (fill in the pink boxes on this diagram and the yellow boxes on the next page)

Wider social issues Evidence

Lack of knowledge in relation to handling Questionnaires
finances Face to face interviews
The inability to cook meals from scratch Research

Key Partners Key Activities Social Problem Communication Costs

Channels

Key Resources Root Causes Beneficiary Incomes

Relationships

Venture/Solution Beneficiaries

Impacts Outcomes
Hundreds of first year students will learn Participates will have the knowledge to budget
budgeting skills. more efficiently
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Approximately 30 students will be able to cook Participates will have the ability to cook for
and pass their skills on to others. themselves
 Enterprising Communities SWK1048

Key Partners Key Activities Social Problem Communication Costs

Food poverty Channels
Student Union Budgeting among students Equipment
Other students lessons Some students Leaflets Food
Asda Cooking lessons are not eating Social media Leaflets
Blogs properly due to Student Union Training
Recipes lack of funds website
Selling cooked Solution is
produce information and
skills

Key Resources Root Causes Beneficiary Incomes

Relationships
Food Lack of budgeting Produce sales
A kitchen knowledge Dinner clubs Sponsorship
Information Lack of cooking Volunteering Grants
Printing skills opportunities
A room to deliver Not being able to Skill building
budgeting shop effectively
information
Website space

Venture/Solution Beneficiaries
To provide cookery skills, shopping effectively and budgeting skills to first First year students who take the
year university students. opportunity to use the information and
This will help the students to make their money last whilst also being able participate in the courses.
to eat a healthy variety of foods.
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Modified from Osterwalder et al (2010) by Curtis, T & Dzialoszynski, S
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Provide a short paragraph to answer all the questions. Where relevant provide references in Harvard format.

Wider social issues:

What issues have you considered before you selected the Social problem that you are addressing in this social venture canvas?
How did you select this problem out of all the possible problems you could address?

At first we discussed looking in to food poverty in relation to students as the need for food bank is on the increase due to the
austerity measures (O'Hara, 2012). However, after we collated the information from the questionnaires we came to realise that the
problem was a lack of education in money handling and cooking skills.

By giving the students the knowledge to budget and the cooking skills they will be able to pass these on to their peers. These skills
Whilst volunteering at the Citizen Advice Bureau I have had experience of dealing with people who need aid from food banks and
are having to deal with debt.

Research methodologies:
What strategies did you use to gain background information on the social problem and the beneficiaries?
What is your evidence that there is a social problem, and how it is experienced by the beneficiaries?

A hundred questionnaires were given out to students on Park Campus and eighty nine were completed. The questionnaires asked
whether the person had ever had to go without food, 23 answered yes. Although, this was a minority it indicated that there is a
problem. The second question asked, that if they had gone without food, what the reason for this was. Eleven stated it was due to a
lack of finances and two stated it was due to improper budgeting. A further two indicated it was due to a lack of skills, suggesting
the social problem might relate to a lack of skills rather than merely being a lack of funds.

Additional, questions showed that 47 students would take the opportunity to do classes on cooking on a budget and 43 would be
interested in information or lessons on managing their finances. The results from the questionnaire also showed that 21 students
would use a food bank if one was available.

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Furthermore, after speaking with members of student services, during Student Finance Week, they felt there was a need to impart
information to some students in relation to shopping more efficiently and budgeting. They produce recipe cards with the cost of the
ingredients on them.

Interviews with students suggest that there is a problem as some stated they had no or very limited cooking skills which impacted
on their finances as they would buy ready meals and fast food. Others stated that they struggle to manage their finances, especially
making their student loan last them until the next instalment. Members of student services interviewed also stated this as being a
problem for some students.

Social Problem:
What is the core social problem that this social venture canvas is addressing?
How do you know that you are addressing the right parts of the problems?
What evidence is there that the problem exists? (literature review)
How do your beneficiaries experience this problem? (research data)

The core social problem is that of a lack of education in relation to cooking and financial management which can lead to bad health
and financial problems in adult life (European Food Information Council, 2011) and (Clarke, 2013).

A study by Wrieden et al (2007) revealed that people from a socially deprived area that were given cooking lesson made better
choices in relation to the food they ate and prepared thus, having a positive impact on their health and finances. The study also
indicated that the selection of food that was made was due to taste and cultural background, finances also play an important part.

The evidence that there is a need for education in relation to managing finance and cooking skills, are shown in the questionnaires
and also with the students that were interviewed. Although, research shows that there are a number of factors that case debt, the
inability to plan and manage your budget can be one of the causes (Dearden et al., 2010). Additionally, the lack of financial
knowledge, among young adults, is likely to result in them experiencing grave financial problems in adulthood (Clarke, 2013).

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Hence, the campaign by the Personal Finance Education Group (pfeg) to insure that all children and young adults obtain financial
education at school (Personal Finance Education Group, 2013). Furthermore, a lack of cooking skills can lead to purchasing of
more expensive ready meals with in turn can have an impact on health (European Food Information Council, 2011).

A study on university student in relation to healthy eating, revealed that some students felt that they could not eat healthy due to the
cost whereas, others did not possess the skills to do so (House, Su and Levy-Miln, 2007).

Root Causes:
What environmental and social factors contribute to this social problem existing?
What behaviours and norms allow the problem to persist?
Express the complexity of the underlying issues

Mothers on longer have the time to teach their children how to cook (European Food Information Council, 2011). Additionally, some
adults do have basic maths skills and this in turn impacts on their ability to manage their finances and pass the relevant skills on to
their children. In a survey taking by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 16 to 24 year olds who
took part came 21st in numeracy out of the 24 nations that took part (OECD, 2013).

The lack of education in relation to cookery skills, in secondary education, along with our society becoming more reliant of
convenience food is not only effecting lower income families in relation to finances but also health (Stitt, 1996). Additionally, the
absences of financial management tuition has lead not only to adults being unable to work out how much they are paying back on a
payday load for example but also an inability to budget effectively (Citizen Advice Bureau, 2014).

Beneficiaries:
Who would benefit from your venture?
How have they expressed their experiences & needs to you?
What strategies do they already use to cope (what would they do if you didnt intervene)?
What assets & capabilities have they that you can build on?

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Firstly, the first year students who take part will benefit as they will learn life skills that they can pass on to their peers and family.
The Student Union (SU) will also benefit as they hope to get more students in to the SU. After speaking to Megan Corkram, the
Venue and Bar Operations Manager, she showed great interest in the project and arranged a meeting with Chloe Goodship, the
Catering Manager, and Haley Green, the Events Co-ordinator, who all are interested in setting some sessions up during freshers
week. Our project will also benefit from this as we can use these sessions to find out how much interest there is in learning cooking
skills from the first years and also sign some people up. Others who will benefit are St John Ambulance as we felt it would be wise
for some of the students to have first aid training. After speaking to Lisa Bosomworth, the Unit Leader and Trainer, and Stephanie
Nixon, Fundraiser Officer and Vice Chair, from St John Ambulance, we were informed that training is free in return for 50 hours of
volunteering over a year. Furthermore, this will benefit the participant as they will gain first aid knowledge and this can also count
towards volunteering and St John Ambulance will gain more volunteers.

When speaking to Megan Corkram she was extremely enthusiastic about the project as were the ladies from student services
(whose names I have misplaced). Although, student services do give out information in relation to cooking on a budget it is not
something that is done on a regular basis. Simon Pole, the PR Co-ordinator, also showed an interest as we asked if

Things would continue as they are with students needing to learn these skills not getting them or teaching themselves.

Student service have some information leaflets that are not handed out on a regular bases hence, we can add to their leaflets and
produce some of our own and get them out to the majority of the first year students. Planet Too have the Green House Kit which we
can add our leaflets and information to, as by learning to cook and to use your leftover is a form of sustainability. Moreover, Planet
Too promotes energy saving and by saving energy one is also saving money thus, linking to money management.

Venture/Solution:
What do you propose to do to address the root causes of the social problem?
What are you actually going to do to solve the social problem?
What are you already doing?
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How do you know that your solution will actually solve the social problem?

The idea is to give first year student the knowledge and skills in order for them to pass these on to their peers and family. We aim to
teach approximately 30 students over the educational year and for them to share these skills. However, off campus other
organisations such as Surestart Children Centres are already providing cooking skills and budgeting advice (Action for Children ,
2014). Additionally, the government has proposed that as of September 2014 secondary school students will be taught a variety of
cooking technics and learn about finances during maths lessons (Gov.UK, 2014). As a volunteer at the Citizen Advice Bureau I see
a lot of clients with debt problems and in the vast amount of cases if they had had the knowledge they would not have gotten in to
debt.

Beneficiary Relationships:
How are you going to ensure that the beneficiaries are going to benefit from your venture?
How are they involved in co-producing the benefits?

We also intend to start a dinner club however, unlike some university dinner clubs that have chiefs, charge a yearly amount and
interview their members, such as Princeton University our food will be cooked by our members thus, enabling them to use their
skills (Princeton University , 2014). We also anticipate that some of the students will go on to teach the new first year students in
the new school year.

Communication Channels:
How are you going to communicate with partners and beneficiaries?
What channels are you going to use to get your message out there?
What social media and advertising are you going to use to make sure everyone knows about your good work?
What (brand) will you use to make sure everyone recognises your work?

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Communication is a vital part of community organizing (Stapels, 2004) and so far it has proven to be the key for our project. We
have communicated face to face and via email and telephone. Once set up we will communicate with our beneficiaries via the SU
web site which has been agree to by Andrew Berrie, the Marketing and Communications Manager. We also intend to leave
information leaflets in the Halls of Residents however, we need to double check this is allowed so we will be contacting Ben Miles
the residual life team leader. We also intend to use social media such as Facebook and perhaps My Learning Network.

Key Activities:
What will your day-to-day activities be?
Who needs to do what to deliver your social venture?

We intend to run one cooking session a week over a five week period with a weeks break. As we will be using the SU kitchen we
can only use it when they are not. We have been informed that we can use the kitchen on Avenue campus as well, which is bigger
so we could have more students. After the break we will start with five new students. We are also looking into running lessons from
a Halls kitchen.
At present we are waiting for Megan Corkram to get back to us with dates during freshers week when we can hold a session. We
have also asked Chloe Goodship, the catering manager, for her input and for any ideas she might have in relation to what to teach
and as it is a requirement that there is a person with a lever three food hygiene certificate supervising the lesson, we intend to ask
Chloe if she is able to supervise. If she cannot someone within our team will do the training during the summer.
Additionally, we are waiting to hear from Focus on Food to see if they can help with equipment and or training as they provide
training to schools and community leader who want to then teach cooking skills to others. This will depending on cost.

Key Resources:
What materials and resources do you need to deliver your social impact?
Focus on the key necessities that allow you to deliver your key activities

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We will need cooking utensils, recipes and food. We have a kitchen to work out of at the SU. We will need paper and ink to print all
the information. In order to provide the financial management skills talk we will need a room and someone who knows what they
are talking about to give the talk, this could be one of the ladies from student services.

Key Partners:
Who do you need to work with to deliver your social venture?
What help, advice, resources and networks will they be able to provide?

Working with others brings different views and ideas to the project and without other peoples input and help this project will not
work (Stapels, 2004). Examples of this are the use of the kitchen at SU as if Chloe and Megan had not agreed to let us use it we
would not have a kitchen. Moreover, Chloe is a chief and can offer idea and recipes. Simon Pole has agreed to given us some of
the fruit and vegetables from the Planet Too project in the future. Simon also advised us to complete a Sustainability Grant
Application Form in order to get 300.00. Tim Curtis told us about the Chancellors Fund. We are also hoping to get sponsorship
from ASDA in return for advertising their supermarket on our leaflets and for using their products only in our classes. However, we
are waiting for a member of the production team at the university to inform us whether we can do this. We spoke to Elisha Dignam
in marketing and she told us she would look in to it for us.

Costs:
What are the big items of expenditure that you need to run your venture?
What money have you already committed or spent?
What do you need before you start?
What are your ongoing running costs?
What will you need to buy or improve to keep operating?

The cooking utensils and the leaflets will be the biggest outlay followed by food if we cannot go ahead with ASDA. However, Megan
did suggest she might be able to help with the food. At present we havent committed any money to anything as we are looking to
try to do as much as we can with little cost. Although we have yet to approach anyone in relation to the printing of the leaflets. In

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order to start we will need the cooking utensils and food. An idea of what we are going to cook in the first five session in order to
make sure we can get enough food. Ideally we will have some information about the cookery and finance up on the SU site by the
beginning of term. The food will be the biggest problem as this is something we will have to continue to buy if things do not work out
with ASDA.

Incomes:
How will this venture be financially sustainable?
Are you going to sell products, charge for services or seek grants and charitable giving?
What are your start-up requirements, investment cash, grants etc?
How much surplus do you expect to make for reinvestment and expansion?
Will you need to create a return on investment for financial supporters?

We hope to set up a dinner club whereby, the members that dont cook will pay for their meal. Also, we intended to raise money by
sell cooked food such as cakes and pies around campus. Additionally, we aim to apply for the Sustainability Grant and Chancellors
Fund as well us getting sponsorship should the university agree.

Impacts
What change in the world would you like to achieve from your social venture?
How will you know that you are successful?

In setting up this project we aim to give first year students the life skills they will need to lead a better, healthier and financial aware
life. Whilst, offering this service we intend to reiterate the importance of passing these skills on to others such as friends, family and
new students in the following year. Success will be if the project is still running in two years from now. Furthermore, we can find out
how successful the project has been via feedback from the participates.

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Outcomes
When you have delivered your venture, how will the world be different?

In conclusion, education is the key to the social problem we intend to solve (Stitt, 1996). We intend to equip first year student not
only with the knowledge to help themselves but others too, eventually along with the changes to the national curriculum everyone in
England will have the knowledge and skills they will need in order to cook cost effective meals and also have a healthy financial
future. Furthermore, this venture will only work if we all work together and if this is reiterated than this too will make a difference to
the world.

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References
Action for Children (2014) Healthy Living , [Online], Available: http://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/our-services/family-support/childrens-and-family-
centres/healthy-living [21 March 2014].

Citizen Advice Bureau (2014) Payday Loans, [Online], Available: http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/campaigns/current_campaigns/paydayloans.htm [9

March 2014].

Clarke, W. (2013) Young people lack financial skills, 3 June, [Online], Available: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/10092294/Young-
people-lack-financial-skills.html [9 March 2014].

Dearden, C., Goode, J., Whitfield, G. and Cox, L. (2010) Credit and debt in low-income families, June , [Online], Available:
http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/credit-debt-low-incomes-summary.pdf [17 February 2014].

European Food Information Council (2011) Can cooking skills be the key to health?, Nov, [Online], Available: http://www.eufic.org/article/en/health-and-
lifestyle/food-choice/artid/Cooking_skills_key_health/ [9 March 2014].

Food for Life Partership (2013) Who we are , [Online], Available: http://www.foodforlife.org.uk/Aboutus/Whoweare.aspx [21 March 2014].

Gov.UK (2014) National curriculum, 6 February , [Online], Available: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum [9 March 2014].

House, J., Su, J. and Levy-Miln, R. (2007) 'Definitions of Healthy Eating Among University Students', Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, vol.
67, no. 1, February , pp. 14-18.

OECD (2013) The Survey of Adult Skills Read's Companion , [Online], Available: http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/education/the-
survey-of-adult-skills_9789264204027-en#page4 [9 March 2014].

O'Hara, M. (2012) Austerity in the UK - Food bank queues highlight impact of rising bills, 7 November , [Online], Available: http://www.jrf.org.uk/austerity-
leicester [10 February 2014].

Personal Finance Education Group (2013) pfeg policy briefings, [Online], Available: http://www.pfeg.org/policy-campaigning/pfeg-policy-briefings [9 March
2014].

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Princeton University (2014) Eating Clubs , 10 March , [Online], Available: https://www.princeton.edu/main/campuslife/housingdining/eatingclubs/ [21
March 2014].

Stapels, L. (2004) Roots to Power a Manual for Grassroots Organizing , 2nd edition, Westport : Praeger Publishers.

Stitt, S. (1996) 'An international perspective on food and cooking skills in education', British Food Journal, vol. 98, no. 10, pp. 27-34.

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