Page 10 - Marcela Lima

Desk Research Field Research

2.3. Design, Innovation and Enterprises Business INCUBATING ACCELERATING The original plan was to first interview umbrella organisations Key Outcomes
stages Pre-start up Start-up Growth Mature to gain a broad view of the SE sector, and then speak with

Design has expanded far beyond creating physical or visual products. Today, it includes Explore idea Launching a new prod- Secure competitiveness Strengthen the busi- individual SE to inform the design phase. However, delays • The first outcome of the analysis was the validation “ How can
ness and competi-
uct/ service
Increasing market share
shaping interactions, crafting user experiences, and helping to manage complex systems. Key ob- Launching a brand Realise the market oppor- tiveness in responses required a change in approach. of the research question. When asked about the main interaction design
jectives of
This highlights design’s essential characteristics: problem-solving, creativity, and systematic the stage Establish R&D strategy tunity challenges and opportunities, all interviewees referred principles be
applied to create
Business model estab-
Improve R&D strategy
coordination, which illustrate its connection to innovation. lishment In the end, I conducted three semi-structured interviews
Explore complex prob- Identify business oppor- Evaluate existing business Develop a new organ- with umbrella organisations. The interviews were online in some way to the difficulty of generating income. This solutions that
lems to set up social/ tunities isational culture and issue was seen both as a challenge and as a potential support sustainable
Design plays a dual role in this space. It acts as a tool for innovation, providing the creative environmental mission Concept development Explore new business op- system and lasted between 45 minutes and one hour. Additional growth in social
portunities
and strategy necessary to bring ideas to life. Simultaneously, design itself becomes a Concept ideation Develop product/ser- Increase profits Top-level manage- insights were gathered from the National Social Enterprise area of opportunity
ment support
Ideation of business vices/brands enterprises?
form of innovation, as its evolving methodologies and practices continually reimagine how development Understand market/ Secure market competitive- Conference 2024. • The identification of the main themes: challenges, ”
ness
challenges are addressed, and opportunities are explored (Kwon, 2022). How de- users Improve products/services/
sign can Develop business model brands As I could not conduct interviews with individual SEs, opportunities, and characteristics and each one of Research Question
help Develop customer com- Develop new products/ser-
Over the past three decades, design role has evolved from addressing operational needs to munication vices/brands I carried out a poll in a group of more than 200 SEs to those in sub-categories:
influencing tactical and strategic business decisions. This is relevant for social enterprises, Improve customer commu- capture their key challenges and include their voices in the
nication
as it highlights the strategic value that design can bring to their operations. Design’s ability Improve business model research.
to enhance brand identity, improve service delivery, and foster innovation offers a significant Internalise innovation capa-
bilities
advantage. By integrating design strategically, social enterprises can strengthen their dual Standard support for design education (e.g. online materials) 2.5. Thematic Analysis
focus on achieving social or environmental impact and maintaining financial sustainability. Directory of design agencies and practitioners who interested in working with social enterprises
Design training + fund- Design training + men- Design mentoring + consult- Design consulting + Insights from stakeholder interviews:
ing
toring + consulting +
funding
ing + funding
2.4. Design, Social Innovation and Social Enterprises funding
Design thinking Design thinking Design thinking Design consultancy • Only three interviews were conducted, but the insights
In parallel with the rise of SEs as a response to increasingly complex societal challenges, Market research Market/user research Market/user research Voucher for design reached saturation, with recurring themes across all.
utilisation
Existing and new product/
Grant for design (i.e.
Design brief
design as a discipline has also evolved, adopting practices that prioritise social prototype, evaluate Service design service development
market opportunities or
consciousness, such as social innovation frameworks. What user research) Product/service devel- Prototyping/testing • Interviewees offered a macro-level view, as they work 2.6. Supplementary Insights
design
support opment UX design directly with multiple SEs.
content Prototyping/ testing Branding strategy for brand

Kwon, Choi and Hazenberg (2024) suggest that design impacts both the economic and can be UX design extension Additional insights were gathered from the National Social Enterprise Conference, which took place in Dublin in November
provided
social aspects of SEs. Economically, design improves profitability and brand development by Graphic design (includ- Marketing strategy • Thematic analysis was applied using Figma to cluster 2024. This event was mentioned in all interviews as an important milestone for the sector.
ing BI/CI) Business strategy improve- answers and define key themes.
understanding customers, refining business models, and enhancing customer experience. Branding ment
Socially, design is used to solve environmental and social issues, through approaches like Marketing strategy New business area & model The key themes from the panels and talks were: financial sustainability, social impact measurement, workforce development,
development
developing recycled materials, fostering external collaborations, and building knowledge Business area & model Design intellectual property and social finance.
development
resources. Design intellectual prop- Grant for design application
and development
erty Overall, the insights from the conference reflected many of the same themes from the interviews. Issues such as financial
Grant for design appli-
The authors outline four business stages and each one require key objectives for business cation sustainability, sector fragmentation, and the need for collaboration reinforced the findings from the thematic analysis. This

development. Table 2 illustrates how design can facilitate the growth of SEs at each stage. consistency across different sources helped to confirm the relevance of the findings and the direction of the research.

Process Book Discover 11