(A) OVERVIEW – The purpose of this assignment is to help you to consolidate your knowledge of the
different functional areas of social economy organizations in a very tangible way. Specifically, you are to
develop a business plan for a social economy business which incorporates an understanding of the challenges
and approaches to reconciling social economy objectives, values and principles with operating a successful
(effective and efficient) business. The plan should be for a start-up, and it should be realistic (that is, it should
be a business that you could develop shortly after graduation, based upon contacts that you already have.
Remember, social economy businesses do not have outside investors that can inject large sums of money).
For the purpose of this assignment, the following will be considered social economy businesses:
• marketing (producer) cooperatives
• user (consumer) cooperatives
• worker cooperatives
• multi-stakeholder cooperatives (having more than one member category)
• commercial (or quasi-commercial) not-profits
• social enterprises supporting a parent non-profit organization
• social economy businesses owned collectively by an aboriginal community
• community supported agriculture and fisheries
(B) STEP ONE – THE PROPOSAL – To make certain that you get off on the correct foot and start the
assignment in a timely fashion, you are to submit a short proposal (one paragraph) to your Tutorial Leader by
Mar 17th.
The proposal, to be submitted through Canvas, should indicate the following:
(a) the type of social economy business you are planning on developing;
(b) the economic sector in which the business will be operating;
(c) the social objectives of the business;
(d) a few basic goals that you hope to accomplish.
The proposal will not be graded, as its purpose is primarily to ensure that you have chosen a business form that
aligns with the requirements of the assignment.
(C) STEP TWO – THE PLAN – There are a number of different formats for developing business plans. These
may have different numbers of components (and may combine components in different ways). You should
make certain that you include all the key components necessary for an effective business plan.
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A list of key components should include:
1) An Executive Summary (1 point)
2) A Mission/Vision Statement (2 points) – This should include: (a) the basic social objective(s) to which
the organization is committed; (b) some goals that it hopes to achieve; (c) its primary target beneficiaries
and consumers; (d) the basic product(s) and/or service(s) to be offered, and (e) the geographic scope of
its operations.
3) A Descriiption of the Team (2) – This should include a (short) list of the incorporators/the initial board
of the enterprise (with credentials, experience, etc.). You do not need to provide the details of actual
people, but profiles of the type of partners that you can realistically hope to assemble. You should also
include here other supporters (individuals, organizations).
4) SEB Type and Organizational Design (5 points) – This should indicate: (a) the type of SE business
that you are developing; (b) the type of organizational design you will be employing (including the roles
of/relationships between board and management) and; (c) key policies/practices that you will be
adopting.
5) Market Analysis (5 points) – This should include (a) an overview of the product/service market in
which you are competing; (b) an indication of the size of the market (e.g., annual sales); (c) how
competitive the market is (and dominant actors); (d) whether there are any niche markets (e.g., high
quality products, ethically and/or environmentally sourced products), and (e) your key competitors, etc.
Tables or figures might be appropriate here. You might want to considering a specific template for your
analysis (e.g., PEST, PESTLE, STEEPLE, STEEPLED, etc.)
6) A Business Strategy (5 points) – This should include; (a) your broad strategy (e.g., cost competition,
product specification, market focus, etc.); (b) specific components of your strategy (e.g., branding
strategy, marketing strategy, cost control strategy, product development, etc.); (c) specific comparative
advantages (disadvantages) which facilitate (inhibit) the successful implementation of your strategy
(e.g., access to resources, a well-educated workforce, a good story, name recognition, etc.); and; (d) a
more detailed account of your products/services. There are, of course, different ways of organizing such
a discussion (e.g., SWOT analysis, competitive forces analysis, etc.).
7) A Marketing Plan (5 points) – This should include (a) the selection of media/approaches (e.g., direct
marketing, advertising, trade-shows, on-line marketing, etc.) and the rationale for the type of approach
you are adopting; (b) determining the product mix (product, price, place and promotion); (c) the goals
and the timeline for the plan, and; (d) a method for monitoring the plan and evaluating success.
8) A Financial Plan (5 points) – This should include: (a) a budget (for start-up costs, staff, etc.) as well as;
(b) a list of potential financiers (including possible in-kind donations) and; (c) some rationale for the
financiers (donors) you are hoping to engage.
9) Financial Projections (5 points) – This should include projections for 2-3 years, giving some indication
of when you expect to begin generating a surplus.
10) Reporting Methods (5 points) – In additional to conventional reporting methods (e.g., balance sheets,
profit-loss statements), social economy business will typically provide some form of social and/or
environmental (impact) reporting. These might involve qualitative and/or quantitative methods. You
should indicate the types of social and/or environmental impact reporting that you will be using.
(D) KEYS TO SUCCESS
(1) Draw upon course materials (the text, lectures, videos, etc.) when developing your business plan.
(2) Be aware, and highlight how operating as a social economy business impacts the different facets of how you
do business (e.g., finance, management, marketing, sales strategy, reporting, etc.)
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(3) In developing your business plan, you need to be specific. For example, when talking about funding sources
if is not sufficient to say that you will seek funding from government programs or (private or community)
foundations. You need to indicate which government programs or foundations you will applying to (along with
the amounts that you are applying for), and why you think you might be successful in getting funds from these
sources. Similarly, when talking about your organizational type and management structure, as well as your
product offerings, and marketing and sales plans, you need to indicate whether and how these aligns with the
mission, vision and values of the business.
(4) Start now! This is a major assignment. It will take time to produce a good product. Begin now with the
topics that we have already covered in class (e.g., types of social economy businesses, governance,
organizational design, etc.).
Can you send the proposal through the chat before 15th midnight? One paragraph is enough! Thanks! The requirement for the proposal is in the instructions!