Mapping local environmental challenges

This session uses Frank Lyman's "Think-Pair-Share" collaborative teaching strategy, and it is expected to foster in-depth group critical thinking and opportunities discovery.

This approach will help participants to collaborate in groups and come up with new ways of solving environmental challenges whilst relating them to the local context. It is important that participants complete the homework for session 2 and gather their thoughts in advance before joining this session, where they will be expected to share their findings with other group members.

The teacher will lead the session by posing the series of questions listed below in an easy to grasp format.

Participants will report on the research homework conducted. They will be divided into pairs and asked to discuss specific local issues identified, elaborating on needs and expectations, ethical concerns, demographics, the social, cultural, and economic context in which opportunities might be created.

Output: At the end of this activity, each group listed above will have completed the questions worksheet provided.

Activity 1: To scope an environmental challenge at the local community level

This is a brainstorming exercise that is based on the research homework that has already been done.

Participants will be placed in one of the five groups listed below. Each group will review the environmental issue(s) identified during the discovery research and scope the challenge from the viewpoint of the following groups:

Group 1: Think like a raw material producer

Group 2: Think like a local manufacturer

Group 3: Think like a local retailer

Group 4: Think like a customer/consumer

Group 5: Think like a like technology innovator

Remember: The objective of this activity is for participants to gain a better knowledge of the impact of people using everyday resources and business operations, and how that impact on the local (and global) community/environment and to leverage opportunities for the future.

Questions to address: each group must answer the following questions:

• What are the local environmental issues discovered during your research?

• In what area is this problem felt?

• Who and what is affected by this problem (people, living beings, habitats?

• What environmental challenges need to be addressed imminently?

• How serious are environmental challenges?

• How big is the scale of the issues (statistical evidence)

• What changes and opportunities can be created for future sustainability? For instance:

• Who are the stakeholders concerned?

• Who / what would benefit most from solving the problem?

Activity 2: To select an environmental value proposition

This activity is about selecting the right challenge/solution to turn into a business opportunity.

Each group will be expected to complete the worksheet by summarizing their findings. The output for the activity should be a PowerPoint presentation under the following headings:

• Description of the environmental challenges listed in your group.

• Value proposition/solution for each environmental challenge

• Description of the success criteria for each proposed solution

• Estimate the implementation timeframe for each solution.

• State the possible constraints for each proposition.

Output:

1. Each group will be given 5 minutes to present their value proposition to the whole session.

2. At the end of all the presentations, every participant will be welcomed to a dot-voting, where the value proposition concept of each group will be voted upon.

3. The value proposition with the most votes will be developed during activity 3.

What is dot-voting: “Dot-voting (also known as dotmocracy or voting with dots) is an established facilitation method used to describe voting with dot stickers or marks with a marker pen. In dot-voting, participants vote on their chosen options using a limited number of stickers or marks with pens — dot stickers being the most common.”  -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot-voting

Activity 3: To identify key stakeholders for the value proposition

Based on the output of activity 2, from your group's perspective:

• Research and identify the various stakeholders that might be impacted or interested in your value proposition.

• State three things that will help your stakeholders to buy-in and support your value proposition.

• Use a stakeholder analysis template to justify your stakeholder engagement approach.

Output:

• A comprehensive stakeholder analysis completed template

• A clear understanding of stakeholder’s appetite and expectation

• Stakeholder management options

Homework (1 hour)

Based on the outcome of the activities listed above, each participant is expected to carry out desk research and understand what is meant by:

• 1. green business idea generation

• 2. minimum viable product