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Be Collective [SMART 100, 2015]

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This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.

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1. THE BEGINNING

This innovation initially came to life when…

Our founder, Robert Wise wanted to create a better way for the social economy to serve people’s needs. He wanted to find a way to harness the social good present in the community and better match this with social problems and believed social networks and technology could be a big part of a promising solution.

After extensive market consultation this initial vision has lead the development of digital infrastructure that amplifies the work being done in communities locally and globally — turning individual efforts into a collective force for positive change.

2. WHAT & HOW

The purpose of this innovation is to…

…better connect people across the NFP, social enterprise, corporate and community sectors using digital technology, to facilitate more efficient exchange of resources between those who are able to give and those with real need.

It does this by…

…providing the community with an open, multipurpose digital platform to amplify, coordinate and measure social impact.

By removing silos of activity, and allowing people from all sectors to unlock the time and resources of those around them, the platform facilitates greater knowledge sharing, collaboration and collective impact than is possible offline in a competitive environment.

3. PURPOSE & BENEFITS

This innovation improves on what came before because…

…it provides an open ecosystem with accessible software to remove silos the social economy, reducing friction and improving the flow of resources.

Our platform facilitates better collaboration between existing organisations and networks. It also allows anyone to track the progress and success of their activities through robust reporting, which in turn leads to greater understanding and constant improvement.

Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…

…greater connectedness and collaboration, easier access to support and additional resources, greater control and visibility over project groups and teams, stronger connection to the community around them, and a better understanding of what effective social change looks like.

4. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

In the past, this problem was solved by…

…manual analogue activities, or perhaps piecemeal digital work-arounds.

In most cases, our users are navigating a complex mix of software services and paperwork to manage their relationships and commitments, and struggling to have visibility over their true impact. Be Collective is a more sophisticated and streamlined solution that allows for greater efficiency and better outcomes.

Its predecessors/competitors include…

…many specialised software providers offering pieces of Be Collective functionality.

As an innovative hybrid offering, pieces of Be Collective functionality do already exist in the marketplace, but no parallel open ecosystem offering with a similar suite of networked functionality.

5. TARGET MARKET

It is made for…

…our users – anyone who cares about social change and who wants to maximise the impact of the time and energy they invest in positive social change.

This might be individuals looking to understand where their skills are most valuable, people who are keen to help but don’t know how, or those already involved but wanting to learn how to improve what they do from others.

Our clients think similarly – they’re organisations who are keen to maximise and measure their social impact, who need a more dynamic and transparent way to do this.

It is available for sale through…

…our website becollective.com and sign up is open to anyone.

Most of the platform functionality will be free for anyone to use, but extra functionality like social impact measurement, reporting, extra privacy or support will be paid services for corporate partners.

Our marketing strategy is to…

…work collaboratively with sector leaders to grow awareness and continue the development of our platform. We hope to gradually build our user base and ensure that the platform is serving the specific needs of the sector, and of our users.

FINE PRINT: This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.