Commons Canvas Training

 

Length: 0.5-2 days.
Purpose: Using the CANVAS approach teaches participants how to use the canvas to capture understanding of the financial flows in a commons initiative in order to create the basis for a business plan.
Why attend?  Learning to use the CANVAS will give you a good tool to help take your initiative from idea to viable enterprise.
Main contents: The CANVAS method, how to unitize your offerings, finding alternative funding solutions, understanding membership and creating business plan.
Includes: How to capture data for Business Plan, Manual and pro-forma business plan in Excel.

Creating a business model in a conventional way is daunting enough. But how can you create a viable financial model for a whole commons initiative, community, sustainable initiative or social enterprise? It IS possible as many initiatives up and running demonstrate, but you need to find a balance between achieving sustainability, creating the operations you want, and balancing the budget. The CANVAS  is based on a participatory approach using a large board.  The canvas method is designed as a way to work through possibilities to, for example, ensure your commons initiative is financially viable, plug the leaks in your local economy, to grow from  your Transition initiative into a Reconomy- initiative social enterprise or to make your Permaculture design into a thriving enterprise.

OBJECTIVES
To teach the canvas methodology so that participants can use it to support the development of their own initiatives.

WORKSHOPS ARE FOR:

Those involved in the financial aspects of an initiative that are aiming towards sustainability, or permaculturists who want to add a financial dimension to their design work.

CONTENTS

  • The eleven blocks
  • Clarifying intention: from money to what money buys
  • Stakeholders as investors
  • Identifying services and unitizing them
  • Supply chains and customers
  • Finding resources
  • Infrastructure; investment and return
  • Rent pooling: counting all revenue possibilities
  • Putting management into place
  • Waste as a resource
  • Legal forms: mapping legal form to intention
  • Agreements as the basis of stakeholder cooperation
  • Permaculture principles related to initiative finance
  • Pulling it all together in a business plan

WORKSHOP APPROACH
This participatory workshop takes you through the method step by step, applying it to a chosen case.

The workshop is accompanied by material for later reference: a booklet and a template business plan in excel format adapted to the workshop outputs.

WORKSHOP LENGTH
We offer a range of workshop configurations, from an introduction of a few hours to a tailored initiative -focused workshop of two days to a train the trainer course that is five days.

COURSE LEADER
Stephen Hinton has a background as a management trainer and consultant. He is a co-founder of Transition Sweden and is active in the eco-village movement through involvement in the Eco- Village Änggärdet. Stephen served on the Board of the Swedish Co-operative no-interest JAK BANKEN.

ORDERING
For price quotes, orders or more information, contact Stephen Hinton.

DETAILS

Number of participants: 10-50

Price: Ask for offer.

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