Once you have established the groundwork of your social enterprise and developed an effective income generation method, you will utilise the skills learned in this module to replicate this method or increase the size of your programme.

This is the most important part of any social enterprise. Increasing the scale of your enterprise allows you to increase the potential size of the impact it can achieve. In a world where achieving the most cost-effective method to positively impact each life counts, being able to scale your enterprise efficiently is a central pillar of any future expansion.

This Scaling module builds on the Theory of Change, Impact Modelling, Impact Measurement and Financial Management modules. These topics combine to allow you to understand the key areas of successful impact, and to then work out how you can replicate this success in other locations. By successfully understanding your impact data, and combining it with financial management skills, you can work out whether it is currently worthwhile to expand, and the limits that would constrain such an expansion.

    

How do I use it?

First, you will need to assess your current growth model: does it rely on linear or non-linear growth? Linear growth is where growth cannot decrease the cost of production per unit regardless of scale, whereas non-linear growth allows you to decrease costs (or cost per unit) as you increase in output. Once this has been assessed, it is time to generate a scaling plan.

You will need to assess the minimum viable product, using a product that is already in successful production or use with multiple vendors or groups. You will then need to assess whether it might be prudent to outsource some element of the work, and what extra staff an increase in scale would require. This is followed by communicating your story widely, to help build alliances with partners and supporters.

From here you may need to lobby authority figures and groups to assist you, allowing you to replicate your current output more efficiently and effectively while embracing continuous development.

Finally, you must also not be afraid of automation – while initially costly, it can provide a massive positive outcome on cost over time. Using these tools, you can plan for how to scale your business.

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