Phase 3: Matching tech partners
Developing technology to address social problems is still uncommon. Civil society organizations rely on grants and often lack the capacity and financial resources to create tech solutions. They are not in the habit of working with technical partners. Good preparation, as outlined in the first 2 phases, is essential. A clear challenge makes it easier to identify suitable partners.
In this phase, you can find 4 Research Methods to find the right partners (in yellow) and 2 Co-creation methods to involve the target group in assessing proposals (in blue):
Research Methods to find the right partners
1. Involving Social Designers
Social designers are trained to creatively address complex social problems such as loneliness, neighbourhood deprivation and debt, as well as challenges in healthcare and business. They put marginalised groups at the centre of idea generation and design and deploy user-centred principles to listen, learn and innovate beyond commerce. They bridge challenges with technology and help find the right technology partner.
2. Open Call
An open call is a public invitation for companies or individuals to submit proposals to solve a specific challenge, usually with set criteria. It is often used by organisations or governments to gather innovative solutions through a competitive process. These criteria can describe important principles of co-creation and impact, and set conditions on the technical requirements and quality of the proposal. It is important to involve the end user (target group) in the evaluation of the proposals. Forum Virium Helsinki has developed a manual for conducting open calls[1]. An open call does require quite some organisation so is especially suitable to do with a number of collaboration partners and a government agency, university or college.
3. Hackathon
A hackathon is a short, intensive event where teams compete to create innovative solutions to a complex problem. It lasts one or two days, with teams submitting proposals based on set challenges and criteria. Proposals are judged and the best are quickly developed through testing and co-creation. The target audience may be involved as judges and testers. Hackathons require considerable organisation and are often conducted in collaboration with multiple organisations.
4. Matching Platform
A matching platform is a sustainable way of bringing supply and demand together. A good example is the Tech To The Rescue (TTTR) platform. Social organisations and target groups themselves can post challenges on this platform. Tech parties that want to offer their expertise pro or low bono to make a social difference also register on this platform.
The TTTR organisation helps to refine the challenges and find the right partners. Its staff understands the social challenges and knows the different technology companies and their interests and expertise. This enables TTTR to find the right match between the different organisations.
Co-creation methods to involve the target group in assessing proposals
1. Matching meeting
This method can be used in combination with an open call. The winners have already been chosen by the jury in the open call. In this round, the tech developer is paired with the social organisation and can be used when multiple organisations independently want to work on different solutions to the same challenge. Different challenge owners (government, social organisations and the target group) are invited to a meeting where tech companies present their solutions. In this way the challenge owners can judge for themselves which solution best suits their challenge and the needs of the target audience.
2. Composition of the jury
Involving the right expertise is crucial when finding tech partners. Jury members must understand both the challenge and the target group to evaluate if the proposals will have enough impact. Community figures and experience experts can help assess whether the proposers understand co-creation and are committed to addressing the target group’s needs. A social designer can offer additional insights into this process. A tech expert is also essential to evaluate whether the proposed solution is technically feasible and meets the quality standards within the given time and budget constraints.