The role of service design for social enterprises in Finland

Abstract

This thesis examines ways to utilize Service Design to benefit the development of Social Enterprises in Finland. Social Enterprises in Finland generally lack support to develop their enterprise and do not qualify for the same financing options as other businesses. As such, this thesis seeks to determine if Social Entrepreneurs can utilize Service Design methods and methodologies to gather evidence and design new services, so as to be better positioned to receive funding or investment, to begin business activities, or to fulfill their social missions, or all three. The work is conducted in partnership with Ehta Raha, a cooperative which specializes in providing financial advice and services to Social Enterprises.

The design process of the project is structured in three phases; research of the problems and existing solutions, development of design interventions, and prototyping those interventions with Social Entrepreneurs. The research is conducted through a literature re-view, five narrative interviews, a survey, and five Social Enterprise related Events. The literature review covers the fields of Social Entrepreneurship and Human Centred Design, focusing on understanding the landscape both in Finland and more globally. The interviews, survey, and events focus on understanding the needs and abilities of Social Entrepreneurs, and highlight the need for business planning and financial opportunities.

The core outcome of this work is a new framework and supporting workbook. The work-book, “How to Design a Social Service,” provides a process for newcomers to learn about Service Design, and is specifically tailored towards Social Entrepreneurs. This framework is developed and then iterated based on user feedback, prototyped as a workshop, and is eventually refined as a workbook which can stand alone without a specific facilitator to guide the process. The workbook consists of an introduction and design recipes. The Introduction consists of three tools that are designed to orient and direct the social entrepreneurs’ project based on its own principles, resources, and goals. The design recipes follow the Double Diamond model of design, and contain specific sets of design tools to address different scenarios. The framework and workbook help social entrepreneurs to develop their business by providing a clear process to guide their business ideation and development, including testing and validating of solutions.