Monday, 06 August 2012 10:58
Social Capital Investment Think Tank
Create. Develop. Realize. Grow.
The Social Corporation is a think tank for social enterprise ideas. However, we go beyond analysis and planning, and actually implement our ideas in the real world. Social projects are realized by drawing on the available resources of the network in the same way a venture capitalist draws on his available capital.
A venture capitalist invests his acquired capital into projects he expects to net a positive return. Our approach is similar but different: our investable capital exists only in the members and resources of the network. The labor network can be solicited to perform physical deeds. The cognitive network to improve upon existing ideas and execute cognitive tasks such as testing products and doing market research. The resource inventory to deliver the required materials.
It is important to realize that this ‘network’ is a living, breathing community. The members who comprise it are the ones who submit ideas for projects, analyze them, decide which ones to invest in, and do the actual investing. In a sense, it is capital investing itself, rather than capital being invested by a venture capitalist. The role of the decision maker is thus delegated to the community at large, which is at the same time the capital which is to be invested.
How The Process Will Be Coordinated
In the early stages of the Social Corporation, our resources will understandably be limited. Therefore only a select number of projects will be worked on at once (perhaps just one per quarter or one per month at first). When a communal decision is made to realize a particular project, it becomes ‘A Social Corporation’.
The project is started, we take an ownership stake and the network is put to work. It is assessed and broken down into small pieces according to the Micro Project Management (MPM) philosophy. The project’s needs are presented to the relevant sectors of the network, allowing for efficient processing and execution of the necessary tasks.
As the network grows and our cooperation becomes more streamlined, more projects can be started and worked on simultaneously. If the system is built efficiently and allows projects to draw on an extensive network of physical and mental expertise and a large inventory of materials, it may not be necessary to supplement this with cash in order to complete the projects. Either way, projects will draw on the network first and only then look to traditional modes of investment and production.
In due time, it may also create synergies and economies of scale by acquiring a physical building in which representatives of the several Social Corporations can work separately but as parts of the network. Working in partnership with and physically close to one another, cost savings may be realized and redundant work eliminated.
Social Enterprises benefit from The Social Corporation and vice versa
The Social Corporation benefits from social enterprises and more members joining the network in an obvious way: every individual and every project enriches the network and makes it more powerful, more versatile and more resilient. However, the relationship goes both ways and is mutually beneficial. An example may further clarify this claim.
Suppose a recycling enterprise called “Joes’ Recycling” becomes a Social Corporation. Immediately, the associations with the network may lead to increased interest and volunteerism as the benefits of the Social Corporation brand are conferred upon the individual project. This association can be made by displaying the logo, advertising the connection online, or in other ways.
“Joe’s Recycling” thus becomes a localized piece of a global brand, an individual cog in the machine of our global social philosophy even. Once an integral part of ‘our’ community, this social project will be developed locally as per the principles of our network -- ‘local’ in this sense is not limited to geography, but refers to the particular attitudes, beliefs and methods that are conceptualized and promoted by The Social Corporation.
In this way, we aim to solve the current disconnect between the political class and the communities. Instead of being forced to belong to a certain political community, follow a certain lifestyle and make certain decisions, we aim for voluntary association: local economies coexisting with the existing framework, their internal cooperation facilitated by technology and, in our case, our own framework being determined by the principles and priorities of the community and not by the power elite.
The Social Corporation is a think tank for social enterprise ideas. However, we go beyond analysis and planning, and actually implement our ideas in the real world. Social projects are realized by drawing on the available resources of the network in the same way a venture capitalist draws on his available capital.
A venture capitalist invests his acquired capital into projects he expects to net a positive return. Our approach is similar but different: our investable capital exists only in the members and resources of the network. The labor network can be solicited to perform physical deeds. The cognitive network to improve upon existing ideas and execute cognitive tasks such as testing products and doing market research. The resource inventory to deliver the required materials.
It is important to realize that this ‘network’ is a living, breathing community. The members who comprise it are the ones who submit ideas for projects, analyze them, decide which ones to invest in, and do the actual investing. In a sense, it is capital investing itself, rather than capital being invested by a venture capitalist. The role of the decision maker is thus delegated to the community at large, which is at the same time the capital which is to be invested.
How The Process Will Be Coordinated
In the early stages of the Social Corporation, our resources will understandably be limited. Therefore only a select number of projects will be worked on at once (perhaps just one per quarter or one per month at first). When a communal decision is made to realize a particular project, it becomes ‘A Social Corporation’.
The project is started, we take an ownership stake and the network is put to work. It is assessed and broken down into small pieces according to the Micro Project Management (MPM) philosophy. The project’s needs are presented to the relevant sectors of the network, allowing for efficient processing and execution of the necessary tasks.
As the network grows and our cooperation becomes more streamlined, more projects can be started and worked on simultaneously. If the system is built efficiently and allows projects to draw on an extensive network of physical and mental expertise and a large inventory of materials, it may not be necessary to supplement this with cash in order to complete the projects. Either way, projects will draw on the network first and only then look to traditional modes of investment and production.
In due time, it may also create synergies and economies of scale by acquiring a physical building in which representatives of the several Social Corporations can work separately but as parts of the network. Working in partnership with and physically close to one another, cost savings may be realized and redundant work eliminated.
Social Enterprises benefit from The Social Corporation and vice versa
The Social Corporation benefits from social enterprises and more members joining the network in an obvious way: every individual and every project enriches the network and makes it more powerful, more versatile and more resilient. However, the relationship goes both ways and is mutually beneficial. An example may further clarify this claim.
Suppose a recycling enterprise called “Joes’ Recycling” becomes a Social Corporation. Immediately, the associations with the network may lead to increased interest and volunteerism as the benefits of the Social Corporation brand are conferred upon the individual project. This association can be made by displaying the logo, advertising the connection online, or in other ways.
“Joe’s Recycling” thus becomes a localized piece of a global brand, an individual cog in the machine of our global social philosophy even. Once an integral part of ‘our’ community, this social project will be developed locally as per the principles of our network -- ‘local’ in this sense is not limited to geography, but refers to the particular attitudes, beliefs and methods that are conceptualized and promoted by The Social Corporation.
In this way, we aim to solve the current disconnect between the political class and the communities. Instead of being forced to belong to a certain political community, follow a certain lifestyle and make certain decisions, we aim for voluntary association: local economies coexisting with the existing framework, their internal cooperation facilitated by technology and, in our case, our own framework being determined by the principles and priorities of the community and not by the power elite.
Published in
Wisdom of Crowds
