1. Identify two SPECIFIC funding sources for the design phase of your project and two SPECIFIC funding sources for the dissemination (implementation / distribution / commercialization) phase of your project. For each funding source, explain why this is a good fit for your project, and what SPECIFIC aspect of your project might the funding source support.

 

Funding sources for design phase: 

• In a sense, we are funded in credits by the university. Students are incentivized to work on the project through the accumulation of credits.
• Facilities & Services provides funding for additional chilled water and steam meters through Lehigh University’s budget. This is a good fit for our project because F&S and our team benefits from the installation of these meters, and Lehigh’s budget accounts for these purchases over the next few years.

Funding sources for dissemination:

• Khanjan will provide pizza for an implementation event to advertise the dashboard. This is a good fit for our project because we need to make people aware of this resource.
• The Office of Sustainability will help advertise the website. This is a good fit for the project because it benefits both the dashboard and the office of sustainability since both require marketing. 

 

1. Identify five specific partnerships that you need to forge to advance your project forward with the ultimate goal of positively impacting at least one million people. Describe exactly how that partnership might help you achieve scale and why that entity might be willing to work with you.

 

1. We need to partner with Doug Spengel in the Lehigh Facilities and Services department. He has access to valuable data and shark meter readings that form the foundation of our project. 
2. Jeremy Mack in the Lehigh Library and Technology Services department has a wealth of knowledge and technical expertise related to ArcGIS, the mapping system we will use to display our data. 
3. The Eco Reps and the Office of Sustainability run the annual energy competition between dorms, which will be an essential part of disseminating our project and integrating data into campus life. 
4. Electro Industries – shark meters. Shark meters are essential for the real time data, organizations will need to install shark meters in their buildings for the dashboard to work. Electro industries would benefit from this partnership because they will increase their sales.
5. ArcGIS is also a major component of the dashboard. A partnership with them would benefit both partners. The Energy and Water Dashboard could offer ARCGIS services for a lower cost, and ARCGIS would increase subscriptions.

 

 

1. Identify one existing social enterprise that you feel aligns well with your venture – explain what it does, why you like it, and in what ways it is similar to your venture.

 

ME to WE is a social enterprise which supports the creation of jobs in developing countries. It also allows people to track the impact of their purchases on the communities which provide the good. This tracking system is a really important aspect of their model because it incentivizes people to buy from the communities that ME to WE supports. People only change their behavior if they see the benefits of changing. This is similar to our dashboard because we display the impact of student’s energy consumption with equivalencies. Students will decrease their energy consumption if they are shown the impact of each kilowatt hour.

 

Financial Model Draft: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HTnggmBP-TA02MuVYq08TNDwfHhpIbZ8A93gwXvdOhg/edit?usp=sharing

What are the technological, social, economic, and political trends that will impact (help or hurt) your ventures?

1. What is the Total Available Market and Total Addressable Market for your product or service?
2. Do an initial draft of your business model canvas – on each block of the BMC, have a visual and 1-3 bullet points. Remember, these are only drafts – you will continually refine your business models!

1.

• Technological

• Widespread use of computers 
• Convenience of the internet

• Social

• Desire for people to compete against each other
• Growing interest in sustainability in younger generations & on college campuses

• Public mistrust of media as a result of fake news
• Cultural lack of data-based decision-making

• Economic

• Rise in gas & oil prices from Russian and/or Middle Eastern conflicts – motivation to reduce energy usage to save money

• Political

• Democratic control in US government – typically includes environmentally- conscious legislation
• UN SDGs

• Environmental impact is a politically contentious topic; could drive people away from the dashboard if they don’t think they need to reduce their energy footprint

 

2. At steady-state, the total available market includes all of higher education, both public and private. In 2020, this market was approximately $77 billion (GlobeNewswire). The total addressable market includes those institutions that have a sustainability office.

 

 

Partner Network Office of Sustainability EcoReps Professors Facilities and Services	Key Activities Ability to resolve data exceptions Design for usability	Offer Learn about energy Save time finding energy data Host energy competition Reduce overall energy usage	Customer Relationships Dedicated personal assistance	Customer Segments Students Professors Office of Sustainability EcoReps Facilities and Services
	Key Resources Shark meter network Web server access  Coding expertise		Distribution Channels Internet Classroom
Cost Structure Academic credit for students Money to keep dashboard on server			Revenue Streams Saving time Saving money

 

Collaborative Plan

Team Name:  Energy and Water Dashboard                                                                                                                        Date: 4/3/22
Goals	Big G: Long term (end of year, and beyond): Hosting the Eco-Reps competition via the dashboard Incorporating invoice data (water, natural gas, electricity) Integrating dashboard into classroom(s) Short term (until end of semester) Gain a better understanding of data storage – will lead to functioning trendlines & graphs Web deployment Energy data verified in the code Energy equivalencies finalized The metrics of success for the short term goals will be mostly self explanatory ; once the features that we want are officially deployed to the dashboard, we can consider these goals achieved. As for the long-term goals, it will be important for our team to establish a relationship with the Eco-Reps so t These goals align with our sponsor’s (Audrey McSain) priorities for the dashboard as well as our own project requirements. Little g: Spencer – get more familiar with coding Alyssa – get more experience with web development; improve presenting skills Aidan – explore ArcGIS (metadata, APIs, etc; Jeremy Mack may be a good resource) Josie – improve eye for design with Figma; refine leadership skills to motivate team members and meet deadlines Wesley – learn more about deployment; learn react; gain experience working with a team Caitlyn – learn more backend development; learn React; gain experience working on long-term project
Roles	Deployment – Wesley deliverables include website deployment, map functionality Backend – Caitlyn, Alyssa deliverables include data storage, pipelining, data in graphs Frontend – Alyssa deliverables include website design – displaying equivalencies, OOS logo, filter display functionality, displaying graph  Equivalencies – Spencer, Alyssa deliverables include specific energy equivalencies that explain the impact of energy usage & corresponding graphics Engagement – Aidan, Josie deliverables include integration of the dashboard into the classroom through learning modules to offer professors, establishing partnership with the Eco-Reps, incorporating Eco-Reps’ priorities into dashboard, managing the soft launch of the dashboard with specific groups of students, faculty, and staff Data Analytics – Aidan, Spencer, Josie deliverables include verifying energy data through code revision, verifying metadata for buildings using ArcGIS & Grafana Interaction between subteams is essential; these interactions include Engagement & Equivalencies, Frontend & Backend, Deployment & Engagement, for our current goals, although interactions between all subteams are bound to happen. In terms of project management, Josie handles most of the administrative work (facilitating meetings, writing meeting agendas, emails, etc.), but all team members have an equal voice when it comes to decision-making and design thinking.
Procedures	Decision Making: We approach decision making through a democratic process – everyone has a say in project matters As conflict arises, we defer to our project mentors for information that can help us reach a consensus Refer back to our team expectations document to keep everybody motivated and on the same page Meeting Operations Designate a note-taker at each meeting Email those attending the meeting the agenda 1 day in advance Josie guides us through the meeting agenda, but each member individually reports on their progress and what resources they need moving forward Meetings with sub-teams occur throughout the week: coding working sessions, equivalencies brainstorming, data analysis meetings Communication Between members, communication is primarily via GroupMe and messaging Between members and mentors, communication is primarily via Slack and email Communication is often daily as members develop questions concerning their individual tasks for the week Timely responses are expected from all during reasonable business hours, as a part of our team expectations document
Relationships	Team Diversity Josie IDEAS major, engineering ethics experience, customer service experience, logical & procedural thinking, detail-oriented, assertive, peer tutor, INTJ Aidan Logical, direct, education/coaching experience, professional experience working in energy, experience conducting independent research Spencer Engineering physics major, economics minor, eco-rep, creative, risk-taker, flexible Wesley Computer Science Major, Data Science Minor, ISTP, logical thinking, problem solver, risk-taker, leadership experience  Caitlyn Computer Science and Business major, ISTJ, logical thinking, expressive, organized, diligent Alyssa Computer Science and Business major, ENFJ, customer service and (slight) corporate experience, leadership experience, facilitation experience,  creative and logical thinking All of us, coming from various engineering majors, enjoy hobbies that focus on proceess like cooking, building things, and listening to music. This means we understand each other’s ideas, but it also means we should try and think outside of the box!

Start Keep Stop:

1. Start thinking beyond the technical-components of the project
2. Start consistently updating Trello & Sprint reports
3. Keep sharing our 1 good thing every week!
4. Keep asking questions:
   1. How do I move forward with this task?
   2. What resources do I need to make x amount of progress?
   3. Why?
5. Stop complaining & start taking initiative to make things better
6. Stop beating up on ourselves!