GLVSIF_LifeofImpact_Workshop_16 Nov 2020

1. Refine your systems stacks.
2. Based on your refined systems stacks, crystalize your response to four prompts for your semester-end presentations:

– #6 What is your business / operations / sustainability model?

We predict that our social venture will require 3-5 employees to run properly. Long-term, Mindfull will be bought out by a community organization that can sustain the daily operations. The first operation is general up-keep of the website and map. This is the most technical aspect of the operation as it will require an employee with web-design and coding skills to properly maintain the website. Specifically, this person will have to continuously improve the algorithm which filters the resources, improves the user experience, and ensure that the website is running smoothly, free of bugs. 

The second responsibility is media and marketing. This responsibility includes maintaining the social media platforms and creating new strategies to increase the utilization of the platform and decrease stigmatization. 

The third responsibility is maintaining the relationships with our mental health resources that are on the map. This responsibility also includes vetting resources who wish to be added to the map, and structuring a payment strategy with either the resources themselves or alternative stakeholders. These stakeholders include businesses that may be interested in using our platform to outsource their mental health needs.

– #7 What is your scale-up strategy? Explain with clear financial and social value projections.

In 3 years, the Lehigh Valley will be familiar with Mindfull. The community will know who we are and what we do. We will have gotten feedback from the community on our map and our network will have expanded to include more key partners. Our impact will be seen in an increase in the utilization of mental health resources. Then we can expand into other areas beyond the Lehigh Valley. Our scale up strategy will be to first identify the mental health resources in the area and identify the key players in the area. Our next step will be to connect with community organizations and leaders to understand the needs of the area and the most pressing mental health issues. Our next step will be to create the resource map for the area which includes the resources to best serve the community. Our next step would be to market and disseminate the map in an effective way, while continuing to share stories from this new area on our instagram and website. This four step process can be repeated and tailored for other areas as we expand further. 

– #8 What is your implementation plan? What is your “go to market” strategy? Please provide a specific timeline.

Our market strategy includes developing a website for the purposes of promoting our services. In addition, building a social media presence to expand our outreach. We have completed these goals and are now in the process of  creating content for both platforms. 

– #9 What does success look like for all the stakeholders? What are your metrics of success? How will you measure impact?

Our stakeholders are the community organization and mental health resources that we include in our map as well as the individuals that we are recommending these resources to. Success for the former is measured by how many people use their services and are positively impacted. Success for individuals will be measured by their ability to find resourcesthat target their needs. The resources also benefit from the added inflow of customers. By highlighting certain resources, the large number of users on the platform are exposed to a carefully curated list of resources which give the resources an edge in terms of marketing. The resources benefit from added exposure which translates to added business and profits. In terms of our success it is important that we are able to sustain long term relationships with the resources that are currently included on our map.

Nandini Yellamelli, Elisha Wilson, Helena Volpe, Fatima Mumtaz, Erik Glasthal, Madison Zaun

1. Develop the “system stack” for your project a la the examples done in class (see photos posted under Week #10)Scan Nov 8, 2021

3. For each of the systems principles discussed and described in the article, give one compelling example of how your project system describes or encapsulates that principle. Be specific!

• Interdependence – Each system in our project system depends on each other to be successful. For example, in order for our mental health resource map to reach Allentown residents, we must build connections with local community organizations and mental health facilities to market our map. In order to share stories on our website and social media, we must collect those stories, and that collection depends on the community connections we make and the quality of our mental health resource map. 
• Holism – The parts of our project system can only be understood in the relationship to the whole because individually they build on each other. Furthermore, individually they will not accomplish our goal of increasing utilization of mental health resources in Allentown. For example, having Allentown residents as our target population can not be understood until you realize that Allentown is a majority-minority community, and minority communities are more likely to underutilize mental health resources. 
• Multifinality
  • “Resource Index” – from the perspective of the customer base
  • “Promotional platform” – from the perspective of the resources
  • “Partnership builder”- for the resources and community organizations
  • “Two-sided platform” for niche resources and specific needs
  • “Destigmatizing publication” – for cultural barriers 
• Equifinality – Mindfull is able to achieve similar end goals through varied processes. In order to increase utilization of mental health services, we are using both the mental health resource map and the collection of stories. The mental health map demonstrates using a product to connect people to mental health resources, while sharing stories demonstrates using ideas, words, and personal experiences to reduce the stigma that surrounds mental health and encourage people to seek mental health resources. 
• Differentiation- The components of our system each work together to create a cohesive product that works towards improving the use of mental health resources. Individually, they serve distinct purposes to achieve this product. Our resource map identifies the mental health resources that are available in Allentown, and enables both us and community members to build relationships with these organizations. Collecting stories about COVID-19 helps us to support the purpose our venture serves, as well as the impact we will have. 
• Regulation- We have identified a standard set of questions to guide our interviews and provide consistent responses for each story that we share. In terms of vetting resources, we have carefully sifted through them and created a document that lists their demographics and organizes them by the services they provide.
• Abstraction- There are different levels of abstraction that make up our venture-
  • Lehigh University cares about making a positive impact on the surrounding Bethlehem/Allentown community.
  • Community organizations like Promise Neighborhoods and the Hispanic American Organization care about improving the mental health of the individuals with which they work.
  • Mental health facilities care about reaching populations that are less likely to seek treatment- low-income and/or people of color.
  • Our team cares about improving the utilization of existing mental health resources and reducing stigma surrounding mental health problems in Allentown/Bethlehem. 
  • Individuals care about the health of their friends/family, as well as their own, and may want to take steps toward improving their lifestyle. However, they may struggle with figuring out where to look and which facilities to trust.
• Leverage points- The main leverage points for our venture include our partnerships with organizations such as Promise Neighborhoods and Casa Guadalupe, which have an expansive network of connections to help us establish trust within the community. With trusted organizations backing our venture and resource map, we will be able to gain users and collect/share more mental health stories via social media.