The Four Lenses Strategic Framework › Part 4: Leveraging Synergies and Managing Tensions ›

Blended Value

Primary link:
Resource Mobilization

Mobilizing Resources to Achieve Blended Value

Core Practices:

  • Retain market wealth-creation at the source.
  • Turn social challenges into wealth-creation opportunities.
  • Make resources more scalable and renewable.

Secondary link:
Knowledge Development

Developing Knowledge to Achieve Blended Value

Synergies:

  • Use market research to improve knowledge of resource availability.
  • Develop appropriate technology to manage resources renewably.
  • Research the potential of less coveted/more available resources.

Tensions:

  • Be wary of over promising and under delivering.
  • Research requires upfront investments and associated financial risks.

Tertiary link:
Stakeholder Engagement

Engaging Stakeholders to Achieve Blended Value

Synergies:

  • Capture stakeholders' spending power.
  • Engage donors in a longer-term investment approach.
  • Use stakeholders to diversify human resources.

Tensions:

  • Be mindful that increased integration might forfeit traditional fundraising channels.
  • Engaging in market mechanisms means less time for traditional fundraising.

Quaternary link:
Culture Management

Managing Culture to Achieve Blended Value

Synergies:

  • Promote a culture of self-worth among social clients.
  • Be honest about successes and failures when promoting risk-taking.

Tensions:

  • New business culture might cause the loss of existing human resources.

Go back to Table 1: Performance criteria across the four lenses or Table 2: Four lenses across the performance criteria

Copyright 2010 Virtue Ventures LLC. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.