Planning Workshop: Sustainability

Instructor

Atul Wad

ID 584-002
PLANNING WORKSHOP: SUSTAINABILITY
WORKSHOP OUTLINE
DESIGN OF SUSTAINABLE VENTURES AND PROJECTS (14 Weeks)

SUMMARY: Society is faced by enormous and complex challenges with respect sustainable development (depletion of natural non-renewable resources, health, water, materials, pollution increasing demand for renewable energy, rising carbon emissions). New private and public initiatives are being developed and implemented to address these challenges. The successful design and implementation of such initiatives requires a deep understanding of the conceptual and methodological issues and variables involved in sustainable development. Innovation is central to the success of these initiatives.

Methods

---

The course will cover the following topics (not necessarily in this order):
1. Principles of Sustainability
a. Conceptual foundations and the evolution of the concept of sustainability
b. Prevailing frameworks of analysis
c. Sustainability as an emerging paradigm
2. Current Issues and Relevant Technological Trends
a. Energy
b. Water
c. Health
d. Non-renewable materials
e. Socio-economic equity and poverty
f. Infrastructure
g. Product Design
3. Major Challenges
a. Resource Productivity
b. Innovation
c. Economics
d. Scalability
e. Marketing and Distribution
f. Consumer behavior and consumption patterns
g. Accessibility to solutions
h. Unintended consequences (e.g. food vs. fuel)
i. Resource limitations (peak oil)
j. Global trends (e.g. CO2 emissions)
k. Intellectual property
l. Policy requirements
4. Project Design Considerations
a. Market need/demand
b. Level of technological development
c. Human resource/skills requirements
d. Cost/Benefits (private and public returns)
e. User acceptability/ consumer education
f. Risk mitigation
g. Competition and alternative solutions
h. Partnerships and alliances
i. Stakeholders
j. Financing – sources and types/schedule
k. Socio-economic implications
l. Governance
m. Branding
n. IP
o. Policy and regulatory considerations
5. Framework for Project Design
a. Practical considerations (refer to (6) above)
b. Evaluation of opportunity/need, value proposition
c. Implementation stages and phases
d. Risks and returns
e. Time horizon
f. Piloting and prototyping
g. Valuation
h. Capital structure and prospective sponsors/investors
i. Market development and penetration
j. Initial team requirements
k. Partnerships
l. Components of the business model
m. Presentation structure and focus
6. Management of Resources
a. Resource productivity (technology)
b. Resource sufficiency (conservation)
c. Resource optimization (economics)
d. Resource distribution and ownership (political economy)
e. Systems approaches to Project Design
7. Models of Innovation
a. Neo-classical economics
b. Management strategy
c. Value chain models
d. Neo-Schumpeterian/ evolutionary approaches
e. New business models (social entrepreneurship, google.org)
f. Financial and venture capital interpretations
g. Role/importance of entrepreneurship
8. Organizational Context for Sustainable Development
a. International agencies (e.g. IFC, WBSCD etc.)
b. Government and intergovernmental bodies
c. Non-governmental organizations
d. Private sector initiatives
e. Regulatory bodies
f. Financial institutions
9. Performance/Success Indicators and Measures For Projects
a. Financial
b. Social
c. Environmental

Teaching Materials
1. Readings
2. Case studies
3. Guest speakers
4. Class generated/identified materials and papers
5. Web Based Information

Format & Grading

---

The course will be practical and project based, with the objective of providing students with an understanding of the process of designing practical initiatives that can produce effective solutions to sustainability challenges based upon the principles of sustainable development. Student teams will work on specific projects agreed upon early in the course, and developed through the 14 weeks, and produce a final project design as the main deliverable of the course.

This project design will be comprehensive and detailed enough to serve as a foundation for the preparation of a business plan that can be presented to sponsors – private and public. Projects will be derived from technologies developed at R&D labs, private companies and universities and needs expressed by private and public organizations. Site visits may be organized, if feasible.

The development of the projects and lectures/case discussions will be conducted in parallel, with approximately 50% of class time devoted to each. Assignments will mostly be based upon projects – initial concept, elaborated outline, expanded outline and field testing/piloting, final report, and final presentation to a panel of judges. Students will be expected to discuss readings and case studies in class. 20% of the grade will be for class discussion and participation, and 80% for the project.

Grading
1. Attendance and class participation
2. Short individual conceptual papers on a specific topic discussed with each student
3. Team Project Report and Presentation