THE LENS has today launched a new digital space aimed at supporting front line staff at charities, social enterprises and public sector bodies to develop and share ideas which tackle some of the nation’s biggest challenges.
800 staff from charities will be given access to the online intrapreneurship tool, called PRISM, which aims to foster the spirit of entrepreneurialism, giving employees the skills to improve the lives of the people they support.
The tool is hosted on Community Lab — a Scottish technology platform that promotes collaboration and innovation via an open ecosystem of self-organising communities. The goal is to encourage organisations to engage in deep listening, welcome external perspectives, and empower employees to share their ideas on how to improve.
PRISM will initially be made available to grantees and partners of The Robertson Trust, which provides funds, supports and champions organisations tackling poverty and trauma.
With £85,000 loan funding through Social Investment Scotland, The Lens developed PRISM to become the go-to skills development tool for social enterprises, charities, and local authorities.
Members can access a range of modules to help develop ideas which will drive innovation from inception to implementation. The content of which is based on seven years of tried and tested delivery with organisations across Scotland. PRISM is supplemented with facilitated workshops and coaching with those using the platform, to help guide members and ensure the best results for organisations.
The Lens provides training and development opportunities to organisations to help drive growth and innovation. Since it was founded in 2015 it has trained more than 1,500 people across a range of charities, social enterprises and local authorities and developed more than 200 ideas to help drive innovation in social enterprises and purpose led businesses.
Steve McCreadie, CEO, at The Lens, said: “Before the pandemic, we were delivering programmes face to face, but like many other organisations we had to move to an online model. Building on the success of the shift towards online learning, we decided to spend time developing an extensive online platform, offering a more flexible experience for members. We are excited to work with both the Robertson Trust and Community Lab on our first roll-out of PRISM and work with its network in what we hope will be the first of many successful partnerships.”
Alastair Davis, chief executive at Social Investment Scotland, said: “PRISM has the potential to help many social enterprises increase their impact and improve the way they operate, simply by encouraging employees to think like entrepreneurs. The Lens has long been leading the way in skills development for the third sector and this latest launch further cements their reputation. Being able to give employees across a range of charitable organisations the opportunity to develop and apply ideas is a powerful tool which should mean these organisations can increase the impact that they have on their communities.”
For more information about PRISM please visit www.lensperspectives.org.uk
