Getting into business - made easy

The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) asked Engine to transform their five week entrepreneur’s training programme ‘Insight Out’ into an engaging and sustainable service proposition. Originally developed as a framework to help creative graduates understand how to use their skills to turn ideas into considered business proposals, NESTA saw the opportunity to scale the program up into a modular and more cost-effective service which would be delivered nationally by approved independent partner organisations. 

It was important for NESTA that Insight Out would become a differentiated, desirable and usable proposition which both graduates and partners would be keen to experience.

The main challenge for Engine lay in identifying ways to translate the programme into a sustainable business start-up service by designing, producing and supporting operational processes including learning and marketing materials required to make it work. 

Engine embarked on a user-centred approach, using three project phases Identify, Build and Measure, with the five service design fundamentals in mind: Value, Systems, People, Journeys and Propositions. 

Our first step was to understand what the users and providers of the service value and how the current programme works as a system - in its components and through relationships. Part of this process was to explore the market for Insight Out to ensure the programme would be sustainable at scale. The market consisted of delivery partners, trainers and candidates. We led the Insight Out team through a number of workshops to generate and refine ideas. Together with NESTA, graduates and Insight Out delivery partners, we developed a series of user journeys, highlighting touchpoints and activities and helping us to identify service opportunities. 

The consequent Build phase was used to turn the findings into a compelling service proposition. We produced knowledge and materials describing how to deliver the service. Service design principles were formulated for Insight Out, which directs thinking and supports decision-making. Our final outputs included a ‘shopping list’ of service components, job descriptions, process diagrams, web information architecture and design briefs to external designers. 

NESTA has now successfully implemented the Insight Out service specification and Engine continues to be involved in the Measure phase, ensuring a consistent and high quality service in the long run.