Full Article: Business Model Innovation for Education

Here is a link to a full version .pdf of the Business Model Innovation for Education article.

You can also find prior articles on my website.

Cheers... Rob

In Conclusion: Business Model Innovation for Education

In conclusion. Institutional leaders need to reinvent existing and deploy new, innovative business models in order to achieve competitive advantage and financial sustainability. Business model canvases are useful tools for shaping planning thought processes, building organizational capacity, and guiding execution of changes in institutional business models. Based on our experience over the past few years, the following principles should guide the deployment of business model canvases by institutional leaders.

1. Change the language when it gets in your way and craft value propositions and narratives that fit your institution’s circumstances and culture.
   
2. Establish a commitment to business model innovation, competitive advantage, and financial sustainability at the strategic level; refine existing business models and innovate new business models at the tactical and operational levels (action planning and execution).

3. Unless an institution produces a small number of value propositions, don’t try to build a canvas on the institutional level.
   
4. Focus on a single value proposition at a time such as a particular degree offering, a single program, or on a clear value producing effort, then frame this in the larger institutional context.
   
5. Focus on a single customer or stakeholder segment at a time, then consider how others may be connected or impacted.
   
6. Create multiple, interrelated canvases when simplification is not attainable.
   
7. Reimagine some of the traditional customer segments, beyond students and learners, more like partners; if they are proving inputs and resources to the business model, they likely delivering resources and key activities more so then customer-centric revenues (for example, Federal financial aid programs).
   
8. Treat institutions as value-producing ecosystems; consider our revised ecosystem-canvas for this when the traditional canvas cannot fully serve your needs.
   
9. Embed the principles and tools of business model innovation in your institution’s planning processes, capacity building efforts, and execution of strategies and action plans; develop the skills of executive leaders, management, staff, and faculty in their application.
   
10. Move to execution by adequately planning, building the capacity necessary for change, and staying focused on the ultimate goals through the execution.

Based on these principles, we recommend embedding business model principles and practices in the following manner in your institution’s planning, capacity building and strategy execution processes.

Planning. Most institutional strategic planning processes do not deal specifically with the concept of the institution’s business models and how to change them to achieve and maintain financial sustainability. These are serious shortcomings. The institution’s strategic plan should establish business model reinvention and innovation as strategic drivers. The plan should articulate the institution’s strategic intent to leverage innovative business models, fulfill fresh value propositions, pursue competitive advantage and achieve financial sustainability. These principles then influence the application of the business model canvas in designing, resourcing, executing and communicating of changes in existing programs and new offerings, in order to fulfill value propositions essential to learners and other stakeholders.

Capacity. Institutions need to build capacity concurrently with executing strategy and action plans. To successfully innovate business models and deploy business model tools, institutional leaders must assess and develop their organizational capacity to do so. This includes their capacity to understand the strategic nature of business model innovation; insightfully analyze their existing portfolio of business models; and creatively innovate new business models and programs, services and experiences that achieve them. The institution’s developed and demonstrated organizational capacity to thoughtfully reshape its portfolio of offerings, experiences, and business models will be one of the critical success factors for institutions seeking to thrive over the next decade and beyond.

Execution. Institutions craft innovative business models as part of the action planning and execution stages, and continue to do so over the life of a strategic plan. With one or more canvases fleshed-out and plans in place to pursue change – it’s time to take action on executing business model changes and building capacity to do an even better job in the future. The application of business model canvas tools links to executing, resourcing, and communicating strategy; reinventing existing programs and developing new revenue streams; enhancing competitive advantage; and achieving financial sustainability. Over time, institutions must also actively change their culture as part of building capacity to utilize evidence-based innovation in programs, services and experiences.

Please enjoy these tools, share with us your experiences, and get in touch when you need help.

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Robert Brodnick, Ph.D. Founder, Brodnick Consulting Group robert@brodnick.consulting 530.798.4082 Donald Norris, Ph.D. President, Strategic Initiatives dmn@strategicinitiatives.com