Power.Coders: Social Impact

THE CHALLENGE: How might we increase 10x the number of beneficiaries of Power.Coders in Spain in order to significantly increase their impact?

Power.Coders is a project that seeks to empower refugees by teaching them digital skills. Through bootcamps and courses, refugees in Switzerland, Spain and Italy learn coding skills so they can enter a growing labor market. They were recently launching the program in Spain in collaboration with Impact Hub and were looking for solutions to increase their impact.

The Starting Point: Defining impact

Impact, in the context of Power.Coders, means increasing the percentage of refugees that complete their bootcamps and integrate into the workforce.

93%

of their graduates find an internship after the bootcamp

60%

find a job after completing the bootcamp

Research

By interviewing experts in technology, social impact projects, refugees in Madrid and volunteers we created the three personas and pillars in the ecosystem: Refugees, Volunteers and Companies.

Through secondary research, interviews and observations on the refugee situation in Spain, their integration process, and coding sector we got insights from the individual and the system’s perspective.

Persona Development

Understanding the objectives of each persona was critical to design a solution portfolio that would motivate and include each player at the right step. This was done through empathy maps, ecosystem maps and the Jobs to be Done framework. The main personas included were:

  • Refugees
  • Company representatives
  • Volunteers

Ecosystem Map & Empathy Map for Refugees

Most transactions correspond to interactions beyond the material world, such as trust, caring, giving and networking opportunities. We built an empathy map based on our own assumptions and then a validated one through interviews:

Key Insights

1

Bootcamps are financed only by donations, there are no other income sources.

2

Volunteers are happy to help and see the progress of the refugees, but participating in the program is emotionally demanding too.

3

For refugees the hardest part is starting: visa processes, cultural barriers, language barriers and the job search process.

4

Companies need more awareness on the value internationals might bring, and on understanding their learning curve and context.

5

For HR Specialists, finding the right talent in tech is challenging as these profiles are not easy to identify on LinkedIn and are part of niche communities.

Pillars for Growth & Impact

To increase impact by 10x, Power.Coders needed the systems that create impact needed to grow, as well as more financial independence.

What do we need to increase impact by 10x?

  1. Integration of Participants in the Workforce
  2. Financial resources for the bootcamps
  3. Community & Networking

Based on these pillars, an idea portfolio of 50 ideas was created and evaluated based on Feasibility & Impact of each idea.

Idea Portfolio: Prototyping and Testing

After prototyping and testing a variety of different ideas, we were able to narrow down the portfolio. Validation included expert interviews, surveys, workshops with volunteers, benchmarking, estimating demand on Google and wireframes.

An Ecosystem Designed for Growth

Mapping the current company ecosystem and adding the solutions was the first step to understand the areas they would impact and how they would fit into the current project.

Solution Portfolio

We designed a series of solutions that would tackle each of the areas needed for growth:

INTEGRATION OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE WORKFORCE

  • Power.Talent: A hiring platform specifically for tech profiles and companies with a partnership with Power.Coders.
  • Networking sessions and presentations with professionals in the field.

FINANCIAL RESOURCES

  • Power.Agency: An agency run by Power.Coders that have completed the program that will reinvest profits in the program.
  • Power.Academy: Online courses to finance the program for refugees.

COMMUNITY

  • Workshops for volunteers, support sessions between students, and coaching sessions with executives that hire refugees.

IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE

The implementation of solutions was prioritized based on how quickly they were able to create impact, using the resources the program already has.

Key Takeaways

Challenge your beliefs

At the beginning of the project, we had a different idea about the profile of refugees in Spain, leading us to develop biased solutions. After conducting field research, we acknowledged we had clear misconception and shifted our focus right away.

Growth requires systemic change

Growth requires understanding the whole system and how each part will be affected by different objectives and resource needs. Companies much prepare each area and be organized to maintain quality in the process. As a result, when seeking growth, the whole system must be considered.