Business and Design Thinking: Blok & Co. Business Innovation Proposal

Project: Blok & Co.: Shelter Diversion Through Community-Created Content
Program/Class: Business and Design Thinking, MDes, OCAD U
Date: October 2020
Responsibilities: Research, Design Thinking, Mission Model Canvas, Value Proposition, Prototyping, Business Plan

In response to COVID-19, our team developed an innovation proposal that addresses current emergencies. We focused on the Toronto housing and shelter systems, specifically how we can prevent houselessness and reduce shelter use, as they are overburdened and sites of COVID-19 outbreaks.

Problem Statement

Strain on Toronto’s shelter system has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic; how might we innovate to ease this burden, protect residents, and adapt to future demand?

We created a stakeholder matrix, stakeholder profiles, mission model canvas, and value propositions for our stakeholders. Our solution is Blok & Co, an online hub, print zine, and local resource to provide the necessary information in the most needed neighbourhoods.

Blok & Co is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to shelter-diversion prevention strategies and initiatives. We aim to strengthen communities, build social infrastructure, and shift the perceptions of houselessness, through empathy-based awareness projects and community-created content.