Charity Case Study: Everyone Has Ideas
Equity is about providing people at every level the opportunity to grow.
There is no monopoly on idea generation.
Underpin Consultants is partnering with Red2Green in 2025 to prove a simple truth: everyone has ideas, and idea generation can change lives, businesses, and even the world!
To prove it, Underpin Change and Growth Consultants are working with Red2Green, an organisation that supports people aged 16+ with learning disabilities and autism towards achieving independence, education and employment, to provide a programme of development based on product development.
Underpin Consultants are business consultants that work with organisations to boost growth sustainably.
A different way of thinking
Business Consultants come in all shapes and sizes, and so does everyone else. But if you were to ask Underpin Consultants what the very central core of what they stand for was, the thing that no matter what project they always found, it’s that “everyone has ideas.”
In society, most people see ideas coming from the top. But when Underpin works on a mapping project, they speak to the directors first, but then search for the apprentices, executives, customers, partners, and front-line workers. Underpin believes their insights, thoughts, concerns and, most importantly, ideas are usually underrepresented, whilst also holding the information that’s most relevant to solving problems and delivering growth. It’s been proven time and time again that believing ”everyone has ideas” is the quickest way to find the gaps that are stopping a company from growing.
But this idea of “everyone has ideas” goes further. Recently, Underpin Consultants have been focusing on pushing the power of idea generation for growth beyond traditional business settings, and traditional organisational growth.
Underpin have been working with Cambridgeshire charity Red2Green, and the users of their employability programmes to teach product and service development.
‘Underpin created a fresh innovative and market disruptive strategy that really helped launch my business. You can see some images below, I would recommend partnering with Lewis if you want to stand out from the crowd.’
James Dean: CEO of HRC Online
Product Development
In a lofted barn at Red2Green’s hub in rural Cambridgeshire, four people with learning disabilities and autism are being asked some unusual questions.
What things do you love doing? What’s the worst part of your favourite thing? If you had a magic wand, what would you make or build to make that worst part better?
For most product developers, these are questions that are asked regularly. For the people in the room, this was an opportunity to think differently, learn some new skills, and maybe even come up with a few genuinely brilliant ideas.
By the end, everyone understands how to make the world better through products. There are even a few ideas that are genuinely great, and possibly profitable ideas. They’re being kept under wraps.
Everyone has ideas, but not everyone is heard.
Traditional models for innovation favour the confident, the valued and the loudest. Underpin argues that providing the opportunity for idea generation and entrepreneurship to all will lead to a more socially mobile and fair Britain.
In business settings, listening to your staff and not dismissing them simply based on experience, job role, or a particular band or level will open up your business for innovation.
A key part of product development and business is that if you want to make something good, fail – a lot. Break things, try things, maybe sometimes even do it on purpose. Product people call it “iteration.” but really, you just start with an idea, make a poor version, make some versions that move you forward, and make some ideas that try ideas you thought would work, but didn’t. Failure is part of the journey and to be embraced.
It’s a recipe, not just for business, but for a better life. Businesses and people who embrace failure are more productive, happier.
As a member of staff at Red2Green described it: “Failure is part of the process – essential, even. It’s totally changed the way I think about failure.”
As for the people in that lofted barn? We are doing it again soon. But for now, and despite thinking the whole thing might be a failure – Underpin’s thoughts on idea generation for growth, and that business ownership is an equal option for everyone, is not going away. And the push is made easier when we get feedback like this.
‘I found Lewis enthusiastic, friendly, and adaptable. I liked his communication style and the way he unpicked things. If I had a company, I would hire him!’
If you’d like to find out more about how Underpin Consultants can help your business, why not book a call here? We’ve helped charities and businesses improve their ROI and deliver real change. In 2024, one client saw a 25x ROI on their consultancy cost.
And to learn more about the amazing work Red2Green does, please visit their website.
