CSRspace works with its clients, whether a community, an investor, or a company to devise a Strategic Plan that prioritizes common goals over an extended timeframe (10 – 50 years). This sets the standards against which all elements of the Master Plan are measured, and which must be met by any project identified for completion or funding. It supports collaboration in building a durable global and/or local Social License to Operate by building and maintaining a pipeline of projects with clear long term relevance for a community and a clear exit strategy for investors.

• Identify differentiators in the Community or project beneficiaries that make it unique, and may not be accounted for in normal project design.
• Consider investment in core project infrastructure with respect to community priorities and in terms of opportunities to build lasting local infrastructure out of temporary project infrastructure.
• Match strategic plans, encourage stakeholder discussion of planning priorities to detail desired projects by priority, cost, and over time and identify those suited for private and impact investment.
• Definition of KPIs and general metrics to measure and track success or identify areas for change.

Developing a business plan is often an essential element of curating a project for Impact Investing. It integrates with CSRspace's other services - building the Strategic Plan, Integrated Master Plan, Stakeholder Engagement, and Project Management.

• We can intervene at any stage, e.g. assisting with the transition from idea / concept to prototype, or from prototype to commercially viable product.
• The goal of the plan could be to raise venture capital, to support a proposal in response to a government request, or to provide the background for a grant application. Depending on the intended audience we emphasize different elements of the plan (e.g. financial vs. impact, broadness of reach vs. mission oriented).
• The business plan is typically accompanied by other documents - a proposal structured according to an RFP, or a pitch deck targeted at raising funds.
• We ask the hard questions, deconstruct the founder's ideas, and put everything back together to align with the expectations of the intended audience.
• Our strength is to understand the founders side, which his often technical or academic, as well as the language of investors; bridging this gap is a fundamental value we provide.

CSRspace believes individual projects should not be designed and implemented in a vacuum. They should meet the goals set by a strategic plan, benefit from broad stakeholder input, and be evaluated for up- and downstream impacts and long term consequences. As part of a comprehensive Integrated Master Plan (cIMP), validated and informed by local stakeholders, a project can help achieve the desired impact, while minimizing negative consequences.
A cIMP should include, inter alia, guidelines for:

• Assess the environmental, socio-economic, socio-cultural and demographic baseline and Strategic Plan goals.
• Identify and engage directly relevant stakeholders.
• Evaluate against applicable international norms, requirements and best management practices.
• Design and categorize projects according to beneficiaries, timeframe, type of funding/investment, and potential partnerships.
• Establish need for project owner, and identify points of entry and exit for funder and/or investor.
• Always document processes, follow through and collect information on KPIs for reporting at different levels.

CSRspace complements its clients project management by networking knowledge from a range of experts and stakeholders into project design and implementation. As a third party, our team encourages open discussion, yet keeps the process focused and on track, within budget, and achieve the goals set in the project scope.

• Build a team to seamlessly integrate client staff and specialists, manage input from stakeholders, encourage capacity building, transfer of knowledge, and project support.
• Identify the right subject matter expert for specific information.
• Mentor team members to evaluate each project component in the context of local and regional limits to growth or options for further expansion.
• Actively manage the scope of work to reflect changing project realities while matching it to the existing project budget and timeline.
• Measure Performance Metrics and adapt project scope as needed.

CSRspace manages stakeholder engagement from project concept through to implementation. This is critical in achieving timely, streamlined, cost-effective project delivery. This process is documented and validated in accordance with a range of reporting requirements.

• Identify all potential stakeholders, create a Stakeholder Engagement Plan, and call out critical points of intervention during the project life.
• Ensure that stakeholder outreach is inclusive, well documented and consistent.
• Walk stakeholders through opportunities to leverage smart technology, cross-sectoral planning, sustainable approaches and scalable designs to better inform them on available choices.
• Do not design the project in isolation from ongoing development panning, upstream and downstream activities, and local emerging and future needs.

CSRspace recognizes that clients, whether investors or local project owners, have specific project requirements and seek to ensure its success over time. Key Performance Metrics are established at the planning phase so that project impact meets the stated expectations of the stakeholders.

• Establish modalities to collect and update a single set of useable, reliable impact data.
• Implement automated systems to track project data, and facilitate reporting over time.
• Perform data collection and reporting.
• Monitor the project to enable early intervention in case the project deviates from plan or conditions change.