Published on: A tool for a design-driven innovation approach to more sustainable business models, by Tommaso Corà and Lucilla Fazio, The Design of Business Models,
10th Anniversary issue of the Journal of Business Models, ISSN: 2246-2465
Generating systemic prosperity with the Design Driven Innovation Business Model Canvas
Every Business is is part of a broader context. The Design Driven Innovation Business Model Canvas is the systemic evolution of the traditional business model: an essential tool for those who do not settle for profit but aim for prosperity.
Move beyond the reductionist client-company view: use this canvas to align the three lenses of innovation — Desirability (Planet), Feasibility (Network), Viability (Prosperity). Map how your organization exchanges value not just with customers, but with the environment, society, and other organizations, turning every connection with stakeholders into a sustainable strategic asset.
This framework will help you translate your Strategic Foresight into action, structuring the business models needed to implement it.
Beyond profit: design a value ecosystem today that can generate a prosperous future for business, society, and the planet.
Published on: A tool for a design-driven innovation approach to more sustainable business models, by Tommaso Corà and Lucilla Fazio, The Design of Business Models,
10th Anniversary issue of the Journal of Business Models, ISSN: 2246-2465
How to use the Design-Driven Innovation Business Model Canvas
Master complexity: In an interconnected world, value is not created alone; it is co-created. Use this flow to define your organization's role within its ecosystem.
Step 1. Define Value Proposition
Define the Value Proposition (Purpose) It all starts at the center. What is the unique contribution your organization offers the world? Don't limit yourself to the "product": define how your solution generates a positive impact for the system. Tip: Use the Impact Value Proposition Toolbox to refine this point before starting.
Step 2. Map the Planet area (Extended Desirability)
Who truly benefits from your value? Widen your gaze beyond the final customer. Include all human and non-human stakeholders (including the environment) involved in or impacted by your offer in this section. Ask yourself: is my solution desirable for the planet too?
Step 3. Activate the Network (Systemic Feasibility)
No innovation is sustainable without the right alliances. In this section, identify the collaborative system: knowledge providers, technology partners, and key resources. Don't look for simple vendors, but for partners with whom to co-create value that you could not achieve alone.
Step 4. Measure Prosperity (Viability & Impact)
The final balance sheet goes beyond money. This is the area of truth: compare costs (economic, social, environmental) with the benefits generated. Your strategic goals must ensure the organization is economically sound while regenerating the resources it consumes. Only in this way will your business model be able to support the desirable future you have imagined.
Frequently asked questions about the Design-Driven Innovation Business Model Canvas
What is the Design-Driven Innovation Business Model Canvas?
It is the systemic evolution of the traditional business model canvas, developed by TIPIC (initially named "Impact Business Model Canvas") and published in the Journal of Business Models. It maps how your organization exchanges value not only with customers, but with the environment, society, and other organizations.
How is it different from the classic Business Model Canvas?
The classic canvas optimizes the customer-company relationship for profit. The Design-Driven Innovation BMC widens the perimeter to the three lenses of systemic innovation — Desirability (Planet), Feasibility (Network), Profitability (Prosperity) — and aims at prosperity: an economically solid model that regenerates the resources it consumes.
How do you use the Design-Driven Innovation Business Model Canvas?
Start at the centre with the value proposition (refined with the Impact Value Proposition Toolbox); map the Planet area with all human and non-human stakeholders impacted; activate the Network of partners to co-create value with; finally, measure Prosperity by comparing economic, social, and environmental costs with the benefits generated.
What is its role in a Strategic Foresight process?
It is the bridge between vision and operations: after imagining desirable futures with foresight tools, this canvas structures the business models needed to inhabit them, turning every stakeholder connection into a sustainable strategic asset.
Where can I download the Design-Driven Innovation Business Model Canvas?
You can download TIPIC's canvas for free from this page, in English and Italian. The tool is described in the paper "A tool for a design-driven innovation approach to more sustainable business models" by Tommaso Corà and Lucilla Fazio, published in the Journal of Business Models.
