Format :
  • Groups of students collaborate to develop a business model concept for peat areas, aimed at securing long-term social, financial and environmental services of the landscape and increased bio-diversity.
  1. Student groups may vary in size, according to student/team preference. We expect teams from 2-6 students;  and aim at 4-5 groups per Living Lab.  
  2. Student groups may be from one university, or from different universities. We welcome students from various  disciplines.  
  3. Student groups may be international, meaning that students at Indonesian and Dutch universities may  collaborate. 
    • The Challenge Organizers will facilitate a list in which students can indicate they want to work in an  Indonesian-Dutch team. Organizers will be the matchmakers. 
  4. Each student team is provided with an Indonesian and a Dutch coach, which are both knowledgeable about the  relevant Living Lab. Both will assist the students with the project.
  5. The working language is English. 
  • On the one day final event the SBMCs are pitched by the students in 2-4 minutes digitally/online to a jury.
  • Project partners and coaches will share as much information as possible with student teams. Clearly, on some  commodities more data is available than on other.
  1. There will be a Google Drive made available for each student team where information can be stored.
  • The jury will have a week to determine the best ideas:
  1. Environmentally most promising idea (leading to the highest bio-diversity and carbon stock gains).
  2. Socially most promising idea (a worked out idea which seems very promising to the local communities).
  3. Most feasible SBMCs (an idea that is worked out well, and looks most feasible). 

  • The Challenge will involve a series of guest lectures (workshops) that are organized in the lead up to the final product.  These activities are optional but aim to introduce the issues at stake in the relevant landscapes and provide students  with hands-on skills relevant for their assignment.

  • This Challenge is open for students from all knowledge institutions in the Netherlands and Indonesia. Hence, the  Challenge and any additional workshops will be conducted online. Students are encouraged to meet with their  coaches in person when possible and jointly develop proper SBMCs.

Assignment :

Develop a Sustainable Business Model Canvas for income-generating activities and sustainable crop cultivation—beyond  just oil palm—for smallholder farming families and entrepreneurs operating in Indonesia’s peatland areas. These should  improve bio-diversity and maintain or increase carbon stocks. 

Students can explore cases and products from the ComPeat and SustainPalm inventory of relevant peat-based products.  Examples include:

  • Coffee Liberica 
  • Mushrooms and/or vegetables 
  • Rotan 
  • Sago 
  • Medicinal plants 
  • Other NTFPs or species that have proven to produce well on peat, do not require drainage and have a high economic  potential as well ensure food security. 

Examples of alternative income generating activities for smallholder farming families or entrepreneurs include:

  • Fish production within peat areas  
  • Selling oil palm for carbon offset
  • Tourism 

A more extensive list of options can be found in Annex 1 in the ‘Best Idea for the Peatlands’ PDF. 

The business model should present a realistic, logical and substantiated pathway to an alternative land-use system in peat and surroundings that secures long-term social, financial and environmental services from the land. Some components which need to be developed are:

Sources which explores key concepts that can serve as the framework for the Sustainable Business Model Canvas are:

  • Osterwalder, A., Pigneur, Y., Papadakos, P., Bernarda, G., Papadakos, T., & Smith, A. (2014). Value proposition design.  John Wiley & Sons. 
  • Osterwalder, A. and Pigneur, Y. (2010) Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and  Challengers. Wiley, New Jersey. 

Both books are available in Bahasa Indonesia as well as in English.

The Challenge consists of the following elements:

1. Kick off meeting

2. Preparatory workshop(s) which will be online session and recorded. This allows students the opportunity to ask questions immediately  when the session is being given. 

  • Workshop 1: Background & Design thinking session, explanation of the three relevant Living Labs by project  staff (VHL, IPB, ULM, UNTAN) + Design Thinking (by Erik Lalau, InHolland). 
  • Workshop 2: Sustainable Business Model Canvas & Value Proposition development (by Leonoor Akkermans, Van Hall Larenstein).
  • Workshop 3: An inspiring case from the field (Arconesia explaining their SBMC).
  • Workshop 4: Trial run for presenting your final Sustainable Business Model Canvas. Some external experts can  provide feedback (different from jury, possibly other coaches).

Students can rewatch the session at a later moment as well. Obviously the opportunity to immediately ask clarification  is than not possible.

  • An additional Workshop by an Indonesian government official and possibly LNV attaché might be organized by  IPB. This workshop will illustrate how peatland development is dealt with in a policy environment and provide  students the opportunity to discuss with government officials. The focus is not directly on the SBMC.

3. Time for teams to collaborate (online/offline, at their own location). 

4. Check ins with coaches being present weekly on demand to assist groups. Students can visit their local coaches in person.

  1. Coaches participate in the relevant Living Labs. 
  2. Each team has an Indonesian and a Dutch coach to ask input and feedback from. 
  3. There will be students in the field in Ketapang from the 14th of April onward. These may function as a key source for groups or become participants as well. 
  4. If relevant students which have participated in the Living Labs will be introduced as a reference.

5. Pitching of business models and SBMC: via a digital/online presentation to the jury (2-4 minutes for pitch; 10 minutes  for questions). In case there are more than 12 participating teams, there will be a preselection of 12 teams for the final  event based on performance during Workshop 4. Prior to the pitching event (see competition timeline), students are requested to  submit their business proposal in written format, so the jury can evaluate the proposals more extensively before  deciding on the winning teams. 

6. Event in which the winners are announced by the jury, including motivation why their SBMC won. 

Teams will pitch their proposal to a diverse jury (three or four candidates). Suggested jury members are :

  • PT Arconesia (entrepreneur)
  • Tropenbos Indonesia (NGOs/project implementors)
  • Chairperson of Indonesian Horticultural Professional Certification Body (TBC; private sector, with large professional network). 

Objectives:

  • Engaging various stakeholders in this challenge to foster innovative public-private-producer partnerships (4P) that  empower farmer organizations and smallholders, drive market solutions, and create lasting impact (even beyond the  SustainPalm project duration)  
  • Develop and assess sustainable business model concepts which increase bio-diversity and carbon stocks and provide  an alternative to oil palms in the peatlands. 
  • Create visibility for SustainPalm and the programme more broadly: workshops recordings might be published on  SustainPalm website. 
  • Fostering Action Research by implementing applied research and delivering tangible products for SustainPalm, local  entrepreneurs and local communities.  
  • Developing students’ entrepreneurial skills and apply theory into practice, bringing forward their unique innovative  ideas.