Citizen Development and Intrapreneurship

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Introduction

Over the past number of months, I have been doing research into citizen development. In this blog, I will explore how citizen development can empower creative minds.

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is defined as the creation or extraction of value. It encapsulates the idea of setting up an enterprise to service needs. Traditionally, a multitude of steps must be taken if one is intent on becoming an entrepreneur. Research suggests that, at a minimum, most entrepreneurs must:  

• Spot a gap in the market / find a large problem to solve
• Prototype the product / service
• Evaluate the product / service
• Identify the target audience
• Source Finance
• Consider risk
• Spend a lot of time & effort sourcing operational & human resources
• Create an enterprise.

My Ambition… but Reality Strikes

One of my lifelong ambitions was to become an entrepreneur. I am passionate about people and wanted to address the needs of those who are unfulfilled by adding value to their lives and making a meaningful difference. Until recently, my goal was clear. I was determined to take the necessary steps, and, ultimately create an enterprise that would address unfulfilled needs… until I discovered citizen development.

Citizen Development

Citizen Development, is a phenomenon that enables any user to create applications without coding experience. As I said in a previous blog: “You do not have to be a software developer or an IT specialist to create an app anymore. Literally, anyone can create an application using citizen development if you have the appetite to learn.”

Key Insights

Over recent months, I have had the opportunity to conduct research into citizen development. During that time, I have learned a tremendous amount! Out of everything I have read and experienced, there were two key takeaways that stood out to me:

1. Anyone with the appetite to learn can upskill and create applications that fulfill needs
2. Organizations should leverage citizen development to gain transient advantages

Setting up an enterprise takes a huge amount of time and effort (not to mention the risk and liability that is involved). Since learning about citizen development, my entrepreneurial ambition has not changed, however, my roadmap has.

Same Ambition, Different Roadmap

Since discovering citizen development, I firmly believe intrapreneurship is my calling. I do not need to create an enterprise to fulfill unmet needs. I can leverage citizen development to create applications that will enable me to achieve the same goal. I do not need to take the traditional entrepreneurial steps. I need to continue on my learning journey and gain more experience with citizen development to achieve my ambition.

Intrapreneurship

“Intrapreneurship, unlike entrepreneurship, is a concept that says you have the resources in your employees to solve most of your business challenges. It is more than just the concept, it is the execution of actions and activities that increase productivity and profitability within a company” (Herrmann, 2021). Innovative employees are at the core of intrapreneurship.

They are creative people within the organization who are determined to solve problems and develop sustainable solutions. Intrapreneurs can easily leverage citizen development to realize their ambition. At a macro level, they can:

1. Identify the business problem that needs to be solved
2. Create a project proposal
3. Ideate (via Really Round Robin sessions, Ideathons or Hackathons)
4. Create and deploy the application

Why Intrapreneurs should Leverage Citizen Development?

Intrapreneurs can create apps that will meet specific needs, at a lower cost and in a fraction of the time it would have traditionally taken to create an enterprise to fulfill a specific need. By leveraging this capability, risk and liability is minimized. On top of that, you won’t have to source extraordinary amounts of finance or spend years establishing an organization.  

Case Study

Let’s take a look at a case study example of an intrapreneurial mind that leveraged citizen development to fulfill a business problem.

Posted by Maelisa Woulfe on: March 29, 2021 07:25 AM | Permalink