In the preceding videos, we saw that the social mission is a concept that remains stable and is really the starting point for your activities. On the basis of this social mission, you are either currently drawing up or have already drawn up a prototype for an idea that answers the questions what, who for, how. So far, I have actually concealed the fact that the first prototype for your idea is clearly not the last. On the basis of the initial prototype, I recommend that you seek to gather as much constructive feedback as possible. Then, you will of course move on to Version 2 of your idea prototype. This process can continue until you feel ready to move on to the next major step. Bear in mind that developing a good idea that does not yet exist, and which is grounded in reality, is a step-by-step process. The first things to do in order to really make the most of the feedback stage is to choose the right people to ask. To get high quality feedback, I advise you to use the forums of this MOOC and organise meetings or events with other MOOC participants. You are in the process of becoming experts in the generation of ideas and you can support one another using the networking facilities provided within this MOOC. Of course, even though chapter 5 is coming up soon, you can continue to ask for feedback and improve your idea long after this chapter is over. On the other hand, even though you can gather good feedback using the facilities provided by this MOOC, the golden rule is confront the situation down on the ground. I think that our natural reflex is to speak to family, friends, people we know, that we trust. This can indeed provide good feedback but the only people that think and behave like your beneficiaries are your beneficiaries. It is therefore really crucial to go to the places where your beneficiaries live to test your idea. As you listen to Antonio Meloto and Charles-Edouard Vincent, you will understand the value of feedback from on the ground. Before launching Emmaüs Défi I spent two years at the head
office of Emmaüs, at Emmaüs France, working on international lobbying missions etc, but I had never had any direct contact with the target audiences, and so it was undoubtedly something I was lacking, because I said to myself, I can clearly see that there are various things that are not working today, but until I personally confront reality, until I go and work with people living on the streets, etc, I will have difficulty understanding why there are various integration schemes nowadays that are not working. So in fact, at some point, I took the plunge and set up Emmaüs Défi and... I really dived in before I could swim, if you see what I mean. I had to learn extremely quickly because it's true that when you start a project, when you're with people on a daily basis who are in an extremely difficult situation, who are on edge, who are... well, you have to learn quickly. And it was really this confrontation with reality that enabled me to quickly understand why there were various things that weren't working. Whereas on paper, when you read various projects, mechanisms, you say, hey sure of course, integration through housing, integration through classic economic activities, that ought to work, why doesn't it work for these people living on the streets. So well, when you're with them on a day-to-day basis, when you're immersed in their reality, their
environment, you understand all of the sticking points. But it was being on the ground and that experience... which lasted several years, because Emmaüs Défi was built up with people off the streets, who I took on... that I... so it's really being rooted in reality that is key.