Summary
There's scant data on how the economics of a successful civic design practice squares with its values. What's fair pay for doing this work and a fair price to pay or charge for it? And how do you start and scale a design team that values a culture of care, transparency, and empowerment -- for staff, partners, and publics -- when our shared unit of value is a dollar bill? This session will provide real numbers and tools for making your team's business model and team structure as radically collaborative, transparent, and equitable as your design product.
Key Insights
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PPL started in 2010 with no funding but has grown to employ 22 people and generate around $2 million in revenue.
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Understanding the intricacies of cost includes not just project expenses, but overhead costs and time management.
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Equitable pay is essential; all employees should know their salary compared to others and have clear guidelines for wage increases.
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The money generated should reflect the organization's public sector values: transparency, equity, and transformation.
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Service design methodologies can be applied to finance and operations for better outcomes.
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The three-part model (people, process, costing) enables better financial decision-making in nonprofits.
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Collective decision-making is challenging but necessary for fairness within compensation structures.
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PPL uses open-books accounting for transparency about financial health and expenditures to all staff.
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Engaging all team members in salary discussions fosters understanding and support for financial practices.
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Continuous iteration is key; PPL actively seeks to improve its financial model to better support employees and organization growth.
Notable Quotes
"Money is an invented construct, a way to exchange value without directly bartering resources."
"Our goal is to offer compensation that's fair, transparent, and generous."
"If we can treat our cash with our values, we can deliver more value to our partners and the public."
"We need to think of our revenues as a collective resource available to our team."
"We track all our time, our hours, our projects, our vacation, and it's all visible to everyone."
"The revenue we bring in has to ensure the organization stays alive or better yet, thrives."
"We want to ensure everyone across the organization is getting paid the right amount in a fair amount."
"We want to avoid a situation where some are always making more due to biases in salary decisions."
"If you can articulate a reasonable theory for why you need a higher salary, we can discuss it collectively."
"It's not always unicorns; collective decision-making is kind of a torture sometimes, but it’s necessary for fairness."
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