By challenging its existing business model, as well as entrenched industry practices, this company was able to unlock social and economic value that would have remained unrealized otherwise, as well as benefit from multiple revenue streams, positive market signals and long-term customer loyalty.

An established technology company specializing in app development related to trending topics identified the opportunity to develop an application targeted to parents in response to the growing mental health crisis among adolescents in the United Kingdom. The crisis was leaving many people unable to access help from the overburdened public health care system, while private practitioners remained unaffordable for most. 

Traditionally, the company would conduct research into the trending topic and any related field of practice and synthesize its findings into a gamified app that it would sell on a subscription basis. However, a senior executive at the company who had a teenager struggling with depression and anxiety, questioned whether the company’s typical approach was appropriate for such a serious and material social issue. Due to her lived experience, the senior executive felt strongly that it was important to develop a more robust solution that provided parents – and society – with real long-term value.

Social & Sustainable Business Approach

Deep research was conducted to understand the various stakeholders involved and the full range of issues raised by the topic, which uncovered the following key findings:

• The most important factor in the mental health of adolescents is the quality of the relationships with their parents.
• Yet, many parents report feeling disempowered, helpless and overwhelmed when it comes to managing the mental health of their children. Parents not only feel uncertain about how to identify mental health stressors in their adolescents but also how to start a productive conversation about mental health. They also report lacking time, knowledge and access to expert resources, which limits their ability to help their children with mental health.
• Expert tools can effectively help parents identify mental health issues in their children.

Based on the key findings, an application was developed that:

• Took a user-centered design approach that put users, in this case parents and their teens, at the center of the solution by utilizing a clinically valid youth mental health assessment tool at baseline for assessing the mental health of adolescents.
• Provided parents with custom treatment recommendations from qualified experts based on the results of assessments.
• Used a co-production model whereby quantitative and qualitative data from parents relating to treatment outcomes were fed back into the app in a continuous loop. The data was fed into machine learning technology, and in combination with expert oversight, worked to improve treatment recommendations and mental health outcomes of adolescents overtime.
• Prioritized supporting products and services for mission-aligned stakeholders throughout the value chain to create shared value and drive further improvements in adolescent mental health practices and infrastructure.

Unlocking Social & Economic Value

By challenging its existing business model, as well as entrenched industry practices, this company was able to unlock social and economic value that would have remained unrealized otherwise, as well as benefit from multiple revenue streams, positive market signals and long-term customer loyalty:

• While a subscription pricing model was still used for the application, including a free version that ensured the basic product was accessible to and affordable for all, by putting the user at the center of the solution the app was paired with online events presented by experts covering various adolescent mental health topics identified as relevant to parents and teens. Parents purchase tickets for events; tickets are subsidized for low-income families. 
• Aggregated and anonymized data is sold or licenced to universities, research institutions and other organizations doing research or developing products and serviced in support of improving adolescent mental health.
• Private clinicians receive pre-assessed referrals and measurement-based care (MBC) technology for a fee, where MBC technology refers to solutions that enable practitioners to base their clinical care on data collected on the client throughout treatment and is known to improve clinical outcomes. The turnkey solution, based on the app technology, also offers training and technical support. 
• As a solution that effectively improves adolescent mental health outcomes at significantly reduced costs it can be sold to the public health system or the company can receive outcome payments from the government for successful outcomes.

All businesses, whether traditional or impact-first, have the potential to unlock more social and economic value in their organizations and supply chains, as well as the wider sectors and ecosystems in which they operate.

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