IVEY FIELD PROJECT

BUSINESS 4569
Sections 7 to 9

HBA STUDENT HANDBOOK

and SYLLABUS
2015
Updated September 3, 2015

Ivey Business School

Business 4569
HBA Ivey Field Project (IFP) Contacts
4569 IFP HBA: Faculty
IFP - 1

IFP - 2

IFP - 3

IFP - 4

Instructor

Rod White

Mary Crossan

Adam Fremeth

Fredrik Odegaard

Office

3366

2354

3320

2336

Phone

519-661-3252

519-661-3217

519-850-2439

519-661-4278

Email*

rwhite@ivey.ca

mcrossan@ivey.ca

afremeth@ivey.ca

fodegaard@ivey.ca

Assistant

Ruth Shanahan

TBD

Tany Fernandes

Terri Przewieda

Phone

Ex. 84142

Ex.86177

Ex.83494

Email

rshanahan@ivey.ca

tfernandes@ivey.ca

fodegaard@ivey.ca

IFP - 5

IFP - 6

IFP - 7

IFP - 8

IFP - 9

Kelly Raz

Mark Zbaracki

Dave Simpson

Larry Plummer

Larry Plummer

Office

2310

2314

2351

2351

Phone

519-661-4270

519-661-3080

519-850-2503

519-850-2503

Email*

mzbaracki@ivey.ca

dsimpson@ivey.ca

lplummer@ivey.ca

lplummer@ivey.ca

Instructor

Assistant

Ruth Shanahan

Debbie Zoccano

Allison Gulka

Allison Gulka

Allison Gulka

Phone

Ex. 84142

Ex. 83275

Ex82901

Ex82901

Ex82901

Email

rshanahan@ivey.ca

d.zoccano@ivey.ca

agulka@ivey.ca

agulka@ivey.ca

agulka@ivey.ca

Tony Cassetta
IFP Director for Clients and EIRs
tcassetta@ivey.uwo.ca
Ruth Shanahan
IFP Coordinator Sections 1-6
rshanahan@ivey.uwo.ca
Allison Gulka
IFP Coordinator Section 7-9
agulka@ivey.uwo.ca

Contents
Introduction
(a) Learning Outcomes
(b) Confidentiality
(c) Teams
(d) Executives/Entrepreneurs-in-Residence

4
4
5
5
5

Grading and Deliverables

(a) Peer Assessment
(b) Meetings
(c) Deadlines
(d) Communication

5
6
7
7
7

Plagiarism

Attendance

Research Ethics

IFP NEW VENTURE GUIDELINES

DEVELOPING YOUR NEW VENTURE CONCEPT

(a) Student and Team Responsibility
(b) New Venture Criteria
(c) Working with your Entrepreneur-in-Residence and the EIR Contact Diary
(d) Working with your Faculty Supervisor

8
8
8
9
10

COMPONENTS OF THE IFP EXPERIENCE

(a) In-Class Sessions Sept. 8-11.
(b) Meetings
(c) Submission #1: Work Plan/Scoping Document
(d) Submission #2: Interim Report/Analyses
(e) Submission #3a: Written Business Plan
(f) Submission #3b: Investor Presentation
(g) Progress Reports
(h) EIR Contact Diary

10
10
10
10
11
12
14
14
14

MATERIALS

14

IFP Community on eZone

14

APPENDIX A IFP ETHICS FORM FOR NEW VENTURES

16

Introduction
The Ivey Field Project (IFP) presents an opportunity for
students to put into action what you have learned. Each
team will undertake a project of interest to them. It
could be a project addressing a strategic issue at a large
corporation, a business issue within a small enterprise, a
not-for-profit organization, a new business, or a new
venture idea of the teams own creation. In each case,
students are expected to draw on the knowledge and
skills gained in other courses to address an enterprisewide opportunity.
Each team is expected to fully scope their project and
allocate work appropriately to all the members of the
team in order to accomplish the stated objective of their
project. Each team member is expected to put in a
minimum of 100 to 120 hours of work over the course of
the project. Students are expected to develop a broad
understanding of the industry through various research
methods, assess alternatives both quantitatively and
qualitatively, and establish a detailed plan to implement
their recommendations. Throughout students will make
periodic
progress
reports
to
their
faculty,
executive/entrepreneur in residence (EIR) and where
applicable, the client.
Many Ivey alumni have found that the IFP experience
was one of the most valuable and memorable parts of
their education. The effort and dedication you put into
your IFP project will be rewarded in terms of both
learning and satisfaction in a job well done. The IFP staff,
faculty and EIRs work together and are dedicated to
providing your team with the support you need to
succeed. IFP is your capstone course and we encourage
you to make the most of this valuable experience.
The objective of the IFP is either to assist the principal(s)
of the enterprise in identifying and dealing with
issues/opportunities affecting the success of the
enterprise or work on starting your own new venture.
This task requires you first gain a general overview of the
business as a whole and its industry environment. Before
you can determine if the critical issues for the enterprise
are in the area of marketing, production, sales, R&D, or
elsewhere, you must first undertake the initial size-up of
the firms or ventures environment, its resources and
capabilities, stakeholder preferences and internal
organization. Even in those cases where the client
requests that your team focus on a particular functional
issue, you still need to be aware of how your suggested
actions will affect the entire enterprise.

(FS) and
mentor.

Executive/Entrepreneur-in-Residence

(EIR)

Your Faculty Supervisor (FS) is available to provide

advice, guidance, and feedback related to academic
matters throughout this process. He or she also serves
the traditional role of conducting IFP classes and grading
your work. Most of your interactions with your FS will
occur during the three scheduled meetings. However
you should contact your FS to address academic concerns
should the need arise. Your Executive/Entrepreneur in
Residence (EIR) is a volunteer who will work as an advisor
along with your FS to provide assistance and counsel to
your team. All of our EIRs have been senior managers
and/or successful entrepreneurs, and most have served
on both sides of the consulting-client relationship. Your
EIRs can serve as a sounding board and provide valuable
advice on team dynamics, client management and other
issues. Additional EIR information is provided in the
document entitled, Role of the EIR posted on your IFP
Community in eZone.
Regular meetings and deadlines for deliverables
throughout the year have been designed to provide the
framework for successful completion of your project.
Attendance at these meetings is mandatory for all team
members. During these meetings, the FS and EIR will
provide you with advice on the areas that pertain to your
project, the framing of the projects parameters, the
quantity and quality of your research, the sophistication
of your analysis, your relationship with the client, and
whether your report meets the standard of high quality
consulting work. Your team can expect feedback from
the faculty on most of your formal submissions.

(a) Learning Outcomes

The educational aims of the project are multiple. The IFP
has proven to be an effective means to make immediate
application of your learning at Ivey.
Working with other members of your team, your client or
entrepreneur, your FS and EIR will allow you to refine
your interpersonal skills and develop strong real-world
business skills. There is a presentation and oral
communication component to the project that affords
you an opportunity to further enhance your abilities in
these areas as well.
Finally, the project provides the opportunity for you to
develop your skills when working as part of a team on a
large, complex, and relatively long-term project with the
opportunity to affect the future of an enterprise.

Your team will receive targeted coaching on various

topics pertaining to your project, along with evaluations
of your project progress from your Faculty Supervisor
4

(b) Confidentiality
It is an expected part of the project that your team will
collect information about the industry from various
sources. When collecting data from third parties,
customers, competitors, industry associations, suppliers,
etc. you must represent yourself openly and honestly. In
addition to offending your personal sense of ethics,
information collected under false or misleading
pretenses will damage the Schools reputation,
jeopardize Iveys ability to carry out future projects, and
could lead to potential litigation. When speaking with
outside sources of information, indicate that you are a
student team from the Ivey Business School doing a
study of the industry for an industry participant, or
potential participant. You need not, and probably should
not reveal the name of your client.
IFP Client Projects are very similar to a professional
consulting relationship and require access to sensitive
organizational information. Of all the factors involved in
the IFP, none is more important than the strict
observance of your promise to your client organization
that all information will be handled on a 100 per cent
confidential basis. No member of any team shall reveal
to anyone outside their team, FS and EIR, anything
reported to them by the client. You should never
compromise a clients right to confidentiality as it is
unprofessional, puts your ability to complete the project
at risk, and negatively affects Iveys reputation in the
business community. If your client requests a NonDisclosure Agreement (NDA) please use the standard
UWO/Ivey NDA posted available in your IFP Community
in eZone.

(c) Teams
You are responsible for forming and registering your own
team. Registration occurs during April of your HBA1 year.
Each team completes and submits the form entitled, IFP
HBA Team Registration, available in your IFP eZone
Community.
This assignment is a team effort and the final report will
be viewed and graded as a joint project. Teams should
consist of 6 students. The effective composition,
organization and functioning of your team is important.
This project is the responsibility of all members of your
team and it will require teamwork, division of labor and
co-ordination of your efforts. Bear in mind, the goal of
the IFP is to be integrative, dealing with the entire
enterprise, not just one functional area. How you choose
to divide the tasks, assign individual responsibilities, work
together to develop innovative solutions, and manage
the overall effort will affect the end product. Give these
points careful consideration when forming and
organizing your team. Inevitably there will be differences

and disagreements. You are expected to attempt to

resolve your own intra-team disputes. EIRs can often
help you work through team issues. Your Faculty
Supervisor should only be involved if the issue affects
academic outcomes and only after exhausting your own
internal efforts to resolve the issue. Organizational,
team and interpersonal difficulties are not acceptable
reasons for unsatisfactory results.
One person in the team should be identified as the
Team Contact so the IFP office has one primary
contact.
It is the job of the team contact to
communicate messages to the rest of the team.

(d) Executives/Entrepreneurs-in-Residence
The school has recruited a number of seasoned business
executives and entrepreneurs to act as mentors
(coaches) for IFP teams. Often these EIRs are former
senior executives of large businesses, or a seasoned
entrepreneur, and all have many years experience in
dealing with the kinds of business challenges you will
encounter.
Using your EIR as a mentor/coach can bring significant
additional value to the quality of your project report and
to the experience you will gain from this process. All EIRs
have Ivey email addresses and you can find the listing
posted in eZone. When contacting the EIR directly,
please copy the faculty supervisor. Please avoid emailing
the EIR concerning administrative, academic or grading
issues.

Grading and Deliverables

Throughout the course each team will be expected to
meet certain key deliverables. These deliverables and
the meetings associated with that deliverable have a
grade assigned to them as follows:

IFP New Ventures

Deliverable
Deadline
Project Scope and Work
Plan (see format below)
Interim Report (see
format below)

Written Business
(see format below)
Investor Presentation
(see format below)

Plan

Grade

Sept. 25
(11:00am)

15%

Oct. 19
(11:00am)

20%

Nov. 20
(11:00am)
Optional: Dec. 4
(11:00am)

65%

Nov. 27
(8:00am)
5

The simple sum of these three components becomes the

team grade. Each team members grade is the teams
grade adjusted by the peer assessment (as explained
below) less any penalty for missing mandatory meetings
or failing to complete peer assessments.

(a) Peer Assessment

IFP employs the same mechanism for peer assessment
and grading used for LTA teams in HBA1. IFP peer
assessment can have a maximum impact of plus or
minus 10% on any students final grade.
Each team member is required to submit his or her peer
assessments and commentary through eZone no earlier
than 09:00 on December 7, 2015 and no later than
09:00 on December 14, 2015. In addition to a score, you
are required to provide feedback and commentary to
each team member. While this feedback will be
anonymous it should be fact based and respectful. Any
student failing to submit peer scores and helpful
feedback for all their team-mates will have their final
grade reduced by 2%.
As you may recall from HBA1 the system works as
follows. You provide feedback and peer scores for the
other members of your team, but not yourself. The
total number of points you must award is equal to 10
times the number of members of the team minus 1. So
for a six-person team each member has 50 points to
award (6 1 = 5 x 10 = 50). The minimum you can
award any individual is 0 the maximum is 20. If everyone
awards the same score (i.e. 10) than this process will
have no differential effect upon the grades; everyone
will receive the team grade. Assigning different peer
scores will result in different grades being received.
An example helps to show the effect. Assume Tom was
given the following scores by his five other team-mates:
6, 4, 6, 2, 7 for a total of 25; if Tom had performed at the
group norm or average he should have received 50. His
scores would result in ((25-50)/50 x 10% =) -5%. If the
team grade was 80% Tom would receive a grade of 80
less 4 (5% of 80%) = 76%. Of course other members of
the team would in aggregate receive plus 4% (5% of
80%).
You are encouraged to use this process to reflect
differential contributions to the IFP. The following
provides guidelines for your consideration when
awarding individual scores.

IFP Peer Assessment Guidelines

Category
Description
Exceptional

Provided leadership for the

team. Did substantially

Score
17 - 20

Very Good

Satisfactory

Less than
Satisfactory

Unsatisfactory

more than their share of the

project work. Contributed
excellent ideas. and did very
high quality work.
Contributed positively to the
team process. Did their
share of the project work.
Contributed excellent ideas
and did very high quality
work
OR;
Contributed positively to the
team process. Did
substantially more than
their share of the project
work.
Contributed good ideas and
did quality work.
Was an effective team
member. Did their share of
the project work.
Contributed ideas and did
satisfactory work.
Had neither a positive nor
negative effect upon the
team process.
Did less than their share of
the project work, and/or
contributed few ideas and
did lower quality work.
Dysfunctional team member; or largely absent from
the team process.
Shirked their project
responsibilities; did not do
their work, or did very low
quality or incomplete work.

13 - 16

8 - 12

5-7

0-4

An important part of the IFP learning experience is to

manage your team dynamics. Integral to this process is
receiving and giving feedback to your peers on your
perception of their contributions to the project. If your
team is experiencing problems these issues should be
identified and addressed sooner rather than later.
Periodically each team should discuss team dynamics
and contributions. Concerns should be shared openly
and respectfully. No one should be surprised by the
peer assessment they receive at the end of this project.
If there is substantial evidence that an individual
student has persistently failed to attend team meetings,
and/or has failed to communicate regularly with team
members, and/or has failed to contribute significantly to
the teams work, the Faculty Supervisor may further
adjust an individual team members grade. In these
exceptional circumstances, the Faculty Supervisor may
6

assign a grade of zero to any or all deliverables for the

IFP course to an individual team member.
The Faculty Supervisors respect the peer assessment
process. However, if there is evidence of unfairness,
bias or the arbitrary assignment of scores the faculty
member may disallow any or all of the peer assessments
in the calculation of an individuals grade.

for textual similarity review to the commercial plagiarism

detection software under license to the University for the
detection of plagiarism. All work submitted will be
included as source documents in the reference database
for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers
subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the
service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently
between The University of Western Ontario and
Turnitin.com (www.turnitin.com).

(b) Meetings
Following each deliverable will be a mandatory meeting
with your faculty supervisor and EIR. The purpose of
these meetings is to provide constructive feedback on
your progress, follow-up on any area of your work
requiring additional clarification, and guidance on the
next steps. During these meetings one member of the
team is expected to take detailed notes of the discussion.
These meetings are the primary source of feedback to
the team and students are encouraged to ask questions
and solicit feedback.

(c) Deadlines
Please note the deadlines and meetings schedule
provided in this document and understand that they are
firm. Your final IFP grade will be based on the submitted
materials and formal oral presentations. All significant
milestone dates and other useful information are also
posted on the IFP Community on eZone and you will
receive email notification from the IFP office should any
changes occur. Late submissions will receive a penalty of
20% and any submission received more than 24 hours
after the deadline will receive a grade of zero.

(d) Communication
The IFP coordinators may email reminders of deadlines
and meeting times, but only as a courtesy. Meeting the
deadlines is entirely your responsibility. Please let the
coordinator know if your team has any questions or
concerns regarding the IFP process at IFP@ivey.uwo.ca.

Plagiarism
Students must write their essays and assignments (at Ivey
this includes case exams, reports and presentations) in
their own words. Whenever students take an idea, or a
passage from another author, they must acknowledge
their debt both by using quotation marks where
appropriate and by proper referencing, such as footnotes
or citations. Plagiarism is a major academic offence (see
Scholastic Offense Policy in the Western Academic
Calendar).
All required papers (at Ivey this includes case exams,
reports and presentations) may be subject to submission

Attendance
Attendance at all classes and scheduled meetings in this
course are mandatory for all team members. It is
expected you will attend every mandatory meeting with
your Faculty Supervisor. Without the prior written
consent from your faculty, each absence from any of the
three mandatory meetings will result in an automatic 2%
deduction from that individuals final grade.
Under University regulations, the faculty can determine
at what point absenteeism has become excessive and
thus can prevent you from passing the course.
Specifically, any student missing more than 25 percent of
the meetings and/or classes cannot have fully mastered
the material. As a result, the faculty will refuse to
evaluate all or part of that student's work, where
attendance has not been regular.

Research Ethics
An IFP team may collect publicly available information
without submitting its research for ethical approval.
Examples of such information would normally include
visiting a competitor's retail store, conducting a traffic
count, visiting internet web sites, etc If an IFP team
wishes to collect data from human participants (e.g.
interview industry participants, survey consumers,
experiment, focus group), before carrying out such
research it must:
a)

Complete the form attached (see Appendix A)

and submit for approval to the faculty
supervisor;
b) Gain permission in writing from the client to
conduct the research on the client's behalf;
AND
c) Clearly communicate to all participants their
rights and your affiliation (normally this
information is conveyed in a Letter of
Information provided to the human
participants).
7

In some circumstances, the research you are proposing

may have to be reviewed by the Westerns Research
Ethics Board (REB). The information below outlines the
conditions under which your research would have to be
submitted to this board:
1. Sensitive Topics: Does the research propose to
study topics that might be reasonably construed
as sensitive (e.g. questions about illegal
behavior,
sexuality,
medical
information,
potentially harmful to respondent if made public,
etc.)?
2. Vulnerable Populations: Does the research seek
responses from people who lack the capacity to
provide free and informed consent (e.g. children,
prisoners, respondents with mental impairments,
etc.)?
3. Use of Deception: Does the research involve
deception, concealment or covert observation
(e.g. withholding the true purpose of the study,
lying to respondents about research design,
observing respondents where they have a
reasonable expectation of privacy, etc.)?
4. Conflict of Interest: Does the proposal place the
researcher or the course instructor in a position
that might be reasonably perceived as a conflict of
interest (e.g. potentially threaten respondents or
researcher objectivity based on, for example,
interpersonal
relationships
or
financial
considerations, etc.)?
5. Publication/Dissemination: Will the research
findings be made public or communicated beyond
the class, the professor and/or the client (e.g.
firm for which you are providing consulting)?
If any of the answers above are yes, then the proposal
must be submitted to the Research Ethics Board (REB),
which will review the proposal. Ethics forms and further
information
may
be
found
at:
http://go.ivey.ca/EthicsForms.
No primary research may be carried out until the
instructor has provided students with written approval
or until you have received written approval from the
REB.

IFP NEW VENTURE GUIDELINES

DEVELOPING YOUR NEW VENTURE CONCEPT

(a) Student and Team Responsibility

You and your team are responsible for identifying,
developing, and presenting your own new venture
concept. Choice and application for approval of a project
must occur sometime before April. The deadline to have
an approved New Venture-based project is in early April.
Although work on the New Venture project ramps up
most earnestly in September, you are encouraged to
work on your new venture concept over the summer.
When, as you work on your new venture, you find it
necessary to change or pivot your concept, doing so is
your responsibility and at your discretion. That is, do not
expect your FS or EIR to tell you explicitly when to modify
your concept. Having said this, please consult with your
FS and EIR when making any major changes to your
concept. Further, if you do need to change or pivot your
concept, do so as early in the IFP schedule as possible.
The schedule allows very little room to accommodate a
team making major changes late in the IFP schedule.
You will be required to conduct primary and secondary
research. For primary research, while the Morrissette
Institute for Entrepreneurship may be able to help you
identify industry, legal, business, financial, and other
related experts to contact, the responsibility of
identifying and contacting such experts belongs solely to
your team. For secondary research, you are expected to
leverage the resources of the Johnston Library. Do not
rely on internet searches alone to complete your
secondary research!
Although one person may have started the idea, your
new venture concept is really the brainchild of everyone
on your team. As such, if anyone plans to launch the
venture after or during IFP, it is solely up to you and your
teammates to resolve any (legal or residual) claims to the
intellectual property contained in any of the project
deliverables.
Finally, for those who want to launch a new venture, the
Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship, its faculty,
and various programs at Western stand ready to assist
you during or after your time here at Ivey. Please inform
your FS as early in the IFP schedule as possible if you
want to take a shot at launching a new venture.

(b) New Venture Criteria

Carefully develop your new venture concept to ensure
sufficient scope and that the range of activities and
8

issues likely to be confronted are of interest to the

members of the team and will challenge your skills and
abilities. Projects may include product-based businesses,
service-based businesses, high- and low-tech businesses,
international ventures, etc. as long as you receive
approval from the IFP office. Additional criteria for your
new venture are as follows.
1. The scope and depth of your new venture concept
must be sufficient to allow each student to put in a
minimum of 100 to 120 hours of meaningful work
during the course of the project.
2. Your new venture concept must afford sufficient
growth potential and scalability to require
sophisticated financial deals and investmente.g.,
external investment capital from angel investors,
venture capital, private equity, and other. Pure equity
deals are not required, but financing the venture
exclusively through bank loans is disallowed.
3. Your new venture concept must in some way
generate financial returns for investors. As such,
traditional non-profit ventures are disallowed for IFP,
but you can explore developing a social venture
again, as long as investors can expect returns based
on equity positions in your company.
4. Your investor presentation and business plan must
also allow each member of your IFP team some role
in the venture. That is, each member of your team
must have some responsibility for leading, managing,
or directing the new venture; these roles must be
explicitly stated in the business plan.
5. Your new venture concept should be based on an
idea generated by one or more of your team
members. Concepts developed around IP owned or
held by non-team members will rarely, if ever, be
allowed. Contact the New Venture Project director
for questions about this criterion.
Finally, all new venture concepts are not created equal,
and do not provide equal challenge and scope. The
quality of your IFP experience will be related to these
factors. Challenge and scope are difficult to define but
adhering to the above criteria should lead to the
selection of a good project. The IFP-NVP director, in
consultation with other staff and faculty, will make the
final determination in accepting a new venture project.

(c) Working with your Entrepreneur-inResidence and the EIR Contact Diary
Your EIR is your primary mentor and source of guidance.
Once you are introduced / connected with your EIR via
email, follow up with your EIR early (i.e., in early
September, if not over the summer) to establish a

working relationship. Ensure the EIR understands the

general orientation of your new venture concept.
Your EIR has been selected and matched with your team
based on several criteria including industry knowledge,
length of time they have served as an EIR, and other
related expertise. You should consider your EIR a
member of your team and include him/her in early
deliberations and developments of your new venture
concept. The role of your EIR is NOT to help you polish
your presentation or proofread your business plan, but
rather to help you develop the core of your new venture
concept, financial model, investment plan, market / sales
strategy, and so on.
It is entirely your teams responsibility to initiate and
maintain contact and work with your EIR. Many EIRs are
extremely busy professionals with hectic schedules and
frequent (international) travel. With this said, the EIRs
have committed to work with your team and will find it
frustrating if you do not engage them for help. As such,
keep the following in mind:

Neither your FS nor EIR view what youre doing as a

class project. They see it as working with a team of
entrepreneurs (you) on launching a real business.
No past EIR has ever complained that a team
contacted them too much or was too aggressive in
trying to reach them. Indeed, the EIRs seem to
complain only when teams DONT engage them or
reach out to them too late in the IFP schedule.
Dont just drop your EIR an email and think you have
made contact. Call, skype, email, tweet, text, and
generally sustain all efforts to stay in contact with
your EIR throughout the project.
If you feel that your EIR does not understand some
aspect of your concept, thats your fault not theirs. It
is your responsibility to help your EIR understand
what you are working on.
Heed your EIRs advice. If you dont follow your EIRs
advice, be prepared to explain why.
Your EIR wont know the project schedule or
requirements. You must explain to your EIR how,
when, and why you need something from them.

As part of this process, you will be REQUIRED to maintain

an EIR CONTACT DIARY, which is a record of your
communications with your EIR. For each contact, please
keep a spreadsheet log of the date, time, method of
communication (e.g., skype, email, phone call), and a 2-5
word description of the topic of conversation. Please get
your EIR to sign off on your EIR Contact Diary before
submitting it with your final business plan.

(d) Working with your Faculty Supervisor

Although your EIR is your primary source of guidance,
your FS is available to provide advice, guidance, and
feedback and will grade your work. Feel free to reach
out to your FS as needed throughout the project, but be
prepared for your FS to delay any meeting until you
have consulted your EIR on a given matter.

COMPONENTS OF THE IFP EXPERIENCE

(a) In-Class Sessions Sept. 8-11.

All IFP students are expected to be available for meetings
and classes from Tuesday September 8, 2015 at 08:00
until noon on Friday September 11. Work will be
assigned for completion on the eve of each days class.
The following schedule (which is subject to some change)
applies to IFP Sections 7 9:

IFP Sections 7-9 Class Schedule

Timing
Activity
Tue., Sep 8: 08:00 12:30
Tue., Sep 8: 13:00 17:00
Wed., Sep 9: 08:00 13:00
Wed., Sep 9: 13:00 17:00
Thu., Sep 10: 08:00 13:00
Thu., Sep 10: 13:00 17:00
Fri., Sep 11: 08:00 12:00

20 min. Team meeting

with FS or delegate
Class / work session
Class / work session
Class / work session
Class / work session
Class / work session
Wrap-up and Working
with your EIR session

IFP teams will likely have 20 min. meetings with their FS

or delegate on Tuesday morning. You will be assigned a
half hour meeting time by the IFP coordinator. Your
team will be notified about the time location and agenda
for these meetings by email in late August.
Class sessions and / or meetings for each IFP section will
be conducted on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and
Friday. There is NO coursepack required for IFP sections
7-9. Instead, several deck files and class assignments will
be posted on eZone. There is no pre-work required
prior to the first class session, but we trust your team has
used the summer months wisely.
During the class sessions you will be asked to raise and
discuss issues related to the scoping of your project.
After the first week, there will no further class sessions.

(b) Meetings
For sections 7-9 only, IFP includes two formal mandatory
team meetings with your IFP faculty supervisor (FS) or
delegate. Please contact your EIR to discuss your project
materials no later than the second Friday in September.

1.

2.

Introductory team meeting for approximately 20

minutes with your FS or delegate on Tuesday,
September 8 (8:00am-12:30pm).
A 30 minute interim meeting with your FS or
delegate sometime during Tues. October 27
(5:30pm-8:00pm) or Wed. October 28 (8:30am5:00pm).

In addition, your team will have deadlines to submit your

project materials, so please review the sample document
entitled, IFP HBA Quick Key Dates & Deadlines, posted
in your IFP Community in eZone. Any changes to these
requirements will be emailed to you via your Ivey IFP
class distribution list. Additional details include specific
times will be communicated to teams closer to the actual
meeting dates.
Formal meetings are mandatory for all team members.
The IFP coordinators will schedule the meetings.
Each meeting consists of a three-step process.
Step 1 is a written submission to be handed in by a
specified
due
date
before
the
meeting.
Step 2 is a discussion at the meeting about the written
submission. Each team will designate a member who will
record
the
minutes
of
the
meeting.
Step 3 is a submission of minutes of the meeting,
including action items requested by the FS or EIR. The
minutes should be emailed to the FS and EIR within two
days following the meeting. These minutes will form the
basis of your substantive feedback.

(c) Submission #1: Work Plan/Scoping

Document
In order to successfully prepare the scoping document
and work plan, your team has to complete at least one
in-depth discussion with your EIR. This meeting /
conversation is to discuss the development of the new
venture and establish a thorough understanding of the
project at hand. To gain maximum benefit from this first
meeting with the EIR, the team should prepare by
conducting secondary research on the organization and
the industry.

Due 11:00am September 25, 2015

The 6-page Scope and Work Plan is worth 15% of your
final mark. You will receive a number grade out of 100
for your scope and work plan. Your grade will be based
on the overall quality of your submission. Please upload
an electronic copy as a single file (in MS Word Format) to
the IFP course section in eZone (confidential team
10

uploads). *Please include the name of your venture, the

names of all group members, your team number and
your assigned EIRs name on the front page of your
submission. Please use your company name and team
number as the file name of your submission.
Your submission should include the following:
In no more than 2 pages, the PRELIMINARY NEW
VENTURE SUMMARY should articulate clearly the core
elements of the new venture concept including the
customer problem, market segment, competition,
ecosystem, and 2 to 3 possible products / solutions.
Using the highlight tool in Word (or other software),
please color code your factual statements and numbers
as follows:

GREEN facts or numbers have been verified from

reputable sources
YELLOW facts or numbers are educated guesses /
estimates (i.e., SWAGs) derived from information
obtained from reputable sources
RED facts or numbers have NOT been verified from
reputable sources

A 1-page SCOPING DIAGRAM (e.g., Gantt chart)

decomposes the overall objective into component parts
(and sub-parts). This submission provides a narrative
explaining how these components will address the
objective of the project. Choose font and margins that
still make the scoping diagram legible when printed in
black and white.
A 1-page WORK PLAN is related to the scoping diagram
and clearly identifies those tasks required to complete
the project, when each must begin and end, how the
tasks relate to each other, and team lead and team
members involved in completing each task. A good work
plan should also communicate to everyone what the
team needs from their EIR and what the EIR can expect
from your team.
As part of your Work Plan, please delegate
responsibilities and areas of expertise to each person on
the team. At a minimum, please assign at least one
person to the following roles:

market / customer / sales expert,

competition / industry expert,
money / financial model / funding expert,
product / solution / R&D expert, and
ecosystem / legal / general environment expert

A 1-page SUMMARY OF PRELIMINARY RESEARCH should

capture all research conducted to date.
Finally, use in-text citations to cite your ALL your work
and include a 1-page list of references.

The new venture summary, scope, work plan, and

research summary should have received EIR AGREEMENT
prior to submission. Either through written
correspondence or the EIRs signature on the scope and
work plan, the team should be able to demonstrate that
the EIR has received and reviewed the teams Work Plan
and Scope.
More information about the structure, content, and
format of your scope and work plan will be provided in
class materials.
Getting this first deliverable right is very important for
two reasons. First, it helps establish expectations with
your EIR and is crucial to managing your work and EIR
interaction during the course of the project. Second, it
forms the basis for your team and peer assessment. If
your team executes with excellence the agreed upon
work plan and fully address your projects scope then you
can expect a good team and peer grade. Failure to
deliver on key elements of your work plan and scope will
result in a low team and / or peer grade.

(d) Submission #2: Interim Report/Analyses

In order to successfully complete the Interim Report,
your team should have strong buy-in from your EIR
around the scope and direction of your work. In order to
prepare a strong interim report, you need to have
completed a substantial portion of your secondary (e.g.,
library) and primary (e.g., surveys and interviews) data
collection efforts.

Due 11:00am October 19, 2015

Please submit this assignment in three parts:
First, upload an electronic copy of the written
document as a single file (in MS Word Format) to the
IFP course section in eZone (confidential team
uploads).
Second, upload an electronic copy of the financial
model as a single file (in MS Excel Format) to the IFP
course section in eZone (confidential team uploads).
Finally, upload an electronic copy of the Supporting
Docs as a single file (in PDF Format) to the IFP course
section in eZone (confidential team uploads).
For all three parts of your submission, please include the
name of your venture, the names of all group members,
your team number and your assigned EIRs name on the
front page of your submission and use your company
name and team number as the name of each electronic
file.
The interim report is worth 20% of your final mark. You
will receive a number grade out of 100 for your interim
11

report. Your grade will be based on the overall quality of

your submission.
Your interim report (maximum 20 pages) should include
the following elements:
The REVISED NEW VENTURE SUMMARY (2 pages) should
articulate the current best thinking regarding your new
venture concept including the customer problem, market
segment, competition, ecosystem, and product /
solution.
The REVISED SCOPING DIAGRAM AND WORK PLAN (2
pages)this general deliverable should be broken into
the key components that will fulfill the projects objective
and speak to the key issues and challenges facing your
team. As part of this revised work plan, be sure to:
-

Describe the STATUS of all key objectives and

deliverables. This flows directly from the original
work plan. For each important deliverable: What has
been done? What remains to be done in order to
complete your project? Who is taking the lead on
getting it done? If you have any reason to suspect
the deliverable will not get done you should identify
your concerns.
Also provide a brief discussion of TEAM DYNAMICS.
Is the team functioning effectively? Are all the team
members doing their share of the work? Do we have
an effective team leader? Do we need one? What
else can we do to be a more effective team?

In 2 pages, summarize all SECONDARY AND PRIMARY

RESEARCH completed to date. By the due date of this
deliverable, your team must accomplish the following:
-

Administer and analyze a preliminary customer

survey. You must survey 5+ B2B customers or 15+
B2C customers.
Conduct interviews with 5+ B2B or B2C customers.
These customers may be included in your survey.
Conduct interviews with 3+ industry, ecosystem, or
product experts
Prepare one-page summaries of your ventures top 3
competitors. Each summary should describe the
rivals top product and a brief analysis of its (4 Ps).

In 12 pages or less, conduct INTERIM ANALYSES of Steps

1 through 4 of the NVP process. These steps include the
customer problem, customer / market segmentation,
industry and competition analysis, and ecosystem
analysis. In these analyses, demonstrate that the
thoroughness of your due-diligence in these steps. These
are considered interim analyses because your research
is ongoing and your concept may still change.
Prepare the FIRST DRAFT OF YOUR FINANCIAL MODEL,
which should establish the general format of your
spreadsheets and workbook. At this stage, focus on the
format and categories related to your revenues, cash

flow, and P&L statements; the sales and pricing, COGS,

M&S, R&D, and G&A workups; and your key
assumptions. Dont worry too much about the dollar
amounts at this stage. Please use MS Excel to build your
financial model and submit only the electronic copy to
eZone. The financial model is not included in your page
limit for this deliverable.
For the SUPPORTING DOCS, please submit a scanned
version of the following items in a single PDF file (see the
section on secondary and primary research for more
details):
-

5+ B2B customers or 15+ B2C customer surveys

Interview notes from 5+ B2B or B2C customers
Interview notes from 3+ industry, ecosystem, or
product experts
One-page summaries of your ventures top 3
competitors

Please include the name and contact information of each

intervieweea random selection of these people will be
contacted to verify the date / time of the interview
Your interim report and analyses should have received
EIR AGREEMENT prior to your submission. Either through
written correspondence or the EIRs signature on the
scope and work plan, the team should be able to
demonstrate that the EIR has received and reviewed the
project as defined by the team.
More information about the structure, content, and
format of your interim report and analyses will be
provided in class materials.
The teams interim report effectively describes
teams progress and plans towards resolving the
components identified in the scoping document. It
provides an important touch point to identify
address the effective functioning of the team.

the
key
also
and

(e) Submission #3a: Written Business Plan

After you have received feedback from your FS and EIR
on your interim report, conducted additional primary and
secondary research, and collected more information, you
can prepare the written business plan. The written
business plan can be as long or short as needed (but
shoot for 15-25 pages, not including appendices) and
should cover (1) the customer problem, (2) market
segment, (3) industry and competition, (4) ecosystem, (5)
your product / service / solution, (6) your operations
plan, (7) your leadership and advisory team, (8) your
financial model, and (9) risk identification and mitigation
plan.
More information about the structure, content, and
format of your business plan will be provided in class
materials.
12

The written business plan is worth 40% of your final

mark. You will receive a number grade out of 100 for
your written business plan. Your grade will be based on
the overall quality of your submission.
Please email your EIR your written business plan before
the submission is due. Please allow enough time for your
EIR to provide feedback before submitting the written
business plan.
Please submit the business plan in three parts:
First, submit your business plan as an MS Word or
PDF document making sure to include a discussion of
and key information from your financial model.
Second, submit your full financial model as an MS
Excel workbook. This workbook serves as an
appendix to your business plan, so be sure your
written business plan includes all relevant
information from the financial model.
Third, submit your EIR Contact Diary with your
business plan as either a PDF document.
For all three parts of your submission, please include the
name of your venture, the names of all group members,
and your team number on the front page of your
submission. DO NOT include the name of your EIR or FS
on these documents. Then, include your company name
and team number in the name of each electronic file.

Due 11:00am November 20, 2015

OPTIONAL: After the investor presentation (described
later), you have the option of submitting a revised
written business plan on the date and time listed below.

Due 11:00am December 4, 2015

Evaluation Criteria (Written Business Plan)
Your written business plan will be evaluated based
primarily but not exclusively upon the following criteria:
Most important of all, the business plan effectively
covers the 9 KEY STEPS of the new venture development
process: (1) customer problem, (2) market segment, (3)
industry and competition, (4) ecosystem, (5) your
product / service / solution, (6) your operations plan, (7)
your leadership and advisory team, (8) your financial
model, and (9) risk identification and mitigation plan.
The BUSINESS PLAN IS FRAMED IN A MEANINGFUL AND
STRATEGIC WAY. This project required the team to do
some innovative thinking and integration, and it
represented a challenging and demanding work plan.
The team could have done the bare minimum to address

the objectives of this project, but instead they went

above and beyond expectations to start the business.
The PROJECT DEMONSTRATES A THROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF THE MARKET OPPORTUNITY. It requires
the team to show that they have done the work
necessary to understand the various aspects the market
need, the venture to be launched, the financial model,
and the business environment. This is an important
process for all projects.
The report makes strong use of EVIDENCE coming from
secondary and primary research to develop meaningful
insights. Speculation is minimized and evidence based
analysis and recommendations maximized. In terms of
interviews, the team has met with key stakeholders, and
uses interview data to help shape its thinking and
analysis. Whenever possible this project tests
assumptions with evidence and strong logic.
The UNDERLYING LOGIC and structure of the business
plan is excellent. The report takes the reader (e.g.,
investor) from the market need / problem definition to
implementation of the startup in a way that is clear and
easy to follow. During this journey, the team does an
excellent job of substantiating their views and claims
using primary and secondary data. During this journey,
there are no leaps of faith nor do any of the
recommendations seem out of place. The logic is strong,
but not simplistic or boring.
From the written business plan, it is clear that the team
has taken a great deal of time not only to collect data,
but also to analyze this data from a variety of viewpoints.
The sophistication with which issues are presented,
discussed and resolved is impressive and shows highlevel thinking and analysis. The team did not opt for the
easy path, but instead, went for high quality ANALYSIS
and innovative solutions.
The BUSINESS PLAN IS WELL-ORDERED AND
STRUCTURED. Please note that you may structure or
order the content of your business plan as you see fitas
long as the 9 Key Elements are covered in the plan.
The OVERALL IMPRESSION OF THE FACULTY member is
an important component of the grade. This element of
the grade taps into that part of the entrepreneurial
process that is more art than science. The faculty
members will ask themselves the following questions in
allocating this grade: Did the team stretch their thinking
skills in completing the written business plan? Did the
team truly make a substantial effort in doing what is
needed to start the venture FOR REAL? If I were the
investor, would I be willing to support this team in
launching this or any venture they propose? Was the
business plan a student project or was it comparable to
something investors are likely to see? Does the overall
13

quality of this project reflect the work of individuals

attending a top-tier business school?

The oral presentation should be natural and convincing,

and most importantly PROFESSIONAL.

(f) Submission #3b: Investor Presentation

The team should aspire to READ THEIR AUDIENCE and

looked and behave like professional consultants.

After you have written the core of your business plan,

you can prepare the investor presentation.
This
presentation should consist of 10 to 15 slides. Plan on
giving a 20-minute presentation followed by 30 minutes
of Q&A with our EIR presentation judges. You are
required to have a physical representation (e.g.,
mockup, prototype, schematic) of your product / service
/ solution for the presentation. All teams and all team
members are expected to do an investor presentation.
*Do not include your EIRs or FS name on your investor
presentation.
More information about the structure, content, and
format of your presentation will be provided in class
materials.
The investor presentation is worth 25% of your final
mark. You will receive a number grade out of 100 for
your presentation. Your grade will be based on the
overall quality of your presentation and slide deck. The
judges evaluations of your presentation are used in
calculating your grade.
Please email your investor presentation to your EIR
before delivering the presentation. On the day of your
presentation, please upload an electronic copy of the
slide deck (PPT or PDF format) to the IFP course section
in eZone (confidential team uploads). *Include your team
number and your company name on the front page and
file name.

Slide deck due no later than 6pm November 27,

2015
Evaluation Criteria (Investor Presentation)
The presentation should encompass the KEY ELEMENTS
OF THE BUSINESS PLAN. In addition, you presentation
will be evaluated on the following criteria:
The slides in the presentation are CREATIVE AND
INTERESTING. They should have a great deal of visual
appeal and use graphs and charts in an interesting way to
present key messages.

The presentation makes a STRONG AND PERSUASIVE

argument that will convince the audience of the power of
your recommendations.
The presenters are able to LISTEN to questions and
feedback and respond appropriately.
All team members SPEAK and / or ANSWER QUESTIONS
and are DRESSED appropriately.
The presentation ends ON TIME.

(g) Progress Reports

As a matter of process, you will be required to provide
reports to keep your faculty supervisor and EIR informed
on your progress. The Progress Report Form is available
on eZone. Each team must submit a progress report by
email to your EIR and faculty supervisor on or before
each of:

Due 11am 2015 -Sept. 25

Due 11am 2015-Nov. 6
We suggest each team appoint one member to be
responsible for the timely and accurate completion of
the progress report. All that is required is a update of
your prior workplan; making note of any changes.
Information from the progress reports will be shared
with the Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship to
help the team with needed resources.

(h) EIR Contact Diary

As part of this process, you will be REQUIRED to maintain
an EIR CONTACT DIARY, which is a record of your
contacts with your EIR. For each contact, please keep a
spreadsheet log of the date, time, method of
communication (e.g., skype, email, phone call), and a 2-5
word description of the topic of conversation. Please get
your EIR to sign off on your EIR Contact Diary before
submitting it with your business plan.

MATERIALS

The slides are LOGICALLY ORDERED and the presenters

develop a COMPELLING NARRATIVE. Wording is CLEAR
AND CONCISE. Recommendations are clearly GROUNDED
in research, EVIDENCE and analysis.

For sections 7-9 of the IFP, there is no coursebook.

Materials for these sections (including documents, decks,
videos, and / or weblinks) will be provided via eZone.

EVIDENCE is appropriately summarized and presented.

Data is presented graphical and COMMUICATES a clear
message. Sources are CITED.

IFP Community on eZone

The IFP coordinators maintain a community on eZone
dedicated solely to IFP related matters for your current
14

IFP year. It includes submission templates; information

about making conference calls to EIRs, room bookings,
and myriad other important information. Please visit the
community for IFP HBA in eZone, click on Community, IFP
HBA 2015, and then review all the information under
Shared Files regularly for the IFP process.
By September on eZone, the IFP community will be
replaced with a team assigned 4569-IFP course section
(with IFP Faculty Supervisor).

15

APPENDIX A IFP ETHICS FORM FOR NEW VENTURES

An IFP team may collect publicly available information without submitting its research for ethical approval.
Examples of such information would normally include visiting a competitor's retail store, conducting a traffic
count, visiting internet web sites, etc
When an IFP team collects data from human participants (e.g. survey, experiment, focus group), before
carrying out any research it must:
(a) Complete the form below and submit for approval to the faculty supervisor and EIR;
(b) Clearly communicate to participants their rights and your affiliation (normally this information is conveyed
in a Letter of Information provided to the human participants).
In some circumstances, the research you are proposing may have to be reviewed by the Ivey Research Ethics
Board (Ivey REB). The information below outlines the conditions under which your research would have to be
submitted to this board:
1. Sensitive Topics: Does the research propose to study topics that might be reasonably construed as
sensitive (e.g. questions about illegal behavior, sexuality, medical information, potentially harmful to
respondent if made public etc).
2. Vulnerable Populations: Does the research seek responses from people who lack the capacity to provide
free and informed consent (e.g. children, prisoners, respondents with mental impairments etc)?
3. Use of Deception: Does the research involve deception, concealment or covert observation (e.g.
withholding the true purpose of the study, lying to respondents about research design, observing
respondents where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy etc)?
4. Conflict of Interest: Does the proposal place the researcher or the course instructor in a position that
might be reasonably perceived as a conflict of interest (e.g. potentially threaten respondents or researcher
objectivity based on, for example, interpersonal relationships or financial considerations, etc)?
5. Publication/Dissemination: Will the research findings be made public or communicated beyond the class,
the professor and/or the client (e.g. firm for which you are providing consulting)?
If any of the answers above are yes, then the proposal must be submitted to the Western University Research
Ethics Board (REB).
No primary research may be carried out until the instructor has provided students with written
approval or until you have received written approval from the REB.

16

Answer all questions. Completed forms must be submitted to the instructor for approval.
(All forms can be found posted in Word Format for team customizing in your eZone course -Shared Files)
Project Start Date:
Project End Date:
Student(s) Name(s):
Supervisors Name, Title and Affiliation:
1. Registration Information
Question

Answer

What is the source of funding for this study? If there

is no funding, indicate "NONE".
Provide a brief summary in lay terms of the study.
If you have plans for providing feedback of results to
participants*, describe here.
*a participant is someone who is a source of data, such as someone who completes a survey.

2. Methodology
Question

Answer

Please provide a clear statement of objectives of this

project.
Describe the study design/methodology (e.g. survey,
focus group etc).
Indicate the inclusion criteria for participant
recruitment. That is, on what basis are you selecting
your sample?
Are you planning to actively exclude certain
participants? If so, on what basis?
What is the sample size?

3. Risks and Benefits

Question

Answer

List any potential risks to study participants.

4. Recruitment and Informed Consent

Question

Answer

How will potential participants be contacted?

(provide a copy of all recruitment tools at the end of
this document). Explain.
Who will be recruiting participants? What is this
persons relationship with participants and does he
or she hold any authority over them?
Do any of the students have a relationship with
participants? If so, describe.
Describe what method of obtaining consent will be
used (append a copy at the end, if applicable)? If
you do not plan to obtain written consent, explain
and describe how you will otherwise obtain consent
(e.g. verbally).
What compensation, if any, will be provided to
participants?

17

5. Confidentiality and Data Security

Question

Answer

How will data without personal information be

stored and protected?
How long will study data be kept? If it will not be
archived, describe how and when you plan to
destroy the data.
Are you collecting any personal information from
participants (e.g. name, email addresses)? If so,
describe specifically what personal information you
are collecting it.
Please list any agencies/groups/persons outside of
your research team who may have access to any
personal information and indicate why such access
is required.
Describe any coding system used to protect
personal information or explain why the data must
remain identifiable.

Students must append:

(1) The recruitment tool (e.g. announcement, email etc).
(2) The finalized research instrument (e.g. your questionnaire, interviewing guide etc).
(3) The letter of information (required) and, if applicable, your consent form.
======
The following section is to be completed by the supervisor named above.
Confirmation of Responsibility Student Projects
As the supervisor of this student project, I do not have a conflict of interest or perceived conflict of interest that
would prevent me from objectively overseeing this research project. I have read the Tri-Council Policy Statement
and Western University's Guidelines on Non-Medical Research involving Human Subjects1 and agree to abide by
the guidelines therein. I will ensure the students associated with this project adhere to the Protocol and Letter(s)
of Information as I have approved. I agree that if I encounter any changes or adverse events/experiences
associated with this research, I will notify the Western University REB in a timely manner.
Supervisors Signature

Date:

http://www.uwo.ca/research/ethics/non-medical/guidelines.html

18

Ivey Business School at Western University

1255 Western Road, London, ON, Canada, N6G 0N1
Ivey Field Project (IFP)
ivey.ca

{Date}
{Name}
{Address}
{Address}
Dear {Name},
The implementation of XYZ technologies holds great promise for product delivery but also presents unique
challenges. Our team is working to understand the benefits and challenges of XYZ technologies in practice. We
would like to invite you to take part in our research. The goal of our research project is to better understand how
current adopters of XYZ view the benefits, challenges and opportunities associated with the technology. We are
working with {organization} on this project, in order to provide suggestions for future implementations of XYZ and
other similar technologies. A report of our findings will be prepared for this organization.

We are inviting you to participate in this project because your {brief description of inclusion criteria}. We would like
to interview you about your experiences to date with {name of technology}. This interview will take about 40
minutes of your time and, with your permission, would be audio recorded. If you prefer not to have the interview
recorded that is also acceptable. We can meet you at your office or at another location if it is more convenient for
you. We can also talk by telephone if you prefer.

No identifying information gathered in this study will be released to your organization or to anyone else. The data
will be held for the duration of this study, planned for one year, and only the Ivey Field Project (IFP) research team
will have access to the raw data. Interviews will be transcribed, with your name replaced by a pseudonym. These
transcripts, along with the audio recordings, will be stored on a password protected file and accessed only by the
team.

You will not directly benefit from this project and there are no known risks to you from participating. However, it is
our aim to improve the effectiveness of XYZ technologies through our research and thus you may benefit indirectly.

Participation in this study is voluntary. You may refuse to participate, refuse to answer any questions or withdraw
from the study at any time with no effect on your employment. If you withdraw from the study prior to the
submission of results, your data will be withdrawn from our analysis. After the submission of research results to the
IFP faculty, it will not be possible to withdraw your data from our analysis. If you have any questions about your
rights as a research participant or the conduct of the study you may contact the Office of Research Ethics at (519)
661-3036 or by email at ethics@uwo.ca.

19

This letter is yours to keep. Feel free to contact us at any time if you have additional questions or thoughts
regarding the research.

Signature of Student: __________________________

{Name please print}:__________________________
HBA Candidate
Ivey Business School at Western University
{Email Address}
{Contact Phone Number}

Signature of Ivey Faculty: ________________________

{Name-please print}: ___________________________
Ivey Faculty Supervisor
Ivey Business School at Western University
{Email Address}
{Contact Phone Number}

20

Ivey Business School at Western University

1255 Western Road, London, ON, Canada, N6G 0N1
Ivey Field Project (IFP)
ivey.ca

CONSENT FORM

I have read the Letter of Information, have had the nature of the study explained to me and I agree to participate.
All questions have been answered to my satisfaction.

PARTICIPANT:

SIGNATURE

NAME (please print)

DATE

PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR OBTAINING CONSENT:

SIGNATURE

NAME (please print)

DATE

21

EMAIL INVITATION
Dear {Name},
The implementation of XYZ technologies holds great promise for product delivery but also presents unique
challenges. Our team is working to understand the benefits and challenges of XYZ technologies in practice. We
would like to invite you to take part in our research. The goal of our research project is to better understand how
current adopters of XYZ view the benefits, challenges and opportunities associated with the technology. We are
working with {organization} on this project, in order to provide suggestions for future implementations of XYZ and
other similar technologies. A report of our findings will be prepared for this organization.

We are inviting you to participate in this project because your {brief description of inclusion criteria}. We would like
to interview you about your experiences to date with {name of technology}. This interview will take about 40
minutes of your time and, with your permission, would be audio recorded. If you prefer not to have the interview
recorded that is also acceptable. We can meet you at your office or at another location if it is more convenient for
you. We can also talk by telephone if you prefer.

Participation in this study is voluntary. You may refuse to participate, refuse to answer any questions or withdraw
from the study at any time. If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant or the conduct of
the study you may contact the Office of Research Ethics at (519) 661-3036 or by email at ethics@uwo.ca.
I will contact you during the week of {approx. 1 week after sending} to answer any questions you may have about
the project, and if you are willing, to schedule a time for the interview. Please also feel free to contact me if you
would like to discuss the project further.
Regards,
Signature of Student: __________________________
{Name please print}:__________________________
HBA Candidate
Ivey Business School at Western University
{Email Address}
{Contact Phone Number}

Signature of Ivey Faculty: ________________________

{Name-please print}: ___________________________
Ivey Faculty Supervisor
Ivey Business School at Western University
{Email Address}
{Contact Phone Number}

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TELEPHONE INVITATION

Hello, my name is XXX and Im a researcher at the Ivey Business School. I am undertaking research on the
implementation of the {name of technology} implemented at your organization. This research is part of an academic
study to develop a better understanding of the benefits and challenges in implementing {name of technology} and
other health care technology projects.
Are you familiar with the {name of technology} project?
Your involvement would be to meet with members of the research team for a personal interview. Your participation
is completely voluntary and confidential. You can refuse to answer any question or withdraw at any time. Any
analysis and results that we prepare will be about summary findings about the {name of technology} project (not
about individuals) A report of our findings will be prepared for this organization.
If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant or the conduct of the study you may contact
the Office of Research Ethics at (519) 661-3036 or by email at ethics@uwo.ca.
Would you be willing to set up an interview for this research?
Signature of Student: __________________________
{Name please print}:__________________________
HBA Candidate
Ivey Business School at Western University
{Email Address}
{Contact Phone Number}

Signature of Ivey Faculty: ________________________

{Name-please print}: ___________________________
Ivey Faculty Supervisor
Ivey Business School at Western University
{Email Address}
{Contact Phone Number}

23

Ivey Business School at Western University

1255 Western Road, London, ON, Canada, N6G 0N1
Ivey Field Project (IFP)
ivey.ca

{Date}
{Name}
{Hospital Address}
{Hospital Address}
Dear {Name},
The implementation of XYZ technologies holds great promise for product delivery but also presents unique
challenges. Our team is working to understand the benefits and challenges of XYZ technologies in practice. We
would like to invite you to take part in our research. The goal of our research project is to better understand how
current adopters of XYZ view the benefits, challenges and opportunities associated with the technology. We are
working with {organization} on this project, in order to provide suggestions for future implementations of XYZ and
other similar technologies. A report of our findings will be prepared for this organization.

We are inviting you to participate in this project because your {brief description of inclusion criteria}. We would like
your feedback on the benefits you may have observed from your practices adoption of XYZ as well as the challenges
you may have encountered along the way. The survey (link below) will take about 10 minutes of your time to
complete. If you would prefer to receive a paper copy of the survey, you may contact me and Ill be happy to send
one to you.

Your responses to this survey are completed confidential. You have been assigned an ID number so that we can
match your survey with your practice. This information is kept in a locked cabinet and on a password protected
drive, separate from the survey data. The survey data includes only the identification numbers. No names or other
identifying information are kept with the survey responses. No identifying information gathered in this study will be
released to your organization or to anyone else. The data will be held for the duration of this study, planned for five
years, and only the university research team will have access to the raw data.

You will not directly benefit from this project and there are no known risks to you from participating. However, it is
our aim to improve the effectiveness of technologies through our research and thus you may benefit indirectly.
Please contact me by email or telephone if you would like to receive a copy of the findings.

Participation in this study is voluntary. You may refuse to participate, refuse to answer any questions or withdraw
from the study at any time on your employment. If you withdraw from the study prior to the submission of results
your data will be withdrawn from our analysis. After the submission of research results to IFP faculty, it will not be
possible to withdraw your data from our analysis. Completion of the survey will be taken as your consent to
participate. If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant or the conduct of the study you
may contact the Office of Research Ethics at (519) 661-3036 or by email at ethics@uwo.ca.

24

This letter is yours to keep. Feel free to contact us at any time if you have additional questions or thoughts
regarding the research.

{survey address}

Signature of Student: __________________________

{Name please print}:__________________________
HBA Candidate
Ivey Business School at Western University
{Email Address}
{Contact Phone Number}

Signature of Ivey Faculty: ________________________

{Name-please print}: ___________________________
Ivey Faculty Supervisor
Ivey Business School at Western University, www.ivey.uwo.ca/IFP
{Email Address}
{Contact Phone Number}

25