20A - social capital

Assignment 20A – Growing your social capital

Domain Expert

1.     Who they are, what their background is:

·      Gregg, parking supervisor at UF

2.     How this person is a Domain Expert:

·      His daily routine involves going from call to call or from lot to lot on campus.

3.     How I found and contacted this person:

·      I went to the parking office at administration and got his phone number for a quick interview.

4.     Nature of exchange: what they did for me, what is the return expectation:

·      I explained the proposal for expanded parking and read him some responses and personal stories I received from interviewees. He expressed his knowledge of the problem and just said that technically the parking system is as good as it can be at the moment but these opportunities still exist.

5.     How will including them enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity:

·      Knowing that the officials I would have to reach are aware of the problem is both good and bad. The fact that they don’t see a perfect way to fix the solution also shows that they haven’t understood the true nature of the issue which is student attitude and safety which at this moment could be improved.

Market Expert

6.     Who they are, what their background is:

·      Sarvar, a daily commuter

7.     How this person is a Market Expert:

·      I wasn’t able to locate anyone who does this type of market research, but Sarvar is a 5^th year senior, who has driven a car, scooter, and now rides his bike to campus.

8.     How I found and contacted this person:

·      I saw him getting frustrated riding his bike through a scooter parking lot with the jammed-up mess.

9.     Nature of exchange: what they did for me, what is the return expectation:

·      He expressed his reasoning behind riding his bike now, and it is due to the troubles of dealing with parking. He said after a few months last year he had to go without a scooter because it was broken after sitting in the parking lot and he purchased a bike instead of getting the scooter fixed.

10.  How will including them enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity:

·      He is a perfect example of the parking and troubles of the parking lot negatively affecting a student’s life. Although a bike is less comfortable, not dealing with the parking is enough for him to switch.

Industry Supplier

11.  Who they are, what their background is:

·      Louis, a member of the transportation and parking services

12.  How this person is an industry supplier:

·      He administers decals and handles any changes made to parking structures.

13.  How I found and contacted this person:

·      I was able to meet him through Gregg from the previous section.

14.  Nature of exchange: what they did for me, what is the return expectation:

·      They just gave me their ideas and why they haven’t done some of the things that I mentioned. They invited me to email back with any questions.

15.  How will including them enhance my ability to exploit an opportunity:

·      They would be the people reviewing any future plan and would have a large part in the process of expanding the parking lots here at UF. They were welcoming to the assignment and I believe hearing some of the interviews helped them understand the nature of the issue.