How can we do social impact better in 2024?
2024 Ins
Designing with sustainability in mind
Imagine there is a person A who wants to help person B with a car. A gives B a BMW (ouh, flashy, fast, yes!) but B lives in a place that only has Toyota parts. It becomes a gift that’s difficult and costly to maintain, and might eventually be left unused.
The same thing can happen with programs and services in the social sector. So plan for what happens after 5 or 10 years, after funding runs out, or after the community is left with the remaining forms and pieces of the program, so they’re not left with a bigger burden than before.
Designing for the intersection of root cause x do-ability
Take the effort to uncover and address the root cause of a problem, rather than the symptom. Sometimes, the difference is subtle, but asking “Why?” and co-discovering this with those with lived experience will get to the root cause.
At the same time, solve for what you are able to do based on your strengths and constraints. If changing the law is out of the question, but a school-based community program is, leverage your strengths and find partners who can do the other work.
Designing at the speed of the community
This is to call out “western” approach of design - rapid prototyping, design sprint, agile methodology. These methods help us get to a good idea quickly. It works well in cultures that prioritize productivity over relationships.
However, our design sprint schedules have pushed back by team members in Uganda and South Sudan when the speedy timeline just wouldn’t work. Our design participants needed to know us and trust us first. So we must listen and adapt.
2024 Outs
Funding solutions rather than outcomes
Picture a complex issue like a landscape with problem holes that need to be filled. Some holes are small and others are big. Good problem solving processes start by figuring out the holes and which ones are the largest and deepest.
When the solution has already been decided by funders, before the landscape is well-understood, we might find ourselves filling a hole that is the size of a tennis ball, when there's another hole right beside that's bigger than an elephant.
Foregoing the work of engaging with and learning about people because of budget or time
“There’s a technical name for the absence of user research: Guessing… The problem with guessing is that the odds are against them guessing right…
User research takes more time upfront than guessing but saves time in the long run. It gives the team the confidence to deliver a solution that customers love the very first time. It leads to industry-leading innovations that no competitor can match.” - Jared Spool
Collecting data for the sake of data
Data collection is often conducted so we know what’s going on. We monitor programs or go to people and ask for their time to do a survey or provide feedback. But what happens with that data? Does it just go into an internal report? A donor report? On the website?
Data can do so much more than that — we can re-invest it! Data can tell us more about what’s working and not working for people. Use the insights to make new or better programs, improve operations, or form better relationships with stakeholders.